__NOTOC__ Bithia or Bitia was a

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histo ...

n, Carthaginian, and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

town located near Chia in the extreme south of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian language, Italian, Corsican language, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese dialect, Algherese and Catalan languag ...

, Italy. Most of the ruins have been submerged underwater.

History

Bithia was founded by the

ns in the 8th centuryBC as Bitan ( xpu, 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤏𐤍, ,. "Palace"). It fell under Carthaginian control until the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Rome and Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and involved a total of forty-three yea ...

, when it became

. Punic culture survived well into the Roman period. It was abandoned in the early 7th century, when the population fled inland to escape Arab raids. In 1963, following heavy storms, some ruins of the city came to light. Still observable are the remains of a Punic temple on the island of Cardolinu, on which are also found artifacts that seem to indicate the presence of a

tophet In the Hebrew Bible, Tophet or Topheth ( hbo, תֹּפֶת, Tōp̄eṯ; grc-gre, Ταφέθ, taphéth; la, Topheth) is a location in Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), where worshipers engaged in a ritual involving "passing a child th ...

. Additional remains of houses and a second temple dedicated to

Bes BES or Bes may refer to: * Bes, Egyptian deity * Bes (coin), Roman coin denomination * Bes (Marvel Comics), fictional character loosely based on the Egyptian deity Abbreviations * Bachelor of Environmental Studies, a degree * Banco Espírit ...

are located at the foot of the promontory on which stands the Spanish tower called "Chia", the current name of the modern village.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . Phoenician colonies in Italy Former populated places in Sardinia Archaeological sites in Sardinia {{Phoenicia-stub