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Now let the city I'll be doing hello, my name is Claudia. I was born and raised in Sardinia and I still call it home. I am the mastermind behind the Strictly Sardinia Travel blog and now the Streetly Sardinia Podcast where each week I will bring you the best Sardinia has to offer and share my most useful tips that will help you plan a memorable trip to my wonderful island. In the last episode I talked to you about the best hikes in Sardinia. This week I will share with you the best archaeological sites on the island. Let me stress that you will find a more detailed version of today's episode on my blog sweetlysardina.com as always, let me remind you that you will find the link to my blog post in today's episode description, so don't forget to read that for more information. Now, today's topic Archaeological Sites in Sardinia There are oh so many. I know that you mostly come here to visit Sardinia's beaches, perhaps to hike, especially if you're coming in the fall or in the spring months. But Sardinia is rich and has a history that dates back millennia. First of all, Sardinia is the only place in the world where you will be able to see Nurage. These are ancient megalithic edifices built between 1900 and 730 BC. Perhaps the most popular, the most unique archaeological sites that you can visit in Sardinia. But they are not the only ones. The island is rich in sites that date back from the Roman period, the Roman era and even from the Phoenician in Punic era. Now let's continue to discover the most important sites that you shouldn't miss on a trip to Sardinia. As always, let me remind you this is a short list. There are many, many, many more that you could consider visiting. Let me start with Sunuragi of barumini. Of the 7,000 nurage that are left standing in Sardinia, Sunuraji, which literally means Nurage of Barumini, is the most beautiful one. The complex Sisdi is one of designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sardinia and it has been inscribed in 1997. Around the Nuraghe there's still a complex with huts, towers and ancient structures. All of the buildings are made from basalt, which is a volcanic zone. There are many nuraga in Barumini alone, but Sunuragi is the most complex site, the one that has more than one tower. And what you will see today is the result of more than 2000 years of stratifications that started in 1500 before Christ and until roughly the 7th century AC there. Here there is a central Yard that used to allow access to the various towers and the nuragic village surrounding the towers dates from the later Bronze Age and further enlarged between 1100 and the 9th century before Christ. The internal towers were surrounded by a further wall which caused the main gate to be moved above ground. The best way to visit this site is on guided tours. In fact, you cannot visit independently. If you want to visit, you just have to go to the entrance, get your tickets and they will automatically place you in a guided tour in your language of preference. Guided tours usually last about an hour and you're not allowed to explore by yourself anyhow. Because of the complexity of this site, you will want to have a guide. Another nuraga that you may want to visit is Santu Antine, which is in Torralva in northern Sardinia. Here there's a main tower that stands more than 54ft tall. It used to stand at a height of between 75 and 79ft, being the tallest tower of Anuragi in Sardinia. You're allowed to climb the stairway inside the tower to take the sweeping views from the countryside below. There is an Ragic village surrounding the tower that is also ancient. Santino is open every day. There is a small fee to visit that you pay at the ticket office which is on the other side of the road compared to the Nuraghe. Now let's move to sites that are not nurage. I personally love the ancient city of Taros in the Sinis peninsula. One of my favorite places to visit in Sardinia. It's perched on the west coast of the island in the Capo San Marco promontory and lies in the city of. In here you'll find the city of Taros, an open air museum that has still active excavations. Phoenicians founded the city in the 8th century before Christ. However, before them there was an enoragic settlement during the Bronze Age. The city of Taurus was then inhabited by the Punics and the Romans. Without stop, the Phoenicians left behind 2 Necropolis built a bit far one from the other, suggesting that two different villages existed in the area. There is also a tophet where over 5000 urns and 300 stone tablets have been found. This must have been a very important time, a very important site for the Punics. The Romans arrived here in 2038 before Christ, at the end of the third Punic War and left their mark by building a temple, the Tempio temple, Tre Tetrastilo and Roman bats that are always found in important Roman settlements. You can visit the site by yourself. It's fairly spread out, to be honest. I think having a guided tour here is better just to get a sense of everything that you're seeing now. Guided tours must be booked in advance. You need to reach out to the Offici via the official website and and request a guide in English. Make sure to do that well in advance and to give them plenty of time to answer and follow up in case they don't, because guides in English are not usually on the site. Another site that I recommend that also shows the certification of history typical of Sardinia is the ancient city of Nora. This is easy to visit on day trips from Cagliari because Nora is just outside Pula, a small town about 50 minutes drive from the capital. The site dates back to the 8th century and as I said, has a similar history to that of Taurus. It was first inhabited by Phoenicians, then by Punics, and finally by Romans. There is a Tafet Soa cemetery, a temple of Tanit, and an Ora stone, which is a stone tablet written in an Alphabet very similar to finishing