Oliena

Oliena is a town in Supramonte region, located at the foot of Mount Corrasi.

The environmental context has great interest and is particularly favorable to human settlement; moreover, it is known for the several karst caves in the splendid Lanaitto valley.

The archaeological evidence is rich and varied. Famous for the discovery of some human bone remains, considered the oldest on the island, is the Corbeddu Cave, for which human presence even dating back to the Upper Paleolithic is still debated.

In the Early and Middle Neolithic, the presence of man is known, but still limited, while starting from the Late Neolithic, numerous domus de janas have spread everywhere, mainly single or bicellular, with careful attention to the rendering of architectural details.

For the Copper Age (Monte Claro Culture) an interesting site is the village-sanctuary complex of Biriai, built on a hill near a circle of 12 menhirs.

In the valley below there is also the rock shelter of Frattale (Beaker Culture) characteristic for its numerous geometric engravings.

As regards the Nuragic age, we know the remains of 33 nuraghi and villages, such as Gurpia, Pedra Ispada, Gollei.

Not far from Sa Oche cave, emerges the Nuragic complex of Sa Sedda ‘e sos Carros: it consists of a series of huts with various rooms arranged around a central courtyard and intended for worship, processing and conservation of metals.

Numerous weapons and other Nuragic bronze objects come from the nearby cave of Su Benticheddu.