A nuragic fountain sanctuary, after 3000 years not a pile of stones, but beautifully preserved / reconstructed, the water in it mirrors mystically, runs and ripples and everything is located in a beautiful garden.

Translated by Google •

Jenny

November 14, 2023

One of the most important and complete testimonies that the Nuragic culture has left us. Su Tempiesu is a fountain temple dedicated to the worship of water deities and was built using the Opus Isodomum technique with perfectly crafted trachyte and basalt blocks. The origin dates back to the Late Bronze Age (13th century BC) and was frequented until the beginning of the Iron Age (4th century BC). Discovered in 1953, the site is located on a rock face where spring water flows and supplies the holy well with water.

Su Tempiesu is the only remaining original evidence of a covered, hilltop sacred well structure. The temple is about seven meters high and consists of a vestibule, a staircase and a chamber that protects the source of the spring water. The vestibule is square with a slightly sloping floor and projecting walls and is made of panels that form a narrow pointed arch. There are two counter seats at the base of the side walls, while the small offering cabinets are positioned in the brickwork. The back wall leads to an outward-facing, curved staircase. Four steps lead to a small room with a tholos (false dome) and paved floor and a decantation pit in the middle. The roof is exceptional: it is a double-pitched roof with double-shaped eaves. It culminates in a triangular tympanum. On top of it rested an acroterion (ashlar stone in the shape of a truncated pyramid), which carried twenty bronze swords decorated with votive motifs and with holes carved into them. In addition, numerous ex-voto bronzes were found: daggers, hatpins, pendants, bracelets, rings, necklace beads, pins and, above all, small statues of offerings, warriors, characters with capes and commander's staff. Other offerings were stored in chambers created from depressions in the rock.

During flood periods, the overflowing water flows through a small canal dug into the floor of the vestibule and is channeled into a second small fountain, a smaller replica of the first. The small fountain is built at the foot of an outer curved enclosure and has a small channel with a finely crafted stalactite. There is a small arch above it, while at the bottom there is a small pit for decanting.

Source: sardegnaturismo.it/en/explore/su-tempiesu

Translated by Google •

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Elevation 330 m

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Location: Orune, Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy

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