Punic. That proves the regular contacts that the city had with the motherland. The tablet is now located in the Cagliari Museum of Archaeology. It's quite a find. It's the first ever relic that dispels the ancient name of Sardinia written on it. It was spelled S, H, R, D, N. There's also thermal baths, one of the main reasons Nora was so so famous and still is one of the most important historical sites on the island. You can see beautiful mosaics everywhere. Again, you can visit this site independently, but I still think it's best to go with a guided tour. You can book that via the official website. I personally love another site that is not nearly as visited as the other ones I have mentioned already. It's called Monte d' Accodi and it's located in northern Sardinia, just outside of Sasseri. It is thought to be the only Mesopotamian zikurat in Sardinia and in fact in the Mediterranean. But the most recent research shows that it wasn't actually a zikurat like the ones found in Mesopotamia, because it's not built on bricks, but based on stones found in the area, it's a temple that dates from between 4500 and 3200 before Christ. So it's incredibly old in Longudori's Sardinian, which is the variety of Cerdinia spoke here. The name Monte d' Accodi means mountain or hill of the stones, and it's a clear reference of what the site looked like when it was first discovered for the first time in 1952. Back then, the excavations were led by archaeologist Erco Leconto and it took over 15 years of excavation for it to be fully brought to light. The excavations were able to establish the various stages of construction of the site. The first phase was characterized by a village of ova huts, likely dated from the middle to the Neo Neolithic time, to a culture which here in Sardinia we know as the Oceri culture. It was at the time that a large temple known as the Red Temple was buil. The temple looks a bit like a pyramid with a long ramp of 82ft. It was an important gathering area where people celebrated rites of fertility. The steps that led to the top were likely built after a fire that partially destroyed the temple around 2800 before Christ. A further village with rectangular huts was built around temple later on by the Abe alsu culture around 2600 B.C. the most important one is the Sorcerer Hut, which is the only one that has several rooms. The site is open almost every day, I think every day but Mondays. And there is a small fee to visit. Once you get there, you'll pay the fee and you'll have to join a guided tour that lasts about 45 minutes. After that you're free to explore on your own. Another site that I wholeheartedly recommend visiting is the Montesu Domos de Janas. Located in Montesso in Santani Domus de Janas are the other sites in Sardinia that have been recognized by UNESCO as as heritage sites. Just last summer, so in 2025. And they are incredibly unique. These are necropolises, so prehistoric tombs excavated in the natural rock. They date back to a time between 3400 and 2700 before Christ. The one necropolis, the Domos de Janas of Montesu, is located in Santadi, a lovely small town in the south of Santa Sardinia. You will find 40 chambers and other prehistoric monuments that are quite well kept. The site is open Tuesday to Sunday. There is a small fee to visit. I again recommend visiting with a guide just to make sense of what you're seeing. It always brings a sight to life and gives you a bit more perspective. Sardinia is also packed with giant tombs. There are many scattered around the island that you can visit. My personal favorite is the one called Senetomes Sena Etomes. It's located in the central region of Nuoro. Between the territories, the small towns of Dorgali and Dolena. It's a very interesting site, surrounded by the mountains in the countryside. It's actually located on private farmers land. So don't be surprised if you go there and you see animals grazing. It goes back to a time where Sardinian believes in the existence of giants. But it's not a tomb of giants. It's just a funerary chamber where several people would be buried. And again, this is not the only one. There are more giants tombs in Sardinia that you can visit. One site that I visited recently and I truly loved is the Nuragic village of the Tiscali. Again, it's located between the territories of Dorgali and Orosei. It's inside a massive cave, though cave, it's a bit of a misleading word in Italian. We call it Dolina in Mount Tiskeli. This makes it one of the most unique archaeological sites in Sardinia. Inside the caves, the remnants and the remains of various circular huts and dwellings were found. And these date back to around the 15th and 18th century, before Christ. What archaeologists tell us is that this was not a permanent residence. This was not a permanent village. People would come and go to this area seasonally. Nowadays the site can only be reached via a hike. There are various trails in the area that lead you to the village. When I visited a couple weeks ago, I used the shortest trail that departs from the Valle di Lanaito just outside of Olena. It's not a long trail, it's not a difficult trail, but you have to keep in mind that at least the first half of the trail is entirely uphill. Once you get there, there is a small fee to visit. There are some panels that will explain you what you're seeing. There is someone at the door that can share. When I visited, we only had an explanation in Italian, but there are guided tours that you can book online that will provide a guide in English. Another site that it's easy to visit because it's in Cagliari is the Tuvigedu Necropolis. This is a Punic necropolis, one of the largest in the Mediterranean. The word Tuvigetu translates to to hill of little O's in the local Sardinian language. The name is quite appropriate because between the 6th and the 3rd century BC, the Punics had to dig deep inside this hill filled with limestone rock to create burial chambers. Visiting