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San Vero Milis, a little town in the province of Oristano, has evidence of human settlements since the Neolithic (fourth millennium BC), as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of at least four villages. There are also three domus de janas necropolis – the artificial tombs carved into the rock – in the area of Serra is Araus, in Putzu Idu and at Sa Rocca Tunda.
The Nuragic period is documented by the remains of about thirty nuraghe, the largest of which, the impressive S’Uraki, is located near the modern village. S’Uraki is a complex structure, originally built with ten towers connected by an ante mural (only seven of them are now visible). Around it there was a village of huts. It is from this area that the beautiful bronze torch-holder of the Cypriot type (eighth-seventh century BC) comes from: it is now on display in the Musei Nazionali di Cagliari.
Most of the ceramics are from the Punic and Roman times, which proofs that the nuraghe, supposedly built during the Middle Bronze Age, was used for a long time.
During the Phoenician-Punic and Roman Age, the territory of San Vero Milis was intended for cereal exploitation first under the rule of Carthage, then under that of Rome. In addition to cereals and other agricultural products, the territory has been exploited for other resources, like salt, which came from Sa Salina Manna, and fishing. The Korakodes Portus or Korakodes limen – a harbour port near Capo Mannu – was linked to these activities and the connected trades.
At the end of the Roman period, many settlements were abandoned because of the changes in the political and economic situation.
Featured photo: nuraghe S’Uraki
ph.credits: Aschy, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
