Re-use of Nuragic Sacred Wells (Pozzi Sacri) in Punic Sardinia

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to discuss the phenomenon of the re-use of Nuragic sacred wells (pozzi sacri) during the Punic period (c. 500–238 BC) in Sardinia. Although the Nuragic settlement system and power structures ceased to exist by the Late Iron Age, the sanctuaries – built primarily in the Final Bronze Age (c. 1200/1150–900 BC) and the Early Iron Age (c. 900–750 BC) – were still used for ritual purposes, as demonstrated by finds from the sacred wells of Orri (Arborea), San Salvatore (Gonnosno) and Cuccuru Is Arrius (Cabras). This phenomenon is analyzed in the context of cultural changes which took place in Sardinia during the period of Carthaginian domination, such as the emergence of hybridized culture with indigenous and Punic elements.