Nora, Italy

Nora

Archaeological site of Nora, with the Spanish tower in the background.
Shown within Sardinia
Type	Settlement
History
Cultures	Phoenician civilization Roman civilization
Site notes
Excavation dates	yes
Condition	ruined
Management	I Beni Culturali della Sardegna
Public access	yes
Website	Pula, area di Nora (Italian)

Coordinates: 38°59′05″N 9°00′57″E / 38.984685°N 9.015860°E / 38.984685; 9.015860

Nora (Nuras in the mediaeval Sardinian language) is an ancient Roman and pre-Roman town on a peninsula near Pula, near to Cagliari in Sardinia.

In his Description of Greece, Pausanias, a Greek-Roman geographer of the second century, narrates the mythological foundation of the city: "After Aristaeus, the Iberians crossed to Sardinia, under Norax as leader of the expedition, and they founded the city of Nora. The tradition is that this was the first city in the island, and they say that Norax was a son of Erytheia, the daughter of Geryon, with Hermes for his father."

The area was previously occupied by a village of indigenous Sardinians, but soon became an emporium and then a Phoenician city. Especially after the conquest of Carthage, Nora flourished, as (along with Bithia near Chia) it was the first stage on the sea route from Carthage to Sardinia and its most important city, Cagliari. The Nora Stone, a Phoenician inscription found at Nora in 1773, has been dated by palaeographic methods to between the late 9th century and early 8th century BCE, and has been interpreted as referring to a Phoenician military victory and conquest of the area.