Unique in its kind, the area consists of part of the ancient Punic necropolis and includes numerous underground tombs dug into the tuff between the 6th and 3rd centuries BC. C., used as dwellings by very poor families from the second half of the 18th cent. Following the discovery of the remains of St. Antiochus under the basilica dedicated to him in 1615, the bishop attempted to end the long abandonment of the island due to constant raids by Barbary pirates. Thus, attracted by the land concessions promised by the church, there were many families who started a new life on the island, followed by many others who despite getting nothing in return for their courageous return adapted to this life of misery, poverty and marginalization. In the early decades certainly a temporary adaptation was attempted, which later became stable. In the area known until 1998 as S’arruga de is gruttas. Numerous families lived in the ward until the early 1970s. Always dedicated to collecting everything that nature offers spontaneously, they went to the countryside to gather mushrooms, thistles, wild artichokes, wood, and to the lagoon to collect morsels, arselle and whatever else, bartering these products in exchange for basic necessities. Is gruttaius, this was the appellation that distinguished them from the other inhabitants of Sant’Antioco, were responsible in the month of May for the collection of dwarf palm leaves, which, dried during the summer, were then skillfully woven. From this humble plant they could make brooms, bags, ropes, and horsehair for padding, and even today there are many elders involved in the production of these woven goods.
