Thapsos

Thapsos is a Bronze Age settlement on Sicily.

Location and data

Thapsos located 18 km north-east of Syracuse in Syracuse, Sicily. The settlement is in the area of the place Priolo Gargallo on the Magnisi Peninsula.

History

The site has been inhabited since the 15th century BC. According to him the Bronze Age Thapsos culture is named, who was already an independent Sicilian culture, the archaeological findings differed significantly according to the surrounding of the cultures. The settlement was protected by a defensive wall. Archaeological two Bronze Age settlement phases can be distinguished. It both stone foundations of circular buildings as well as rectangular buildings were excavated.

Importance was Thapsos in research also because finds of Mycenaean and Cypriot imports, on the one hand facilitate dating, on the other hand show the importance Thapsos as a trading partner of the Aegean world.

In the year 730 BC, Greeks settled here in 729 BC to found the city of Megara Hyblaea, which is located about 8 km northwest of Thapsus.

Excavations

The excavations began in the last years of the 19th century. It was found a large field with necropolis. Later parts of the settlement were discovered, especially in the area of ​​land between the peninsula and Sicily. Finds are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Syracuse.