Tapsos

Thapsos (Θαψός in ancient Greek) is one of the most important and first known protohistoric Sicilian cultures and settlements. It is the eponymous centre for the so-called Thapsos civilization around the time of the middle Bronze Age. It is located on the Magnisi peninsula (from the Arabic word ‘Mismar’ meaning ‘nail’) near Priolo Gargallo, in the province of Syracuse.

It was identified as a necropolis divided into three sectors, two of which have tombs in a man-made cave with circular burial chambers of vast dimensions dug into the rock. The multiple chambers had varying numbers of bodies buried inside, some as many as 50, along with their personal belongings. In the central area of the peninsula a coeval necropolis was discovered, with enchytrismòs burials where those buried were placed without funerary objects in corrugated ovoid containers (pithoi) and arranged in the natural rock concavity. The Late Helladic artefacts from the Greek territories plus evidence of small perfume containers and other pottery (since its main industry specialised in the production of perfumed oils), suggests Thapsos was a mixed population and had a sophisticated, imported culture, Mycenaean in origin.

                        Necropoli

The area surrounding the isthmus, which connects Thapsos to the coast, was inhabited. Excavations have uncovered the foundations of buildings belonging to two different phases of time. The most ancient, around XIV-XIII century B.C., had large circular huts with bases built of dry stone, topped by walls and rooves of wood, straw and clay. In the next phase, the spacious buildings became rectangular and often collected around cobbled courtyards. The settlers created a grid-like town with streets up to four metres wide. Interestingly, the closest analogy to similar Thapsos house layouts was found at the other end of the Mycenaean world, on Cyprus. This course of ‘organised construction’ was later abandoned between the XI-IX century B.C. when they returned to building huts without an apparent urban policy. The town was defended by a fortification with semi-circular towers (of 5m diameter) arranged at regular intervals.