Irgoli, Sacred Source of Su Notante

The archaeological area is located on the S side of Mount Senes, close to the bed of the Remulis river, in Baronia, a region on the E coast of Sardinia.
The fountain preserves the natural spring collection well, still fed, open to S, and the W part of the monumental façade (h m 1.00-1.40 on 4-6 residual rows; width m 1.00-1.15), both in basalt isodome work.
A part of the fencing-terracing wall (length m 6; h m 1.10; thickness m 0.95-1.00), oriented N-S and made of freshly drafted granite blocks, also advances. The wall is built on the outcrop of granite rock.
The collection well has a trapezoidal light (h m 1.45; width m 0.27-0.70), with a flat cover and a subrectangular basin (length m 1.15; width m 0.67-0.70) circumscribed at the base and on the outside by two blocks crudely shaped in a curvilinear profile. A single basalt slab, on which the walls of the well are set, fractured at the N-O angle, forms the bottom of the collection tank.
With the E side of the façade, a large part of the top of the structure has also been lost, to which 32 “tailed” and “T-shaped” basalt ashlars, found at the monument, can be referred to.
Along the W side of the Remulis River, 100 m O-N-W of the Nuragic fountain, two monumental structures (A and B) have been identified. They rise about 12 meters apart and are built with irregular rows of medium-large granite ashlars that have just been drafted.
Structure A, invaded by the collapse, is circular (east diam. m 8.50; wall thickness m 1.45; h m 1.05) and shows the entrance to S-S-E. In the N-E part of the wall there is an architraved niche.
The excavation of the area in front of the entrance has returned various materials, including a fragment decorated “with a comb”, a ribbon loop and a fragment of a bronze votive sword.
Structure B, hidden by the interior and the collapses, is rectangular (9.30x5.40 m wide; wall thickness 1.10-1.30 m) and is oriented N-O/S-E.
The E side has a triple row of steps preserved in part (residual length m 5.85). The steps consist of large ribbon-shaped ashlars with a support surface equal to m 0.30.
The ceramic materials highlighted are fragmentary, coarse-grained and purified with different surface treatments, either rough or well smoothed.

History of excavations
The fountain was damaged in the 1920s and 1930s by works to collect water and, more recently, by clandestine interventions. The excavations, carried out in 1994, involved the source and the two nearby structures. The area was affected by two excavation campaigns (2001, 2003) conducted by Maria Ausilia Fadda.

Bibliography
S. Massetti, “Sources and Structures of the Nuragic Age”, in Bulletin of Archaeology, 1997, nos. 43-45, pp. 192-195.
M.A. Fadda, “Irgoli: the whole prehistory of Sardinia”, in Living Archaeology, XXI, n. 91, January-February 2002, pp. 56-61.
S. Massetti, A. Sanciu, “The archaeological area of Janna 'e Pruna and the Municipal Antiquarium of Irgoli”, Archaeological Sardinia, Guides and Itineraries n. 51, Carlo Delfino Editore, Sassari 2013.

How to get
From the SS 131 dir at the height of Nuoro in the direction of Siniscola-Olbia, continue to the junction with the SP 25 that leads to Loculi and Irgoli. Leave the town of the latter town and take the road in the direction of Capo Comino, SS 129. Shortly after leaving the town, you cross the ring road, turn south and follow the signs for the archaeological area of Janna 'e Pruna. Continue on that road for about 12 km, going up the side of Mount Senes until you find the archaeological area located a dozen meters north of the road. After passing the archaeological area, follow the road to the sacred fountain.