Tharros

Tharros

View of Corinthian columns at Tharros
Shown within Sardinia
Type	Settlement
History
Founded	Eighth century BCE
Cultures	Nuragic civilization, Punic civilization, Roman civilization
Site notes
Condition	Ruined
Management	I Beni Culturali della Sardegna
Public access	Yes
Website	Cabras, area di Tharros (Italian)

Coordinates: 39°52′24″N 8°26′23″E / 39.8733°N 8.43972°E / 39.8733; 8.43972

Tharros (also spelled Tharras, Greek: Θάρρας, Ptol., Tarrae or Tarras) was an ancient city on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy. It is currently an archaeological site near the village of San Giovanni di Sinis, municipality of Cabras, in the Province of Oristano. It is located on the southern shore of the Sinis peninsula, which forms the northern cape of the Bay of Oristano, by the cape of San Marco. Tharros, mentioned by Ptolemy and in the Itineraries, seems to have been one of the most important places on the island.

Until some years ago, the archaeological findings in the area of Tharros supported the theory that Phoenicians founded the town in eighth century BC. The probability of this was reduced by the finding of some parts of the old settlement in the Mistras Lagoon. A submerged 100 m wall seems to be part of a port structure much older than the Phoenician one, since in 1200 BC sealevel rose, swallowing the existing buildings. A previous nuragic settlement apparently existed there in the Bronze Age, as the nuragic presence near the tophet area seems to suggest.