Gibil Gabib is an archaeological site located about 5 km south of Caltanissetta, on a 615-metre-high mountain.
Excavations were first undertaken in the area in the middle of the 19th century and were reprised with great enthusiasm in the 1950s by the archaeologist Dinu Adameșteanu. They came to an end in 1984. In those undertaken in the middle of the 20th century, remains dating to the 6th century BC were brought to light, including parts of the city walls and some ceramic objects of the Bronze Age Castelluccio culture, while the 1980s excavations revealed a defensive tower from the middle of the 6th century BC. These discoveries were of great significance, because they helped to clarify the course of the city wall discovered almost thirty years earlier.
Objects discovered in the excavations include vases, objects for everyday use, plates and lamps, as well as a terracotta statue of a female divinity and the terracotta head, which demonstrate the existence of various spaces dedicated to religious cult. At the base of the mountain, there is a necropolis, where Siceliote red-figure pottery was found.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.