The Island of Sardinia

This morning we make our way to one of the oldest and most interesting sites in our tour, the pyramid complex at Monte d’Accoddi, which was built over two millennia by people who predated the Nuragic culture. Discovered in the 1950s, the first structure, built in the 5^th millennium by the Ozieri culture, appears to either have been an altar or the platform for a pyramid, while the second, built in the Copper Age in the 3^rd millennium, resembles a Mesopotamian ziggurat. After lunch, we explore Palmavera, the first of our Nuragic sites built by a culture which thrived in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Here at Palmavera, we see several intertwined nuraghi, truncated towers with vaulted interiors.

We leave Alghero this morning and head east towards Oliena, stopping during the morning at Santu Antine, a complex of nuraghi built from the 19^th to 15^th centuries BC. Constructed from sizeable blocks of basalt, the central tower is three storeys high and uses sophisticated, dry mortar corbelling. We proceed off the beaten track to Romanzesu-Poddi Arvu, another Bronze Age Nuragic site which is notable for its hundred-odd huts and public structures and includes a mysterious labyrinthine edifice and temples. For our last site of the day, we explore the little- known National Archaeological Museum Giorgio Asprone in Nuoro, where we look at artefacts dating from the Paleolithic to Roman periods, including artefacts from the village of Sa Sedda ‘e Sos Carros, which we visit tomorrow.

Today we venture off the beaten track in 4x4s to visit breathtaking sites which shed insights into the extraordinary Sardinian Bronze Age. We start with the monumental Giants’ graves of S’Ena e Thomes, a funerary site comprising a dolmen and a funeral hall made of enormous slabs of such scale that it was believed to be superhuman by later Sardinians. Proceeding to Su Tempiesu, we examine a late Bronze Age/Iron Age shrine to a sacred spring constructed with impeccable ashlar masonry and whose structure has an extraordinary double sloped roof. For our final site, we venture to Middle Bronze settlement of Sa Sedda ‘e Sos Carros where we see well preserved stone huts and workshops, as well as a circular sanctuary. After an adventurous day, we return to our picturesque hotel.

This morning we travel west to the 4^th millennium necropolis at Sas Concas where we see a cluster of twenty Domus de janas, or "fairies’ houses" - tombs carved out of the rock to resemble their houses, affording us glimpses into everyday life in pre-Nuragic Sardinia. We proceed to the Bronze Age Nuragic complex of Tamuli, an important archaeological site which comprises a nuraghe, as well as a group of huts and a necropolis which has six mysterious betyls, sacred stones which were seen to be imbue with life. We end the day at another tantalizing religious site, the sacred well at Santa Cristina, which is very well preserved with staggeringly precise ashlar masonry walls leading to a subterranean chamber with a corbelled roof which contained water, seemingly used for religious rites.

Traversing the enchanting Sardinian landscape, we make our way south to Tharros, first inhabited in the late Bronze Age and later colonised by Phoenicians in the 8^th century when they had an important presence in Sardinia and Corsica, jostling for trade with Etruscans and later Phocaean Greeks. At Tharros, we explore the Tophet and consider whether Phoenicians these necropoleis only included children’s burials because children were seen differently, or whether children were sacrificed. This discussion will continue with our visit to the Civic Archaeological Museum "Giovanni Marongiu" of Cabras, where we see artefacts from Tharros. We end the day with a visit to the National Archaeological Museum at Cagliari to further explore the Phoenicians and their skilful goldsmithing; here we also see the Nora Stone, an 8^th century inscription which may be referring to a Phoenician victory against Sardinians.

Waking up in delightful Nora, we spend the morning exploring the archaeological site of Nora where we see well preserved remains of buildings we would typically see in a town from the Roman period, including a bath complex, a theatre and macellum. The site also preserves the remains of a Phoenician site, including a Tophet, demonstrating the city’s Semitic roots. In the afternoon, we have free time in Nora to unwind on the beach or relax in the hotel.         

Our final full day is dedicated to Phoenician sites near Nora, starting with the ancient necropolis at Monte Sirai, first inhabited in the 8^th century and enlarged in the 6^th century, where we see another Tophet. In the afternoon, we visit the Phoenician/Roman site of Sulky or Sulcis on the beautiful island of Sant’Antioco, founded in the 8^th century, where we explore the remains of housing and a republican Roman temple with an attractive opus signinum floor, as well as a series of rock-cut tombs, some of which are painted. We close the day with a visit to the Ferruccio Barreca Archaeological Museum which sheds light on this important site, including its delicate jewellery and pottery. On our last night, we will have a celebratory dinner at our lovely hotel.

Time permitting, we may have a final walk along the beach before we return home, setting off from Nora to the Sardinia’s capital, Cagliari, from where we take our flight to London.