Genoni, punic fortifications of Santu Antine

Genoni, Fortificazioni puniche di Monte Santu Antine

The fortification is located on Monte Sant'Antine, part of the Gesturi jara isolated from it by erosion. It is in a strategic position and dominates the transition area from the fertile lands of Arborea and Marmilla to the mountainous interior.
The Punic settlement was built in the area of a previous Nuragic settlement, since the structures that emerged from the excavations testify to the reuse of various structural elements of the indigenous settlement. In fact, a megalithic enclosure and a nuraghe adapted and inserted into a wall layout that appears to be further surrounded by a fortified line are currently visible.
This follows the edge of the mountain and shows in its layout four large quadrilateral external towers, very close together.
Among the towers stands the E tower, whose base was used in the Middle Ages to build a small church there. The base is built in basalt, with a construction technique very similar to that of the Punic fortifications of Sulky, Monte Sirai and Olbia. This structure is the most striking and impressive aspect of the Punic fortification, dating back to the 4th century BC.
Another important element is a well of probable Nuragic age and probably sacred use, located 70 m W of the quadrangular tower. The well is built with well-shaped ashlars in limestone and vulcanite, has a remarkable depth of about 30 m and has returned a large amount of materials from the Nuragic, Punic and Roman ages.

History of excavations
The site was affected by topographic exploration between 1968 and 1970. In 1982, an excavation work was carried out by Francesco Guido.

Bibliography
G. Lilliu "Relazione generale", in Atti del XIII congresso di Storia dell'Architettura (Sardegna) (Cagliari, 6-12 aprile 1963), Roma, 1966, pp. 26-89;
F. Barreca, "Genoni (Nuoro). Loc. Sant'Antini", in I Sardi. La Sardegna dal paleolitico all"età romana, a cura di E. Anati, Milano, Jaca Book, 1984, p. 201;
F. Guido, "Genoni località di Sant'Antine. Fortificazione punica: il pozzo", in Bollettino d'Archeologia, 13-15, 1992, p. 208;
F. Guido, "Figure in bronzo dal pozzo di Santu Antine", in Phoinikes B Shrdn. I Fenici in Sardegna: nuove acquisizioni, catalogo della mostra (Oristano, Antiquarium arborense, luglio-dicembre 1997), a cura di P. Bernardini-R. D'Oriano-P.G. Spanu, Cagliari, La Memoria Storica, 1997, pp. 63-64.

How to get
From Cagliari, follow the SS 131 to 40 km, then take the SS 197 to Nuragus and then turn south following the road to the town of Genoni for about 3 km. From this location you can reach a large water tank in the north of the town, visible even from a distance. From this point you arrive, on foot, in a few minutes, to the esplanade of Monte Sant'Antine, in the town of Santu Perdu, where the archaeological zone is located.