Phoenician and Carthaginian
Ibossim
Today: Eivissa, Spain
- Years
- 650 BCE–146 BCE
- Role
- The islands of the god Bes
The island lay on the road of the winds and the currents, and about the middle of the 7th century BCE the Phoenicians raised their first lasting settlement on it, at Sa Caleta; about the same time they began to build up the bay of Ibiza, where today's town stands. Tradition dates the Carthaginian colonisation to 654 BCE, and for once archaeology and tradition nearly agree. Its name, ʾybšm, has been read as the islands of the god Bes. It struck its own coin from the end of the 4th century BCE.
What to see today
- Yacimiento fenicio de Sa Caleta (Sa Caleta): Archaeological site, c. 650 to 601 BCE
- Necrópolis del Puig des Molins (Necrópolis de Ibossim): Necropolis, c. 600 to 146 BCE
- Cova des Culleram: Temple, 5th century BCE