At the southern end of the Gulf of Oristano, stands one of the most important and evocative archaeological legacies of the Mediterranean
Province: Province of Oristano
Maximum altitude: 10 m a.s.l.
Location: Sea of Sardinia
Maximum altitude: 10 m a.s.l.
Location: Sea of Sardinia
History
Tharros was founded by the Phoenicians in the eighth century. B.C. During the sixth century BC the city experienced a fortification process under the dominion of the Carthaginians and also a period of economic wealth due to trade with Africa, the Iberian peninsula and the city of Massalia.
The Romans conquered and subdued Tharros in 238 BC. and they worked intensely building a rich variety of services such as the thermal baths, the aqueduct and the road network. However, when the Western Roman Empire fell, Tharros went through a critical period: governed first by the Vandals and then by the Byzantines. The Saracen raids finally forced the Byzantines to abandon Sardinia and leave Tharros at the mercy of looters and pirate raids.
Definitely abandoned around the year 1000, the Phoenician thopet and of course the work of Roman domination can still be admired today.
The archaeological area of Tharros
The archaeological area extends into the southern offshoot of the Sinis peninsula, in the territory of Cabras. The remains date back mainly to the Roman era. Among the most interesting structures you can see the baths, the foundations of the temple and a part of the town with houses and artisan shops.
Two necropolises and the tophet remain from the Phoenician era, the cemetery sanctuary where the urns containing the incinerated remains of babies and sacrificial animals were placed.
On the hill of Su Murru Mannu we find the oldest evidence of the area: the remains of the Nuragic village abandoned before the arrival of the Phoenicians. Remains of two nuraghi are also found on the promontory of San Marco and another is hypothesized at the base of the tower of San Giovanni.
