The territory of Ballao holds one of the most interesting monuments of the Nuragic Age, the Sacred Well of Funtana Coberta. First excavated in 1918 by Antonio Taramelli, it can be dated between 1200 BC and 850 BC. The complex occupies the central part of a valley floor closed to the east by a modest rise. The monument consists of a short vestibule and a narrow descending staircase covered with a stepped slab, which is followed by a circular semi-subterranean chamber covered with tholos for collecting spring water. Only the outline of the floor plan in the shape of a keyhole survives of the elevated building. The vestibule is partially paved and lacks a counter. The staircase to the circular chamber, consisting of 12 steps covered by as many sloping lintels, descends to a depth of 2.70 meters. The tholos chamber, irregularly circular in plan, is about 5 meters high. The wall face is made of limestone blocks in sub-square work with regular rows. The floor consists of a pavement made of carefully connected radially arranged limestone slabs. On the floor, in an eccentric position, opens the shaft lined with medium-sized stones arranged in rows. The bottom of the well, at a depth of 5.20 meters, is dug into the living rock from which the aquifer vein flows. At Casa Olla on Flumendosa Street in the historic center of Ballao, a fine photographic exhibition on the findings in the archaeological area entitled “A Nuragic sanctuary in Ballao: photographic exhibition on old and new discoveries in Funtana Coberta,” by the Municipal Administration and the Soprintendenza ai Beni Archeologici for the provinces of Cagliari and Oristano, can be visited.
