Was going to visit the Domus de Janas Tombs at Nughedu Santa Vittoria but got totally lost trying to find them as I was following the Google Map instructions. After nearly 2 hours bush bashing through the mountainous scrub I was about to admit defeat until I retraced my steps and found the tombs about 500m from where I started. These ancient cave tombs known as the "houses of fairies" were built about 3000BC. They got their nickname from later generations who imagined the mysterious square openings to be the homes of magical creatures. Today they are mostly used by the local shepherds as sheep pens.
It was then onto my next spot of interest - an elaborate hole in the ground that was built as a sacred site. The well is part of a shrine complex built in the 12th or 11th century BCE by the Nuragic civilisation, and is in fact one of the most important remaining Nuragic sites. In addition to the well there is a beautiful wooded park that includes a nuragic village and the rural novenary of S. Cristina, hence the name Sanctuary of santa Christina
The well is the most representative, best preserved, evocative, and most mysterious nuragic well in Sardinia. It is thought that it could also be an astronomical observatory as its orientation matches perfectly with the alignment between the Earth and the Sun: during the equinoxes the Sun perfectly illuminates the pool at the bottom of the well. No one really knows the answers to this mysterious place but it was definitely worth a visit. The Nuragic village was also pretty interesting and contains one of the few complete nuraghe tower structures.
It was then onto Oristano and my first impressions of this town is that it is the most beautiful of all the towns I have visited so far in Sardinia. The historic centre of town (where I am staying) is stunning. Looking forward to more exploration tomorrow.
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