to Vijaydo is completely free. The site is always open. It's not far from the Sampache Historic district of Cagliari. You can just go there for a walk. There are some explanation panels around. Otherwise you can also join a guided tour with a local guide. Not Too far from there you will find the Roman amphitheater of Cagliari, one of the most important historical sites in Sardinia, Located right in the heart of the city. Now, amphitheaters and theaters in Roman times gave you an estimate of how big the city would be. They would usually hold around 10 to 20% of the city population, because for the Romans it was very important that their inhabitants had entertainment. The city of Cagliari at the time had an amphitheater that could hold up to 10,000 spectators. So it was fairly large. It was a fairly big place. Nowadays you can still visit the theater. It's located in the university area. So depending on when you're visiting, you will see lots of people going out and about in the area. They are students and professors at Cagliari University. It was in use for concerts and shows until a few years ago. Now it is protected and it's under restoration, so only some parts of it can be extended explored. But I still think you should visit. Another site that I really recommend visiting in case you are in Alghero is Nurage Palma Vera. So going back to Nurage sites in Sardinia, this is one of the best kept archaeological sites on the island. Research shows that the main building was built in different eras. Proof that Nuragic people went ascetic civilizations. That are about 50 huts in the complex where common people would live. The most impressive complex here is the council room where important members of the community would gather and discuss. Now when you visit, you can explore by yourself. There are explication panels that you can read. You can also get combined tickets that allow you to visit this site and Angelo Ruyo necropolis, which is a Domus de Janas necropolis which isn't far from it. Another Nuraga that you may want to visit if you are in the Costas Meralda region is La Prisgiona. It's part of an archaeological park that is fairly large where you'll also find giant tombs and a necropolis. It spread all over the town of Arzakena, so it's an interesting site to visit with lots to see. The Nuraghi is formed by a main tower and two side towers linked to a bastion that had defense purposes. Also had a well of 8 meters, about 26ft that allow the storage of underground waters, which is still active nowadays. It's surrounded by around 100 circular huts and connected to a giant tube that you can reach by an easy and pleasant trail. You can get a combined ticket to visit all the sites of Arsakena Archaeological Park. There Are in total seven. Finally, I want to mention a tour, a site that not many ever visit when they are in Sardinia. And in terms of archaeological sites, this is the temple of Antas in Flumini Maggiore. It's an ancient Punic Roman temple located in the south of Sardinia, not too far from Iglesias. And you can also visit on day trips from Cagliari. The main temple that you see today is a Roman temple, including columns, but right in front of it and people almost never notice it, there is an older Punic temple dedicated to the God Sid Adir, who was a later incarnation of the local God Sardus Pater Barbai, given the likeness of the name. This was the main God of Sardinia during the Nuragic era. The original Punic temple was built in 500 BC on a limestone outcropping. The Roman temple was built under Emperor Augustus starting in 27, before Christ, and it was still in use until the 5th century. Today you can see the temple. You can also see nearby Anuragic village from the 13th to 10th centuries BC and the remains of a small necropolis. What's special about this site is that it's completely immersed in nature, surrounded by a forest. You can visit. It's widespread out, so you can visit with. You can visit going on a hike, have a picnic. You don't need a guide. They will give you pamphlets when you enter that you can read whenever you are close to the site. I want to conclude with one unique site that you can visit in Sardinia. Porto Flavia. As you know, Sardinia has a long mining history and there are a lot of archaeological mines that you can visit. This one is special because you can actually see it from the sea. It's the remains of an active mining area. The site itself was specifically built by Cesare Vacelli and named after his daughter that was born in 1924. And it's located on a cliff overlooking the city sea. There are two tunnels of about 600 meters, 2,000ft that connect it to the near mines. And the aim was that of finding easy transportation from the mines nearby to the ships that would carry the material away from the island. Now, the mine itself was closed in 1960. The door of Porto Flavia can only see from the sea. So you will have to take a boat tour, usually departing from Mah beach. Or you can. Or you can rent kayaks or stand up paddle to see it. But if you want to visit the site, it has to be on a guided tour that you can book via the official website of the tourist board. Of Iglesias. Now this brings me to an end. Let me stress that there are way more archaeological sites that you can visit in Sardinia. Now, before I share the topic of the next episode, let me also remind you that if you ever need more tips to plan your trip to Sardinia, you can book a one hour travel consultation with me. The link for that is in the episode description again, so make sure to read that. Of course, there's my blog, Strictly Sardinia, that has even more tips to plan your trip and is completely free to read. Next week I will be talking to you about the famous Sardinia Blue Zone and the explain why Sardinians live longer than most people in the world. Finally, if you like my podcast, share with your friends who are coming to Sardinia and give it a five star review. Until next week. Goodbye.