Cornus - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

CORNUS, an ancient town of Sardinia, of Phoenician origin, on the west coast, 18 m. from Tharros, and the same from Bosa. At the time of the Second Punic War it is spoken of as the principal city of the district, and its capture by the Romans was the last act in the suppression of the rebellion of 215 B.C., it having served as a place of refuge for the fugitives after the defeat of the combined forces of the rebels and the Carthaginians. The site of the ancient acropolis, covered with debris, may still be made out. Here were found three inscriptions in 1831, with dedications by the ordo, or town council, of Cornus to various patrons, from one of which it seems that it was a colony, though when it became so is unknown (Th. Mommsen, Corp. Inscr. Lat. x. 7915 sqq.). Unimportant remains of an aqueduct and (perhaps) of a church exist. Excavations in the necropolis of the Roman period are recorded by F. Nissardi, Notizie degli Scavi, 1887, p. 47. Phoenician rock-cut tombs may also be seen.