The Phoenician-Punic city of Tharros had two necropolis areas, one north and one south of the inhabited area (fig.1)

Fig. 1 - Location of the southern necropolis of Tharros. A) the site of the necropolis; B) Tharros (from Google Earth. Review C. Tronchetti)

The southern necropolis was the larger of the two, with dozens and dozens of rich tombs, which led to real plundering for treasures in the 19th century by fanatical Italians and foreigners, and locals who were searching for gold (fig. 2). The burial goods were lost in this way, and only a part of them found their way into public and private collections, in Italy and overseas.

Fig. 2 - nineteenth century drawing of the inside of a chamber tomb (from ACQUARO, FINZI 1986).

The necropolis mainly comprises tombs from the Punic era (5th-3rd century B.C.), which are hypogeums accessed by a rectangular well there are sometimes narrow, high steps on the wall of the well to go down (figs. 3-5)

Fig. 3 - The southern necropolis (photo by Unicity S.p.A.)

Fig. 4 - The southern necropolis (photo by Unicity S.p.A.)

Fig. 5 - The southern necropolis. This photo shows the steps along one wall of the well on the right (from DEL VAIS, 2006).

When analysing the items coming from this necropolis, even if a large part of the individual tomb collections has been lost, we can form the picture of a very wealthy city. Jewels in gold and silver, ceramics from Greece, Egyptian charms, scarab-shaped seals made locally. These are all items that show us the vast nature of the trade and the importance of Tharros as the central point in trade routes in the western Mediterranean.