Ballao (Città Metropolitana di Cagliari)
Funtana Coberta
In a small valley of the Gerrei, Funtana Coberta is one of the sacred wells that most clearly preserves its original structure.
THE COVERED SPRING
The sacred well stands in the territory of Ballao, in the Gerrei, in south-eastern Sardinia.
Its construction dates to the transition between the Middle Bronze Age (1900-1350 BC) and the Recent Bronze Age (1350-1150 BC).
Besides the well, the site includes further spaces linked to worship, still visible today.
Funtana Coberta is among the Sardinian sacred wells that preserve a clearly legible original structure.
FUNTANA COBERTA
DATING
Middle-Recent Bronze Age (1900-1150 BC) Late Punic and Roman reuse
TYPE
Sacred well With cult spaces
DIMENSIONS
Twelve-step staircase
STATE OF PRESERVATION
To be defined
OTHER MONUMENTS AT THE SITE
Vestibule, staircase, tholos chamber, hearths and rooms
FINDS
Bronze hoard, oxhide ingots, Republican amphorae
ENVIRONMENT
Gerrei valley Ballao
VISITABLE
To be defined
SERVICES
To be defined
ACCESSIBILITY
To be defined
THE SITE
Near the well are hearths and a hoard of bronzes: traces of the cult practices performed at the site, where water, the spring and metal offerings were central to the rite.
THE TERRITORY
Ballao lies in the Gerrei, in south-eastern Sardinia, in a landscape of valleys and limestone reliefs.