Among the twenty or so Nuragic settlements distributed throughout the territory of Samatzai, the best preserved and whose central tower dominates the surrounding countryside, is “su Nuraxi” located in the locality “Domus is abis”. The settlement consists of a complex nuraghe built of polyhedral blocks of local white limestone, articulated in a central tower circumscribed by four lateral towers, connected by rectilinear curtain walls, the whole circumscribed most likely by a turreted ante-mural. All around insist remains of huts from a probable village. Materials found in recent excavations can be traced back to the Recent and Final Bronze Age, while, for the historical period, pottery fragments traceable to amphorae attest to both Punic and Roman frequentation.
In the immediate vicinity of the nuraghe is a possible sacrificial area called “sa piscedd’e su casu“, consisting of a groove 10 cm. deep and 15-18 cm. wide provided with a gully inserted in the most sloping arch of the groove, which would have had the function of letting the blood of the sacrificed animal flow out of the groove.
