In the archaeological area, about 700 meters above sea level on the southern slope of Mount Linas, is a large area with at least three sacred wells, a unique case in Sardinia, which were first excavated by Antonio Taramelli early in 1916.
The buildings are all made of shale blocks of different sizes, arranged in irregular lari. The first two sacred wells are immediately visible. Well A consists of an atrium, a descending staircase and an underground chamber with a tholos roof. Well B also consists of a vestibule, a descending staircase and a tholos chamber; the vestibule and staircase are, however, completely buried, the chamber lacking its roof.
Well C is located three hundred meters ahead and, despite its precarious state of preservation, is similar to Orune’s famous Su Tempiesu. The vestibule of it is visible, paved with shale slabs, which has a trapezoidal plan. Its width increases from two meters sixty toward the outside, to two meters twenty near the stairway to the chamber. Along the right wall is a counter with a seat function. A descending staircase of fourteen steps can then be seen, with the stairwell covered with slabs arranged in a stepped fashion, leading into the tholos chamber, which has collapsed, however, cluttered with rubble, but five lari of stones are still preserved for a height of about one meter. Inside Well A a bronze statuette with an oriental face, known as Barbetta because of its distinctive hairstyle, was found carrying a bowl and a flatbread as an offering, and is now on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Cagliari.
Around the Sacred Wells the presence of the Matzanni Village has been established, consisting of at least twelve huts with circular pro lo, built mostly of freshly hewn shale blocks arranged in lari. The three sacred wells and the village are dated between the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The site has yielded an Etruscan-made cup, spearheads, remains of pottery, and a coin of Antoninus Pius, testifying to frequentation even in Roman times. Further still, below the summit of Mount Cuccurdoni Mannu, in an area a short distance from the Sacred Wells of Matzanni but in the municipal territory of Iglesias, is the Punic Temple of Genn ‘e Cantois, also called the Punic Temple of Matzanni. For a long time it was linked with Nuragic constructions, of which it was believed to be a part, but it was Giovanni Lilliu who definitively classified it as a Punic monument. The temple’s origin probably dates back to the third century B.C., shortly before the end of Carthaginian rule in Sardinia. The temple is made of calcarenite blocks, has a regular plan of 7 by 12 meters, and its crowning is similar to that of the temple of Antas, compared to which it is supposed to be slightly later. A singular feature of it is the fact, unusual for a Punic temple, that it is oriented on the sides rather than on the corners, and, according to some scholars, this is to be related to the fact that it is a construction of the late Punic period, and that the orientation was inspired by Greek models. What remains of the temple reveals great care in the workmanship of the materials, quite different from the crude technique adopted in the construction of nearby sacred wells. This is the case with the megaliths positioned around the central core, which are expertly squared and polished, and of very precise dimensions. The area has not yet been subjected to systematic excavations or targeted surveys.
Well C is located three hundred meters ahead and, despite its precarious state of preservation, is similar to Orune’s famous Su Tempiesu. The vestibule of it is visible, paved with shale slabs, which has a trapezoidal plan. Its width increases from two meters sixty toward the outside, to two meters twenty near the stairway to the chamber. Along the right wall is a counter with a seat function. A descending staircase of fourteen steps can then be seen, with the stairwell covered with slabs arranged in a stepped fashion, leading into the tholos chamber, which has collapsed, however, cluttered with rubble, but five lari of stones are still preserved for a height of about one meter. Inside Well A a bronze statuette with an oriental face, known as Barbetta because of its distinctive hairstyle, was found carrying a bowl and a flatbread as an offering, and is now on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Cagliari.
Around the Sacred Wells the presence of the Matzanni Village has been established, consisting of at least twelve huts with circular pro lo, built mostly of freshly hewn shale blocks arranged in lari. The three sacred wells and the village are dated between the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The site has yielded an Etruscan-made cup, spearheads, remains of pottery, and a coin of Antoninus Pius, testifying to frequentation even in Roman times. Further still, below the summit of Mount Cuccurdoni Mannu, in an area a short distance from the Sacred Wells of Matzanni but in the municipal territory of Iglesias, is the Punic Temple of Genn ‘e Cantois, also called the Punic Temple of Matzanni. For a long time it was linked with Nuragic constructions, of which it was believed to be a part, but it was Giovanni Lilliu who definitively classified it as a Punic monument. The temple’s origin probably dates back to the third century B.C., shortly before the end of Carthaginian rule in Sardinia. The temple is made of calcarenite blocks, has a regular plan of 7 by 12 meters, and its crowning is similar to that of the temple of Antas, compared to which it is supposed to be slightly later. A singular feature of it is the fact, unusual for a Punic temple, that it is oriented on the sides rather than on the corners, and, according to some scholars, this is to be related to the fact that it is a construction of the late Punic period, and that the orientation was inspired by Greek models. What remains of the temple reveals great care in the workmanship of the materials, quite different from the crude technique adopted in the construction of nearby sacred wells. This is the case with the megaliths positioned around the central core, which are expertly squared and polished, and of very precise dimensions. The area has not yet been subjected to systematic excavations or targeted surveys.
