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Historical period: end of bronze age-beginning of iron age (1500/900 BC)
The nuragic well is another important element of the Sardinian megalithic heritage. At the moment we can count 40 wells reachable thanks to a monumental staircase after which there is an atrium with the water. This is a tholos room with a hole through which it is possible to look outside. |
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The nuragic wells are similar to the nuraghi’s architectural structure but they have been built underground. The wells had many symbols. They represented the female sexual organs like if they were the entrance and the exit towards the afterworld.
The fact that the wells were full of water (the water reminds the amniotic fluid) let us think that the wells wanted to represent the womb of the mother earth.
The descent (or the climb) of the staircase represents the passage from the light to the darkness and viceversa. The water represents the birth. |
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These symbols explain the astronomical orientation of the holy wells. In the case of the sacred well of Santa Cristina in Paulilatino-Oristano, it has been assessed that thanks to the hole situated on the tholos vault, the moon is reflected on the well. This happens during a predefined period, that is to say at the utmost declination of the moon, every 18 years and 6 months. Thanks to the staircase, the sun’s light is reflected in the well during the autumn equinox (between the 22nd and the 23rd of September) and also during the spring equinox (between the 20th and the 21st of March). |
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The moon’s peculiarity has been noticed also in other wells; also the solar reflection is sometimes visible during the summer solstice (between the 20th and the 21st of June).
Not all the wells have the tholos structure. There are also megaron temples with a rectangular plant with different spaces and with the sloping roof . According to the archaeological experts it is possible to compare these temples to the dwellings of the ancient Troia and Micene.
Discover the Nuraghi island (click here) |
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