UNSCRAMBLING CLUES

Feel the excitement of stepping back 3,000 years on a tour of two fascinating archaeological sites. Just a few kilometres inland from the north-eastern Emerald Coast, guests will gain a glimpse of the region’s early beginnings. A wine tasting experience and a tasty lunch will follow.

Many enigmas still surround the long-lost civilization that ruled over Sardinia between the 18th century BC and 238 BC, when the Romans conquered the island, causing the Nuragic population to fade out of existence and into oblivion. Sardinia’s inscrutable ancestors have scattered thousands of laboriously-assembled structures, megalithic tombs and sacred wells throughout the island, leaving us with the task of trying to make sense of these perplexing clues.

The most iconic and, at the same time, baffling monuments inherited by the ancient islanders are the nuraghi, circular stone towers, unique to Sardinia, whose origin and function remain largely unknown. Most scholars believe that nuraghi, often positioned on a hill, were originally designed as outlook posts and territorial markers between clans. Others claim that these towers might have served as dwellings, military strongholds, religious temples or ritual meeting halls. Indeed, on close inspection, nuraghi reveal the remarkable architectural prowess and advanced construction skills of those who erected them, presenting archaeologists with profound interpretative challenges.

Nuraghe La Prisgiona is among the approximately 7,000 nuraghi that pepper the Sardinian landscape. Your private chauffeur will pick you up at your accommodation and drive you to this excavation site, located in the enchanting setting of the Capichera Valley, near the modern town of Arzachena. Your guide will be waiting at the entrance, ready to lead you on a trail through the ruins of this prehistoric settlement and explain why so many questions remain unanswered, leaving Sardinia’s Nuragic civilization shrouded in mystery. Probably occupied from the 14th to the 9th centuries BC, the site consists of a nuraghe and a village of around ninety stone huts, linked by a network of paved streets. Although a large portion of the village still lies beneath the ground, the proportions and complexity of the findings unearthed here suffice as evidence that Nuraghe La Prisgiona must once have been inhabited by an organized, sprawling community, far ahead of its time.

Nearby, another archaeological monument offers further puzzles for you to ponder. Intriguing legends have sprung up around the Giants’ Tomb of Coddu Vecchiu, one of the island’s largest and best preserved megalithic graves, built between 1800 and 1600 BC. The discovery of human bones fuelled the popular tale that these were leftovers from some wicked creature’s lavish banquet, while other lore claimed that these graves served as the giants’ final resting place. According to another curious tradition, the slabs of this funerary monument were arranged to channel telluric currents and magnetic forces providing positive energy, spiritual rejuvenation and a smoother transition to the afterlife. Today the most likely theory claims that the Giants’ Tomb marks the designated ground for large public communal graves. Nonetheless, this explanation doesn’t make the site any less cryptic, as the burial rituals associated with its construction, the meaning of its design, the beliefs of the people who made it are just as sibylline as ever, their culture and customs lost in the mists of time.

After the tour a short drive will bring you to a renowned estate, providing stunning views of the surrounding landscape and priding itself on the production of some of the region’s most highly esteemed wines. The property comprises fifty hectares cultivated with native grape varieties of Vermentino, Cannonau and Carignano as well as the ubiquitous Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Top-rate white, red, rosé and sparkling wines have received countless accolades and may well help to trigger your powers of deduction as you continue to search for the key to Sardinia’s enigmas. On a tour of the estate and tasting, led by a member of staff, guests will hear about the history of the winery, unravel the secrets behind the wine-making and ageing processes and discover the distinctive flavour of the wines produced in this delightful corner of Gallura.

A delicious lunch made with local, prime quality ingredients will be served at a country farmhouse, specialising in authentic Sardinian dishes.

After a stimulating, thought provoking day among Sardinia’s treasures your private chauffeur will drive you back to your accommodation in the afternoon.