Tharras

THARRAS (Θάρρας, Ptol.: Ru. at Capo del Sevo), a city of Sardinia, mentioned only by Ptolemy (where the name is written in many MSS. and editions Tarrae or Tarras) and in the Itineraries, but which seems to have been one of the most considerable places in the island. It was situated on the W. coast, on a projecting point of land at the N. extremity of the Gulf of Oristano, where its ruins are still visible, though half buried in sand, and numerous minor antiquities have been discovered. From its position there can be little doubt that it was a Phoenician or Carthaginian settlement; but continued to be a considerable town under the Romans, and an inscription records the repair of the road from Tharras to Cornus as late as the reign of the emperor Philip. (De la Marmora, Voy. en Sardaigne, vol. ii. pp. 359, 477.) The Antonine Itinerary correctly places it 18 miles from Cornus and 12 from Othoca (Oristano). (Itin. Ant. p. 84; Ptol. 3.3.2.) [E. H. B:]