The ancient city of Tharros lies at the southern tip of the Sinis Peninsula. Founded in the 7th century BCE, probably by Carthage, in an area already frequented during the Nuragic and Punic eras, it became one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean region. It later came under Roman rule until the Byzantine period, when the city was abandoned.

The arrival of the Carthaginians and the foundation of the city coincide with a period of extraordinary colonial activity throughout the western Mediterranean basin. However, we do not know the exact location of the first settlement, which certainly did not have monumental characteristics. We do have some evidence of its division into neighborhoods. Where the Nuragic village once stood, the “tophet” was established, an open-air Punic sanctuary where the incinerated remains of children were placed inside terracotta urns, sometimes accompanied by sandstone steles. From this period, two necropolises were in use simultaneously, located a few kilometers apart: the better-known one is on Capo San Marco, and the other, never systematically investigated, is now within the modern village of San Giovanni di Sinis, featuring hundreds of pit and chamber tombs. From these burials come most of the artifacts (pottery, terracottas, jewelry, amulets, scarabs) on display in major national and international museums.

In the following centuries, the city underwent a process of monumentalization with the construction of imposing fortifications, which protected the city from attacks by land and sea and enclosed the tophet sanctuary within them. Some of the most important places of worship in Tharros, including the so-called “Temple of the Doric half-columns,” were built during the Punic era.

Starting from the Roman conquest of Sardinia in 238 BCE, a process of profound urban transformation began, which concluded in the Roman imperial age. The fortifications were reinforced, the streets were paved with basalt, and a highly articulated sewage system was constructed for water disposal. Numerous monumental public buildings were erected: three thermal baths, the aqueduct, whose remains are partly visible along the modern road leading to the excavations, and the so-called castellum aquae, a large building in the city’s center interpreted as a reservoir. Roman burials appear along the entire coastal strip between Capo San Marco and the village of San Giovanni and in the area between the church of San Giovanni and the coast.

Christian evidence dates back to the Byzantine period, with one of the thermal baths being converted into a Christian cult building.

The continuous stripping of ancient structures, carried out for centuries, has significantly hindered the reconstruction of the city’s final phases. The city experienced a slow decline, also due to Saracen raids, and a gradual depopulation, although the episcopal seat remained until 1071, when it was moved to Oristano, which had also become the capital of the Judicate of Arborea, marking the end of the ancient center.