Villagrande Strisaili, Temple of Sa Carcaredda

A short distance from the town of Villanova Strisaili, the complex of Sa Carcaredda is 800 meters high, overlooking a landscape that, as if in a painting, houses the most important emblems of mountain Ogliastra: in the distance the unmistakable heel of Perda Liana and to the west, looming, the Gennargentu Massif. Immersed in an oak forest, there are the remaining structures of what must have been a very large village: six tombs of giants and a nuragic temple with a circular plan.
The temple is located in the town of 'Funtana 'e Binu'.
The temple is of particular interest from an architectural point of view, constituting a rare example of a nuragic structure “in antis” with a circular penetre.
It consists of a vestibule, a circular environment and a secondary compartment leaning against the N side of the vestibule.
The vestibule, with the two walls “in antis”, has an irregular trapezoidal plan and is trumped to the outside (length m 1.70; width m 1.10; height max. m 1.10).
It is built with polygonal granite blocks placed in irregular rows. The walls have stone counters made of several rectangular blocks (side d.) and with a single rectangular block (side s.).
On the back wall, there is an entrance (width m 0.85) with overhanging walls that leads into a rectangular environment (length m 3.80; width m 1.9; height max. m 1.70). The walls of this room have - at half height and up to the eighth row - different wall textures, the result of two different interventions over time. The floor is made of carefully processed granite slabs.
From the rectangular compartment we pass to the circular chamber (diameter 3.40 m; height 1.90 m) built with polygonal granite slabs placed in regular rows at the base, more irregular in the upper rows.
On the floor - paved with granite - there was a ritual hearth made of small blocks of limestone covered with a layer of clay; above were other blocks of limestone, linked together by lead graps and, on the outside, with decorations engraved in imitation of a quadrilobed nuraghe.
The roof, originally, was projecting and made of flat plates of various sizes.
The secondary compartment, leaning against the N side of the small temple, has a sub-rectangular plan (length m 8; width m 1.20) with rounded corners.
The walls are made of unprocessed granite blocks and placed in irregular rows. The roof, not preserved today, was supported by two pillars - of which 5 rows of blocks remain (length 1.90 m and 1.70 m; height 0.95 m) - and made of flat slabs. Inside this room, intended for the deposition of the temple's furnishings, numerous votive bronzes and tools for use have been found.

History of excavations
The monument was excavated in the early nineties of the twentieth century by the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Sassari and Nuoro, under the direction of Maria Ausilia Fadda. The monument has been restored.

Bibliography
M.A. Fadda, "Sa Carcaredda (Villagrande Strisaili) - NU", in Bollettino di Archeologia, 13-15, 1992, pp. 173-175;
M.A. Fadda, "Nuove acquisizioni dell'architettura cultuale della Sardegna nuragica", in Etruria e Sardegna centro-settentrionale tra l'età del Bronzo Finale e l'Arcaismo. Atti del XXI Convegno di studi Etruschi ed Italici (Pisa-Roma 2003), pp. 318, 323.

How to get There
From Tortolì, take the direction of Villagrande Strisaili, taking first the SS 198, then the SP 27 to the town of Villanova Strisaili. From there, take the old SS 389 towards Nuoro for about 6 km until you reach the plateau where the road emerges: on the right, a marked dirt road leads to the archaeological area about 150 meters away. From Nuoro, take the SS 389 var towards Lanusei until about 39 km where, from the junction for Talana, take the old SS 389 towards Villanova Strisaili for about 5 km. Immediately after the sign for the Bau Mela pools (a splendid environmental and natural setting), you reach the plateau where the road emerges: on the left, a marked dirt road leads to the archaeological area about 150 meters away.

Tag

Content type: Archaeological monument
Archaeology

Province: Nuoro

Common: Villagrande Strisaili

Macro Territorial Area: Central Sardinia

POSTAL CODE: 08049

Address: SS 389 var. Buddusò tra Pira Onni e Villanova Strisaili - località Riu ‘e Binu

Telephone: +39 378 3027077

E-mail: info@archeonova.it archeonova@legalmail.it

Website: www.archeonova.it

Information on tickets and access: It is possible to use the services of the site by referring to the company Archeonova S.r.l., with offices in Villagrande Strisaili in via Roma n. 1 - tel. +39 378 3027077. For always updated information on visiting hours and cost of services, it is advisable to visit the manager's dedicated web page.

Update

12/7/2024 - 11:23

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