Metalla was a

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 lett ...

mining center located in the

Iglesiente The Iglesiente is a traditional and geographical subdivision of Sardinia, Italy. It encompasses the northern province of Carbonia-Iglesias and the south-western one of the province of Medio Campidano, and its main center is Iglesias. Languages ...

region of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...

entrusted to a ''procurator metallorum'' where were destined

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and slaves condemned to forced labor. Mentioned in ancient sources, it hosted a thermal building with mosaic floors and a public clock. Here passed the last stretch of the road form Tibulas Sulcis up to

Sulci Sulci or Sulki (in Greek , Steph. B., Ptol.; , Strabo; , Paus.), was one of the most considerable cities of ancient Sardinia, situated in the southwest corner of the island, on a small island, now called Isola di Sant'Antioco, which is, howe ...

. In the sources would be recognized in ''Sardiparias'', the ''Sartiparias'' of the

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' ( la, Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. Tex ...

and the ''Sardopatoris Forum'' of

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of import ...

Bibliography

* Mattia Sanna Montanelli, Εἰς μέταλλον Σαρδονίας. Metalla ''ed il Sulcis Iglesiente prima della'' pax ''costantiniana

in XI Congresso Nazionale di Archeologia Cristiana - Isole e terraferma nel primo cristianesimo (Cagliari, Sant'Antioco 23-27 settembre 2014), Cagliari 2015. * Attilio Mastino,
Storia della Sardegna antica
', Nuoro 2005. * Gabriele Vargiu, Mario Cabriolu, ''Cercando Metalla. La geografia antica del Sulcis'', Carbonia 2005. Former populated places in Sardinia Archaeological sites in Sardinia {{AncientRome-stub