Tharros

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For the ancient city in Crete, see Tarra, Crete.

Tharros (also spelled Tharras, Greek: Θάρρας, Ptol., Tarrae or Tarras) was an ancient city on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy, and is currently an archaeological site in the località of San Giovanni di Sinis, comune of Cabras, in the Province of Oristano. It lies on a peninsula that forms the northern cape of the Gulf of Oristano. Tharros, mentioned by Ptolemy and in the Itineraries, seems to have been one of the most considerable places on the island.

Archaeological research done in the area of Tharros has established that in the eighth century BCE the town was founded by Phoenicians. On the remains of a former nuragic village on top of the hill called Su Muru Mannu they founded a tophet, an open air sacred place common for several installations of Phoenicians in the western Mediterranean, and seen as a sign of urbanization. Excavations have shown that from the eighth century BCE until the abandonment of Tharros in the 10th century CE the place has been inhabited, first by Phoenicians, then by the Punics and then under Roman domination. The town was destroyed by Saracen raiders. Certainly there has always been a strong Sardic element in the whole period. An inscription records the repair of the road from Tharras to Cornus as late as the reign of the emperor Philip. (De la Marmora, Voy. en Sardaigne, vol. ii. pp. 359, 477.) The Antonine Itinerary correctly places it 18 miles from Cornus and 12 from Othoca (modern Santa Giusta near Oristano). (Itin. Ant. p. 84; Ptol. iii. 3. § 2.)

The area is now an open air museum and still excavations are done bringing to light ever more details of the past of this town. What is to be seen is most of the period of Roman domination or early Christianity. Amongst the interesting structures is the tophet itself, bath installations, temple foundations and a part of the area with houses and artisan workshops.

Most of the artifacts can be found in the Archaeological Museum at Cagliari and in the Antiquarium Arborense and the Archaeological museum of the town of Cabras.

[edit] External links

• Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911: "Tharros"
• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1856).