Sant'Anna Arresi, Nuraghe Arresi

The nuraghe, now incorporated in the town of Sant'Anna Arresi, in lower Sulcis, is located in an alluvial plain, 5 km from the sea. From a slightly raised position, the plain and a system of ponds connected with shorelines equipped with easy landings dominate.
The building is of the “pitched” type, with an N-shaped main tower (external diameter about m 13; remaining height m 7) and a secondary S-shaped tower (external diameter m 4; remaining height m 2.5) welded to the first one through two recto-curvilinear wall arms that enclose an internal courtyard. Nothing remains of the original terraced top of the monument nor of the “tholos” roofs of the interior rooms.
The nuraghe is built in a cyclopean structure with blocks of Dolomite limestone characterized by a very irregular texture. It is accessed through the eastern wall, where there is a beautiful entrance surmounted by a gigantic granite lintel and a corridor on whose walls face two niches.
The corridor leads into the courtyard; here, on N and S, the entrances to the main tower and the secondary tower face respectively.
The entrance to the main tower, consisting of two thresholds and a long corridor, is raised above the level of the courtyard and the inner room. On the corridor, there is a blind room, probably a guard box, while on the street there is the entrance of a very steep and narrow intra-wall staircase that originally led to the upper terrace. In the walls of the inner chamber, there are three niches arranged in a cross and raised above the floor, which were supposed to serve as beds.
The secondary tower, also accessible through a corridor, has two irregular adjoining niches in the E wall of the room, one of which is raised.
The construction dates back to the 15th-14th century BC, the Middle Bronze Age.

History of excavations
The nuraghe was excavated in 1974 by Enrico Atzeni and Remo Forresu. Research revealed that the site had been visited since the recent Neolithic period. Two nuragic fountains were located at E and O of the monument.

Bibliography
M. Frau-R. Monticolo, Sulcis: archaeological guide: Calasetta, Carbonia, Carloforte, Giba, Masainas, Narcao, Nuxis, Perdaxius, Piscinas, Portoscuso, S. Giovanni Suergiu, S. Anna Arresi, Santadi, S. Antioco, Teulada, Tratalias, Villaperuccio, Florence, Art and Nature, 1990, pp. 34-36.