Domusnovae, Sa Domu 'e S' Orku Complex

The archaeological area is located at the south-eastern slopes of the Monte Mannu limestone complex, in the Iglesiente, a region of south-western Sardinia.
The complex consists of an original tower included in a three-lobed bastion and a pentalobed antewall. Some wall remains suggest the presence of a village attached to the nuraghe.
The keep, with a circular plan (8.80 m in diameter), is preserved for a maximum remaining height of 4.50 m. The masonry consists of irregular horizontal rows of medium and large limestone blocks, which have just been drafted. The entrance to the tower, arched (1.60 x 0.47 x 0.90 m deep) and partially buried, is facing south.
The corridor behind the access to the room, with projecting walls and slab closure, is 2.00 m long and 1.00 m wide. In the right wall of the corridor, the door of the walking staircase opens, obstructed — at the bottom — by the collapsing material.
The trapezoidal entrance to the chamber is surmounted by an lintel with an exhaust window. The soaring chamber has an elliptical plan (m 3.80 x 2.40 in diameter) and a residual height — measured on the plane of collapse — of m 5. In the right wall of the room there are two niches, about one meter apart. The niche closest to the entrance, accessible through an arched entrance, has overhanging walls (maximum height 1.55 m). The keep is surrounded by a rampart measuring 17 m long (north-south axis) x 12.40 wide (east-west axis), well preserved on the east-northeast side, with a maximum remaining height of m 7.00. The masonry of the bastion consists of medium-sized stones that have just been drafted. The courtyard was accessed through an entrance that flanks tower D, opened in a straight section of the bastion. On the right wall, the entrance to the entrance that leads to the cell C (m 2.90 x 2.20 in diameter) with a maximum remaining height of m 4.50 opened up to it. Courtyard E measures 4.40 x 2.20 m.
Except on the east-northeast side, the bastion is surrounded by a pentalobed antewall and by two firearms, not communicating, with independent entrances. The wall technique of the antewall is different from that of the keep and the bastion: in fact, the limestone boulders are larger and the arrangement in rows is more regular. The towers of the wall are preserved for a maximum height of m 3.70, in three or four rows, the curtains vary from a residual height of m 3 in 3 rows to m 0.70 in a row. The interior of the compartments is cluttered with stone.
The nuraghe dates back to 1600-1000 BC.

Bibliography
E. Contu, “Nuragic Architecture”, in Ichnussa, Sardinia from its Origins to the Classical Age, Milan, Libri Scheiwiller - Italian Credit, 1981; G. Lilliu, The Nuraghi. Prehistoric Towers of Sardinia, preface by A. Moravetti. Nuoro, Ilisso, 2005.

How to get there
From Cagliari, take the SS 130 and turn at the junction for Domusnovae, marked by signs. In the center of the town there is a first sign for the nuraghe, following which you arrive at the outskirts of the town and, before the distributor, turn right following the signs for AIAS San Giovanni. The Nuragic complex is located 500 meters from the road.