Uta

The territory of Uta, a town in Sud Sardegna province, about 20 km from the city of Cagliari, has traces of human habitation dating back to the Final Neolithic (4000 – 3300 BC), as attested by the site su Niu de su Pilloni. The area is characterized by the remains of structures arranged in a circle, perhaps huts, protected by a powerful city wall; this type of architecture is attested almost exclusively in central and northern Sardinia. The material found here also includes menhirs, ceramic, lithic and obsidian fragments.

Numerous nuraghi date back to the Bronze Age, some in a good state of preservation, in the localities of su Planu de Monti Arrexi and s’Inziru. The most important evidence of the Nuragic era, in the territory of Uta, was the exceptional discovery made in the locality of Monte Arcosu, today a protected mountain oasis, where, in 1849, eight small votive bronzes were found, dating back to the Iron Age (930 – 730 BC) and currently exhibited in the Musei Nazionali di Cagliari. The group includes a slinger, two wrestlers depicted in a fighting position, an archer, a warrior with shield and sword, two orants, a votive sword with a stag skewered and a tribal chief. The latter, approximately 40 cm high, appears to be the largest Nuragic bronze found so far; he wears a double tunic, large cloak, cap-shaped headdress, a bandolier from which hangs, on his chest, a small dagger with a gamma hilt and a gnarled stick. On the cloak, at shoulder height, you can see two fringed edges, perhaps from a stole.

The story of the discovery of these bronzes is shrouded in mystery as no traces of buildings of reference, such as a sanctuary, have been found in the surrounding areas.

Featured image: Santa Maria church – ph.credits – Kristobalite via Flickr