Tharros
Encyclopedia
- For the ancient city in Crete, see Tarra, CreteTarra, CreteTarra or Tarrha was an ancient city of western Crete, near Samaria Gorge, at Agia Roumeli village. It is near the sea, on the hill, on the left bank of the stream bank. It was probably established in the Classical period and was very important religious centre. The city flourished in the...
.
Tharros (also spelled Tharras, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: , Ptol.
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
, Tarrae or Tarras) was an ancient city on the west coast of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and is currently an archaeological site near the village of San Giovanni di Sinis, municipality of Cabras
Cabras, Italy
Cabras is a comune in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 90 km northwest of Cagliari and about 6 km northwest of Oristano....
, in the Province of Oristano
Province of Oristano
Oristano is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia in Italy. Its capital is the city of Oristano.It has an area of 3,040 km², and a total population of 167,971 . There are 88 municipalities in the province ). As of June 2005, the main communes by population are:-Politics:-External...
. It is located on the southern shores of the Sinis peninsula, that forms the northern cape of the Bay of Oristano, the cape of San Marco. Tharros, mentioned by Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
and in the Itineraries
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another...
, seems to have been one of the most important 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
Tophet
Tophet or Topheth is believed to be a location in Jerusalem, in the Valley of Hinnom, where the Canaanites sacrificed children to the god Moloch by burning them alive. The Hebrew Bible also mentions what appears to be child sacrifice practiced at a place called the Tophet by the Canaanites,...
, an open air sacred place common for several installations of Phoenicians in the western Mediterranean, and seen as a first sign of colonization and urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
. Excavations have shown that from the eighth century BCE until the abandonment of Tharros in the 10th century the place was inhabited, first by Phoenicians, then by the Punics and then under Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
domination. The town was the capital of the medieval Guidicato of Arborea, a Roman/Byzantine relict state from the 9th century until 1070 when Orzocorre I relocated to Oristano
Oristano
Oristano is a town and comune, capital of the Province of Oristano, on the island of Sardinia, Italy. It has approximately 32,500 inhabitants.Its economy is mainly based on fishing, agriculture and, to a certain extent, tourism.-History:...
under pressure of Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
raiders. The town was effectively abandoned at this time or shortly thereafter. The site was used for centuries after that as a quarry for building materials for the surrounding villages and towns. Certainly there has always been a strong Sardic element during the whole time of its existence. An inscription records the repair of the road from Tharras to Cornus as late as the reign of the emperor Philip
Philip the Arab
Philip the Arab , also known as Philip or Philippus Arabs, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He came from Syria, and rose to become a major figure in the Roman Empire. He achieved power after the death of Gordian III, quickly negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire...
. The Antonine Itinerary
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another...
correctly places it 18 miles from Cornus and 12 from Othoca (modern Santa Giusta
Santa Giusta
Santa Giusta is a comune in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region of Sardinia, located about 90 km northwest of Cagliari and about 3 km southeast of Oristano in the Campidano area...
near Oristano
Oristano
Oristano is a town and comune, capital of the Province of Oristano, on the island of Sardinia, Italy. It has approximately 32,500 inhabitants.Its economy is mainly based on fishing, agriculture and, to a certain extent, tourism.-History:...
).
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
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
. Amongst the interesting structures is the tophet itself, the bath installations
Thermae
In ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
, the 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
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
, in the Antiquarium Arborense, the Archaeological Museum of the town of Cabras
Cabras
There are geographical features that begin with Cabras:*Cabras, Italy*Ilha das Cabras - an island chain in the municipality of Ilhabela, São Paulo, Brazil...
and in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
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