Santa Vittoria (Serri)
The well sanctuary ( Italian Pozzo sacro ) of Santa Vittoria near Serri in Sardinia impresses with its approximately three hectare large refuge and its exposed location on the steep edge of the basalt plateau ( Giara di Serri ), at a height of 662 m slm , above the town of Gergei in the province of Sud Sardegna . The complex is protected as a Santuario Federale Nuragico di Santa Vittoria as a cultural monument.
buildings
The complex consists of the modern Santa Vittoria Church (No. 1) and 53 prehistoric structural elements (walls, squares, paved paths, etc.) and buildings, which are divided into two large ensembles and several small and medium-sized areas. A complex of eight rooms around a square (nos. 43–52) occupies a special position among the latter. An Abitanzioni (residential area) called area (No. 37-42) comprises a double system and several nested units, while six round huts (hut A and No. 32-36 with adjoining room and 53) are relatively isolated from the rest of the buildings. The “Recinto della Feste” (No. 17–31), an elliptical wall ring and the complex on the spur (No. 2–11 and No. 13–16) plus the long wall (No. 12) on the are more compact Tear-off edge. # 33 is a badly ruined structure that is located near round hut # 32.
The excavator Antonio Taramelli suspects that the plateau was considered a demilitarized zone due to a consensus and formed a kind of Nuragic Olympia , where people came on the occasion of religious festivals, possibly also in competitions. Fragments of larger-than-life stone figures found elsewhere show archers and pugilists. On the plateau (Giara di Serri), apart from the Protonuraghe , which is partly located under the Christian church of Santa Vittoria and partly overbuilt by a younger Tholosnuraghe, there are no other respectable Nuragher sites or their predecessor cultures. The next significant nuraghe is Is Paras, 8 km away . A similarly large and complete fountain system is only the fountain sanctuary of Santa Cristina .
The temple precinct
The area lies on the spur and is separated from the plateau by a wall (No. 14). Next to a round hut integrated into it (No. 16, Capanna del custode ), which is interpreted as a porter's lodge, is the official passage (No. 15), next to which at least two Baityloi stood.
Well sanctuary
The well temple (No. 13) lies in its own elliptical temenos of 19 × 13 meters. It is differentiated into the short front area with the entrance, the anteroom with the side benches, the 13-step staircase and the fountain. Apart from the area in front of the building, the other elements are surrounded by a keyhole-like area that is 50–60 cm higher. In the anteroom between the bank altars (for the votive offerings) the offerings apparently also took place, because a collecting basin and a drainage channel in the floor prevented the source from being contaminated. The approx. Three meter deep well shaft measures 2.1 m in diameter. It is made of hewn basalt blocks in regular layers (opus isodomum). A dome once covered the fountain, the reduction of which is still visible. The tower structure was two-colored. Dark and light cuboids were found, as well as friezes and a limestone bull's head. In addition, on the square in front of the well temple, remains of bones and numerous bronze fragments (swords, hairpins, rings, bracelets, hands and feet of statuettes) were found in an ash layer. Due to the ceramic finds, the fountain can be dated to before the Geometric period (i.e. around the 10th to 9th centuries BC). That it is older than other buildings can also be seen from the use of its materials and those of other buildings on the rectangular temple (No. 7).
Building on the spur
From the large triangular square in front of the fountain, a passage leads into the inner area, again bounded by a wall. It consists of a square with a paved edge area (No. 10 and 11) and several remains of buildings. They are those of a round hut with a surrounding bench (No. 6), the rectangular Tempio Ipetrale (No. 7) and the Capanna del Capo (No. 8, 'Chef's Hut'). The other structural relics (No. 2–5) in the area of the modern church (No. 1) belong to the above. Tholosnuraghen. The most bizarre building is the Capanna del Capo. It has a paved forecourt and the structural attributes of the inner area of a fountain temple, but in the place of the fountain a circular room with five niches in the masonry. They are distributed very irregularly and are also at different heights. Four are relatively small and cubic; one is larger and T-shaped. The most important building was apparently the rectangular temple, which was also dated to a more recent date and which is therefore more rich in findings. There were fragments of nuragic models, miniature vases, spearheads, bronze daggers, amber pendants, sea shells and limestone blocks in whose openings votive bronzes were attached with lead, a stone altar with a drainage channel and large amounts of ash with the bones of cattle , sheep and pigs . Here one also found the bronzettes that made the square famous (the 'chief' and the 'mother with child'). The sacred significance of the area is beyond doubt.
