City of Tharroos Sardinia Italy

 (from Wiki) Archaeological research done in the area of Tharros has established that in the eighth century BC the town was founded by Phoenicians, although a sunken mole has been found there, and the water level raised there during 1200 BC, so it's still unclear when the city was founded. On the remains of a former village built by the nuragic peoples (1900-730 BC^[1]) on top of the hill called Su Muru Mannu they founded a tophet, 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. Excavations have shown that from the eighth century BC until the abandonment of Tharros in the 10th century the place was inhabited, first by Phoenicians, then by the Punics and then under Roman 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 under pressure of Saracen 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.^[2] The Antonine Itinerary correctly places it 18 miles from Cornus and 12 from Othoca (modern Santa Giusta near Oristano).^[3]

City Of Tharros Sardinia Italy

The dive was interesting and one of my first ocean dives ever which made this place extra special to visit. I enjoyed viewing the foundation where some of the buildings existed and enjoyed the artifacts where the streets and other metropolitan artifacts have laid to rest for thousands of years.