Pyrgi

(Pirgi; present-day Santa Severa), an ancient Etruscan city and harbor of the state of Caere, 40 km northwest of Rome. Pyrgi reached its zenith in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. In 384 B.C. it was laid waste by Dionysius I of Syracuse. Still standing are the remains of cyclopean walls and the Temple of Eileithyia (fifth century B.C.). Excavations begun in 1957 by M. Pallottino uncovered various structures and a sacred road connecting the sanctuary in Pyrgi with the city of Caere. Three gold plaques with similar texts, all dedicated to the Phoenician goddess Astarte, were found. Two of the plaques were Etruscan and the other Phoenician; they were of great importance to the study of the Etruscan language and the history of Etruscan and Carthaginian ties.