Head of Medusaportrayedin a mosaicof the villa at Lilybaeum. "Cave canem"- a mosaic at the villa warning strangers of the dog. Detail of a mosaic showing an interlaceand geometricfigures. MOTYA AND LILYBAEUM One reaches this small oasis of pure pleasure and of blessed leisure across a portico overlooking the crescent of Stagno Bay, on whose horizon can be seen the green pines of Motya and the other islands which form its crown. It is a lovely vision framed between the Aegadian isles and splendid Mt. Eryx. During the last two years important events have occurred in Motya. In the summer of 1955 an expedition under the leadership of Dr. B. S. J. Isserlin of Oxford University made some soundings which have prepared the ground for new explorations which should at last bring to light 136 continued the Punic fortress. (See Antiquity 30 [1956] 110-113.) In the summer of 1956 the Superintendent of Antiquities in Palermo ordered some restorations of walls and buildings. In the course of the work new sections of walls and stairways were discovered. The work of restoration made it possible for the general public to understand the construction and plan of these important walls. But much more is still to be done in the vicinity of Motya and Lilybaeum. New exploration in the necropolis of Birgi would bring to light very rich Phoenician burial offerings, mostly objects of glass, worthy of any museum in the world.