It is the most scenic archaeological site in Sardinia, with a formidable view that sweeps from the Gulf of Oristano in the northwest to the sea at Cagliari in the south, while to the northeast stand out, the Giara di Gesturi and the Gennargentu mountain range. Not surprisingly, the local name Genn’e Mari, or the Gateway to the Sea, is a clear indication of its strategic location. The nuraghe, built in the Middle Bronze Age (1750 – 1450 B.C.), consists of a central tower, originally six meters high, three side towers and is surrounded by a turreted ante-mural; there is a 5-meter-deep well in the inner courtyard. At the end of the Bronze Age (11th-10th centuries B.C.) the nuraghe was abandoned and a village of huts with a central courtyard was built on its ruins in the early Iron Age (10th-9th centuries B.C.). Between the 4th century B.C. and the 5th century A.D., the nuraghe was reused as a place of worship dedicated to a deity connected with the agrarian cycle, as evidenced by the discovery in the courtyard and central tower, of hundreds of oil lamps, incense burners, perfume burners, bronze mirrors and coins, and even precious objects, including a gold mask, now on display in the local archaeological museum, as well as hundreds of other artifacts from the Nuragic period.
