The culture of the island community of Thapsos is one of the most important of prehistory. On the southern coast of Sicily, it's an area of fertile lands and plenty of activity in travel and trade. As a a strategic port of commerce and industry, Thapsos comes to the forefront of civilization between c. 1500 - 1200 BCE.
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From prehistoric times, the area has been inhabited. Wanderers, nomads, fishing and seagoing people, the indiginous inhabitants include Elymians, Sicanians and the Sicels, for whom Sicily is named.
In later settlements, most houses are circular or rectangular huts. Lifestyle is more localized, based on farming, herding, hunting and fishing. There is evidence of trade with coastal Italy and nearby islands.
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In 1600 BCE, the eruption of the volcano at Thera (Santorini) in the Aegean Sea spread darkness and destruction through the lands and across the waters. A written work describing yellow skies is found in China. Climate disruptions are reported for years.
A tsunami created by the volcanic explosions wrecks the coasts and washed over the low-lying islands. Earthquakes and mudslides, floods and fires take many lives. It's one of the largest eruptions the world has ever known.
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On the island itself, almost no bodies are found. The people know the meaning of the rumblings in the ground, and prudently evacuate. Some of the ruins are still covered in volcanic ash today.
After the eruption the competing Minoan civilization, centered on Crete the southern Aegean islands including Thera, declines dramatically. Not long after, opportunistic Myceneaens from coastal Greece come south to look around. They take over previously Minoan islands. They also journey north to establish a port at Thapsos (Tapsos).
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Thapsos civilization develops throughout Sicily. Most main centers are along the coast, but like everywhere else in the known world, inland trade routes evolve along trails or river systems. Some areas built fortress type walls. A tower from 1500 BCE still stands.
The first known city in Sicily, Thapsos is also an example of a significant necropolis, or City of the Dead. Cities of the Dead also appear in Mesopotamian, Egyptian and other cultures. The best known perhaps is that of Memphis (Giza), including the Pyramids. An enormous network of tombs and rooms is still being excavated.
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Historian David Abulafia writes:
A settlement at Thapsos, an offshore island in eastern Sicily, offers evidence of a sophisticated, imported culture, Mycenaean in origin. The settlers created a grid-like town with streets up to four metres wide, spacious houses built round courtyards, and tombs full of Late Helladic wares from the Greek lands, suggesting 'a veritable foreign colony on the site'.
Indeed, the closest analogy to the layout of the houses in Thapsos is to be found at the other end of the Mycenaean world, on Cyprus, at Enkomi near Famagusta. It is almost as if a blueprint for a trading colony had been created and then transformed into reality at both ends of the Mycenaean world.
Thapsos has yielded very many small perfume containers of Mycenaean origin. For it was a centre of industry, specializing in the production of perfumed oils for an 'international' market.
But Thapsos was not simply an offshoot of Mycenae. It produced plenty of coarse grey pottery in Sicilian styles, indicating that Thapsos contained a mixed population.
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Athenian historian Thucydides portrays Thapsos as a colony of the West Attic Greek city Megrara, founded by "the same people who founded Trotion and Megara Hyblaea". The necropolis of City of the Dead is of huge interest to scientists due to the amount and type of grave goods discovered.
Thapsos is especially famed for its necropolis, an area set out, usually on the west side of the town or river, in the direction of the setting sun, for the comforts of the dead. The dead enjoy music. Below is a Greek harpist from an early Mesopotamian artwork.
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The burial type in the Thapsos necropolis is in the form of large rock-cut chamber tombs and often tombs of a tholos or beehive shape. A necropolis differs from a cemetery, which is a final resting place for the dead.
In a necropolis, the tomb is the home of the dead but the layout may feature streets and gardens, with caretakers just as in a city of the living. Descendents can pay tribute to ancestors with food and libations, incense, praises or sacrifice.
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A donation to the upkeep fund is always recommended to keep the ancestors well attended. In some areas, for example Babylon, the dead are completely dependent on the living to keep them fulfilled. If they're upset, they can rise up and haunt their relatives.
In the ancient archaeological sites of Thapsos trade is popular. Many Mycenaean bronze vessels and weapons have been found. The people also trade with with settlers of the Italian mainland and nearby islands.
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The material culture includes dark surfaced ceramic, often decorated with incised motifs or with cords that form garlands (festoons). Large bowls with horn-shaped feet, bowls, jugs and cups with handles are also popular. Ornamental copper vessels and gold jewelry are among the trade goods.
During the height of its influence Thapsos is an industrious center for perfumes or fragrant oils, created locally. Italian glass bottles have been found as well.
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