Tharros is the Punic city in Sardinia that has returned the largest number of jewels, with this term meaning not just items in gold and silver, but also scarabs, that are now without their precious metal mount.

The scarabs, sculpted in local green Jasper, provided the first clue to goldsmith production in Tharros. In fact, many are mounted in gold (fig. 1) and it is not likely that the good luck charms were made at a distance, without having the stone to be set in them.

Fig. 1 - Scarab in green jasper mounted in gold with the picture of IsIs feeding Horus (4th century B.C.). (From AA.VV 2004)

There are several types of jewels from Tharros. There are bracelets (fig. 2), earrings made up of several parts or simple ones (figs. 3-5), rings, and pendants (fig. 6).

The Tharros goldsmiths’ production started between the 7th and 6th century B.C., but fully developed during the Carthage Era, from the final decades of the 6th century B.C. onwards.

Fig. 2 - Gold bracelet from Tharros (7th-6th century B.C.) (Archaeological Superintendency Archive)

Fig. 3 - Gold earring comprising: an oval loop, a crescent with bird protomes, a falcon pendent and an acorn pendent (5th century B.C.) (From AA.VV 1990, fig. 1)

Fig. 4 - Gold earring with oval loop, a crescent with bird protomes and a round pendent with noticeable stem (5th century B.C.) (From AA.VV 1990, fig. 4)

Fig. 5 - Gold earring with looped cross (4th-3rd century B.C.) (from AA.VV 1990, fig. 13)

Fig. 6 - Pendent showing Isis holding her breasts whilst breast feeding (5th century B.C.) (From AA.VV 1990, p. 76)

The refined nature of the work, with details emphasised with the granulation process, make the Tharros laboratories a unique place in Sardinia and one of the most important in the Punic world.

If we think that the raw material, gold, was not found on the island, apart from in tiny amounts, and we see the amount of items made in the Tharros goldsmiths’ workshops, we can perceive a very wealthy city, that makes and distributes its products around the island.