Nora is located on a promontory, the head of Pula, separated from the mainland by an isthmus that extends into two points: a O Sa Punta 'e Su Coloru (the tip of the snake), a E la Punta del Coltellazzo, in front of the homonymous island. The area is dominated by the Spanish Coltellazzo tower, in a position of great landscape value.
The testimonies of the archaic city have been partly covered or erased by the arrangement of the city that occurred in Roman times, while other damage has been caused by positive bradysism affecting the entire surrounding coast.
The antiquity of the foundation of Nora is supported by the well-known homonymous stele, dated to the 9th-8th century BC, where the name of Sardinia is mentioned for the first time: “Shrdn”. However, the oldest inhabited phase attested so far dates back to the 7th century BC and is documented by some levels highlighted in the excavations still in progress, below the Roman forum of Caesarian age.
The residential neighborhoods of the Phoenician settlement are divided into two main groups: the first adjacent to the S/E beach, whose antiquity is attested by fragments of Rhodian, Proto-Corinthian and Nuragic ceramics reused in the filling of a later age. The second group is that of the Tanit hill, improperly called “kasbah” for its chaotic structure, erected in Roman times, which extends down the road behind the theater, and which seems to represent the maximum radiation towards N of the original Phoenician-Punic center. The construction modules, such as the so-called “frame” walls, the “bagnarola” tanks and the porch system of the houses, show the survival in Roman times of construction techniques based on the Phoenician and Punic tradition.
Between the theater and the Tanit hill stands an anonymous temple whose structures at first glance seem to be from the Roman age, but which, upon careful analysis, show characteristics, related to orientation and layout, that lead back to the Punic Age. Another religious building referring to the archaic phase of the city is located on the Tanit hill, and had various phases of use based on some wall remains from the Nuragic age, even if the testimonies related to cultural use date back to the Punic age. The sanctuary has remained a base with stones tied with mud mortar and some great corner blocks that bring back to the Phoenician temple tradition.
Another place of Punic worship is located at the S/O end of the peninsula (Sa Punta 'e Su Coloru). It consists of a rock with small cavities probably intended to contain offerings to the deity. A sandstone lintel found in the area, decorated with a frieze of urei snakes rising above a winged solar disc, belonged to a temple shrine. At E of this complex there was the 'temple of Eshmun', whose cult in Roman times is traced back to that of Asclepius.
The Phoenician necropolis, used between the 7th and 5th centuries BC, was located in the center of the isthmus, not far from Tofet; while the two Punic necropolises were located along the coast of the same isthmus. The most common type of tomb in the early Punic age is the well type, while in the Hellenistic Age, lithic cysts are also documented. The use of the Punic necropolis dates back to the 5th and 3rd centuries BC.
The city tofet, implanted in the 4th century BC, was located on the beach behind which the church of Sant'Efisio was built later (reusing at least one of those that accompanied the burials).
Since its inception, the shape of the promontory on which Nora stands has favored the use of different temporary landings that can be used depending on the wind, even if the port was located in the N/O inlet: here, thanks to underwater surveys, the remains of the docks and piers have been identified.

History of excavations
The first interventions on the site, in 1889, concerned the tofet, while in the following years the Punic and Roman necropolises and small parts of the town were excavated. After other modest interventions, between 1952 and 1960, Gennaro Pesce highlighted a large part of the Roman town. Since 1990, the site has been affected by continuous systematic excavations by a group of universities.

Bibliography
G. Patroni, “Nora. Phoenician colony in Sardinia”, in Ancient Monuments of the Accademia dei Lincei, 14, 1904, coll. 39-268; P. Bartoloni-C. Tronchetti, The Necropolis of Nora, series “Collection of Phoenician Studies”, 12, Rome, 1981;
S. Moscati, Punic Italy, Milan, Rusconi, 1986;
Research on Nora-I (years 1990-1998), edited by C. Tronchetti, Cagliari, Sainas, 2000; C. Tronchetti, Nora. Sassari, C. Delfino, 2001 (Archaeological Sardinia. Guides and itineraries; 1).

How to get there
From Cagliari, follow the SS 195 to Teulada up to km 27, where you turn toward Pula. After crossing the town and taking Via Nora, you arrive at the archaeological area after 3 km.