Fairground (Recinto della Feste)
Some of the rituals took place in the approximately 50 × 75 m wide elliptical wall ring (No. 17), which was created as a planned concept far more than the later systems on the spur. Domus de sos pelegrino ('pilgrims' houses') designed as a rotunda can still be found today in the Kumbessias and Murestenes near those Sardinian country churches that are the destination of pilgrimages. They are modest huts that were built as sleeping accommodation to enable pilgrims to attend the church consecration, which often lasts a week, once a year ( San Pietro di Golgo , near Baunei, San Mauro, near Sorgono , Santa Maria di Sibiola , near Serdiana ). In many cases the old pilgrimage churches stand on the site of old nuragic shrines ( Santa Cristina , Ipogeo di San Salvatore , near Cabras ).
Smaller belongings ( brooches , hairpins, necklaces) show that one stayed here, perhaps to take part in cult competitions in the arena. Axes , grindstones , pestles, mortars , dishes, ashes, charcoal and leftovers (bones of beef, sheep, pork and deer) indicate sacrifices and meals.
The south entrance (no. 26) into the Recinto della Feste leads to the square itself (no. 17) and on both sides into four partitioned arcades (no. 25 and 27-29), the majority of which had a roof supported on pillars, their base available. This part that is open to the square, which makes up about 45% of the edge area in the roundabout, can be seen as the profane side. On the right is the Cucina (No. 24, 'Kitchen') a rectangular room with rounded corners and fire pits separated by plates. The cucina is followed by a section that is regarded as a stable (unnumbered) and ends at the east entrance (no. 23). Beyond the secondary entrance, side rooms (No. 21) such as the Casa del focolare (No. 22, 'House of the Hearth') continue the arch. Round huts with benches and wall niches connect with the Recinta con sedile (No. 20, 'Hut with the seat') and the Recinta dell'Ascia (No. 19, 'Enclosure of the ax'). This is followed by nine compartments (No. 31), some of them with rear benches. The inner ring is closed by the Fonderia (or Recinto del Fonditori , No. 18, 'the foundry'), a large round hut with a wall niche and a basin (holy water?) To the left of the entrance. Several of the rotundas have similar basins. However, this rotunda is the only one with a walled area (only accessible from the outside) and an apse attached to the fonderia.
Round huts
Hut A (the only one not anchored in the number range) is near the Recinto della Feste and has altars , stoves and couches.
The dignified round house (No. 32) with astylos as well as niches and an alcove inside is interpreted as the keeper's apartment.
The Sala della Assembles (No. 35, 'Hall of the Assembly'), the largest rotunda in the complex, was used for ritual purposes. The room is 11 m in diameter and has a 1.5 m thick wall. The bench along the inner wall is covered by overhanging stone slabs, the obligation of which is unclear. Next to the 44 bench tops there is a trachyte basin to the left of the entrance , in front of which there is a conical baitylos . Around it one found traces of ritual acts in the form of ashes, charcoal and bones of beef, goat and wild boar. Since bronzettes of these animal species were discovered at the same time, it seems obvious to interpret them as votive offerings. A candlestick of Phoenician-Cypriot origin (8th to 7th centuries BC) also comes from the room. A stone about one meter high was also found in the rotunda, which was initially described as a double baityloi. Today it is believed that it is the rest of a nuraghi model.
See also
literature
- Antonio Taramelli : Scavi nella citta preromana di Santa Vittoria. In: Excavation Notes, 1909, pp. 412-423.
- A. Taramelli: Ricerche nell acropoli di Santa Vittoria e nel recinto sacro. In: Ausgrabungsnotizen , 1911 pp. 291–312.
- A. Taramelli: Tempio nuragico ei monumenti primitivi di Santa Vittoria di Serri. In: Mon. Ant. Lincei 23, 1914, coll. 313-440.
- A. Taramelli: Nuovi scavi nel santuario nuragicu presso la chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria sull´ altiplano della Giara. In: Excavation Notes , 1922 pp. 296-334.
- A. Taramelli: Nuove ricerchi nel santuario nuragico di Santa Vittoria di Serri. In: Mon. Ant. Lincei 34, 1931 coll. 5-122.
- MG Puddu: Recenti sondaggi di scavo a Santa Vittoria di Serri. In: La Sardegna nel Mediterraneo fra il Bronzo Medio e il Bronzo Recente. Atti del III Convegno di Studi, Selargius, Cagliari 1987/1992, pp. 145-156.
Web links
- Santuario Nuragico Santa Vittoria , ilportalesardo.it (Italian description + pictures)
- Santa Vittoria (photos and description, German)
Coordinates: 39 ° 42 ′ 42 ″ N , 9 ° 6 ′ 10 ″ E