Calangianus

Calangianus area, in Gallura inland, south of Mount Limbara, shows numerous traces of human habitation in ancient times.
The most significant remains date back to the Nuragic period, concentrated in the area of the granite relief of Monti di Deu, constituting a complex and very well-preserved archaeological site. The complex was of considerable importance, with its three nuraghes – Agnu, Monti di Deu and Bonvicinu –, the Nuragic spring of Li Paladini, the giants’ tomb of Pascaredda, and several settlements from the same period.

The spring of Li Paladini, though small, is remarkably preserved, with an irregularly shaped atrium into which a small channel conveys the water, which still flows from the spring vein captured in the small chamber, built with granite blocks and covered with lintels.

The giants’ tomb of Pascaredda is very impressive and exceptionally well-preserved. The arched stele, unfortunately not intact, stands at the center of the exedra, composed of nine upright monoliths on each side. The intact mound of earth and stone almost completely covers the tomb, leaving exposed the twelve covering slabs. The covering rests on a double wall that forms the 13-meter-long body. A distinctive feature of Pascaredda tomb is the presence of a sort of trapdoor, a space between the covering slabs, which would have served to place the bodies of the deceased inside.

The Roman era was characterized by several rural settlements and the oppidum of Calangiani, located along the road from Olbia to Tibula, now Castelsardo.
From the countryside of Calangianus comes a terracotta figurine of Sardinian Ceres, exhibited at the National Museums of Cagliari. Ceres, goddess of the harvest, was widely venerated throughout the Sardinian countryside, which had been dedicated to the cultivation of cereals since the Punic period and then under Roman dominion.

Picture: Tomba dei giganti di Pascaredda (ph. Silvestro Fiore by Flickr)