Villaputzu, Port of Sarcapos

The site is located on the top of the relief called “Cuccuru Santa Maria”, near a wide bend in the Flumendosa and downhill towards the southern bank of the river, about 3 km from the mouth. The surrounding territory consists of a wide river plain limited N/W by reliefs.
The visible structures of the site, attributable to the Phoenician and Punic periods, consist of a quadrangular building measuring 6 x 5 m, probably a temple.
The walls are built with summarily square blocks and with medium and large shards. The construction system is in dry operation, but there are also a series of walls made of minute stones cemented with mud mortar.
The position of the town in relation to Flumendosa leads us to hypothesize, due to the Phoenician age, the presence of a river port that allowed ships to find safe refuge and that allowed the shipment of silver ore from the mines of the middle course of Flumendosa.
Starting from 540 BC, the period of the Carthaginian conquest of Sardinia, and up to the first half of the fourth century BC, there was an obvious downsizing of the site, perceptible by the scarcity of findings.

History of excavations
For some time, scholars have been trying to locate the 'statio' of Sarcapos mentioned in the 'Itinerarium Antonimi' (3rd century AD) about the eastern road of ancient Sardinia. In 1966, the survey carried out by the joint mission of the Superintendence of Antiquities of Cagliari and the University of Rome under the direction of Ferruccio Barreca indicated its safe location.

Bibliography
R. Zucca, “On the location of Sarcapos”, in Studi Ogliastrini, Cagliari, 1984;
R. Ledda, Archaeological Census in the Municipality of Villaputzu, Cagliari, Castello, 1989.

How to get
from Cagliari, take the SS 125 in the direction of Muravera, continue to Villaputzu, from where you reach the town of Ernigiana, located at the junction for Porto Corallo at km 70 of the same road.