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Tharros, archeological ruins
The ruins of the Phoenician town of Tharros, in the Sinis Peninsula, near Oristano, Sardinia
History (from the web)
The city of Tharros was probably founded by the Phoenicians at the end of the 8th century or possibly in the early 7th century BC in an area already populated during the Nuragic period (n. 7). The main evidence of the Phoenician colony of Tharros is represented by the necropolises and the tophet (n. 6), which was a typical Phoenician and Punic open air sanctuary or sacred burial area, because the settlement itself has not been located yet (it is currently an active archaeological site). The Phoenician necropolises are located in the area of Cape San Marco (n. 23) and the modern village of San Giovanni di Sinis (n. 1). In the necropolises cremated corpses, along with rich burial goods including jewelry, were buried in circular or elongated shaped pits dug into the sand. Since the 7th century BC, thousands of cinerary urns, containing the burnt bones and ashes of children and sacrificed animals, were deposited in the tophets together with hundreds of sandstone stelae, small votive monuments often representing small temples and divine symbols.
During the second half of the 6th century BC, Tharros was conquered by the Carthaginians, who constructed several new buildings, including the monumental temple and the city’s defensive wall. During the 5th century BC, a handicraft district (n. 8) that specialized in iron metallurgy was created near the tophet in the west, at a time when the use of the sanctuary was increasing.
Tharros, archeological ruins
The ruins of the Phoenician town of Tharros, in the Sinis Peninsula, near Oristano, Sardinia
History (from the web)
The city of Tharros was probably founded by the Phoenicians at the end of the 8th century or possibly in the early 7th century BC in an area already populated during the Nuragic period (n. 7). The main evidence of the Phoenician colony of Tharros is represented by the necropolises and the tophet (n. 6), which was a typical Phoenician and Punic open air sanctuary or sacred burial area, because the settlement itself has not been located yet (it is currently an active archaeological site). The Phoenician necropolises are located in the area of Cape San Marco (n. 23) and the modern village of San Giovanni di Sinis (n. 1). In the necropolises cremated corpses, along with rich burial goods including jewelry, were buried in circular or elongated shaped pits dug into the sand. Since the 7th century BC, thousands of cinerary urns, containing the burnt bones and ashes of children and sacrificed animals, were deposited in the tophets together with hundreds of sandstone stelae, small votive monuments often representing small temples and divine symbols.
During the second half of the 6th century BC, Tharros was conquered by the Carthaginians, who constructed several new buildings, including the monumental temple and the city’s defensive wall. During the 5th century BC, a handicraft district (n. 8) that specialized in iron metallurgy was created near the tophet in the west, at a time when the use of the sanctuary was increasing.