Grotta di Su Mannau
| Grotta di Su Mannau
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| Location: | Sardinia , Italy | |
| Height : | 220 m slm | |
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Geographic location: |
39 ° 24 '27 " N , 8 ° 29' 36.5" E | |
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| Geology: | Sardinian limestone | |
| Discovery: | already in antiquity | |
| Lighting: | electric | |
| Overall length: | 8200 meters | |
| Length of the show cave area: |
500 meters | |
| Website: | official page | |
The Grotta di Su Mannau is an approximately 8,200 meter long stalactite cave in the southwest of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia , which has been partially developed for tourism . It is located about four kilometers south of Fluminimaggiore in the limestone of the Terras Nieddas , a mountain range that has its highest point in the Punta Conca s'Ommu at 613 meters above sea level. Because of its up to 30 meters high halls, it bears the name Grotta di Su Mannau (German: giant cave ).
geology
The Grotta di Su Mannau was created by mountain streams that have eroded over thousands of years through the overburden, which consists of limestone in the part of Sardinia . Mainly aragonite and calcite galleries were exposed. In this cave, stalactites reach lengths of up to eight meters and diameters of up to 50 cm.
Roman temple
A hall immediately at the entrance served as an underground temple in Roman times, in which a water cult was celebrated. Numerous clay votive lamps were found in the sediment, suggesting that the room was used as a place of worship. A path laid out by the Romans leads from the cave to the temple of Antas ( Tempio di Antas ) in the south, about two kilometers away .
Tourist and scientific development
The cave extends over an area of 8200 by 3750 meters, 500 meters of which are accessible for tourism via footbridges. The entrance is 220 meters above sea level and the difference between the highest and the lowest point is about 50 meters . The temperature is 16 ° C, the relative humidity is 98% and the water temperature is 15 ° C. A one and a half kilometer long part of the cave can be explored as part of scientific speleological tours.
fauna
Detected were in the water of the cave endemic living crustaceans ( Stenasellus Nuragicus ) also come into the cave millipedes ( Callippus Hamuliger ) and bats of the family horseshoe bats ( Rhinolophus before).
literature
- Gruppo Grotte Fluminese (Ed.): Leaflet Grotte di Su Mannau (German)
- Fluminimaggiore.org (ed.): Hiking map 1: 25,000, sheet 16, Sud-Ovest Sardegna