The name Scerì, which sounds so special and melodic, is probably a word from Palaeo-Sardinian, an idiom spoken by the ancient Sardinians before the arrival of Latin some two thousand years ago. Unfortunately, we do not know the meaning of this term. The archaeological area covers just under one hectare and is surrounded by dense vegetation typical of the Mediterranean scrub, majestic natural granite rocks and, above all, some archaeological monuments that create an almost fairy-tale atmosphere.

The tour of the complex begins with a visit to two Domus de Janas. Both are small, carved from granite and arranged next to each other. They are tombs that date back over 6000 years to the Neolithic period. These tombs were built in natural cavities, known as tafoni, which characterise the rock formations of which the archaeological area of Scerì is rich.

In the Neolithic period, there were largely egalitarian societies on the island, in which the entire community was buried in a single necropolis, without differentiation according to age, gender or social class. We hypothesise that this was also the case in Scerì for the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages.

From the Neolithic layers come pieces of pottery characteristic of the San Michele culture of Ozieri, microlithic fragments of obsidian and the upper part of a bony idol representing the Mother Goddess, which turns out to be a head. The use of the site in the Neolithic period is also confirmed by the presence of boulders in the area, engraved with concentric circles, a feature common to many other sites in Sardinia.

Not far from the Domus de Janas, you can admire a large hut from the first phase of the Nuragic period, more precisely from the Middle Bronze Age (1600 BC). Its base consists of circular granite walls over 1 metre high. However, we have to imagine that this structure originally also had a conical wooden roof covered with branches and leaves was covered. Inside, next to the wall, there is a large concave stone.

It is a millstone that was used to grind the grain to produce flour for making bread. On the way to the highest point of the park, you will see numerous other stone huts, which in the distance bear witness to a large village that once surrounded the nuraghe. Over three thousand years ago, you would certainly have seen women and men working on looms, tanning hides, grinding grain and many children playing in front of their houses. When you reach the top of the hill, you will see a stone tower in front of you. This is the Nuraghe Scerì.

This magnificent structure, built almost four thousand years ago, is of a complex nature and consists of a main tower and three side towers connected by a more or less straight wall. One of its functions, judging by the wide view, was to control the surrounding area and defend its important resources, also by visual contact with other nuraghi in the area. When you enter the main chamber through a corridor, you can admire the construction technique of the walls, which taper upwards like overlapping rings and were originally built entirely with a single stone, creating a dome that we call tholos. Originally, there were two other, smaller chambers above this one.

Towards the end of the 5th millennium BC, the culture of “San Michele di Ozieri” emerged and developed in Sardinia. This period is characterised by the emergence of numerous hut villages or unique monuments such as the altar of Monte d’Accoddi in Sassari, but the most symbolic element is the construction of the “domus de janas“.

Today there are more than 3,500 of them scattered all over Sardinia, from the north to the south of the island, with a very high concentration in the south-west and north-west of the island. According to the legends, these are dwellings frequented by fantastic beings such as the Janas (witches or fairies), who weave golden fabrics in them. In reality, they are tombs dug into the rock in which the deceased lay in the foetal position, often accompanied by grave goods, which consisted of small statues of mother goddesses and objects that had characterised them during their lifetime.

The bare rock face was worked and excavated exclusively with stone points, as metals had not yet made an appearance. Inside, the tombs were often decorated with red and yellow ochre and other natural pigments. Spectacular examples of decorated tombs are those of Sa Pala Larga in Bonorva and Mandra Antine in Thiesi.

Sometimes they imitated the houses of the living. There are examples of this in many necropolises, such as the “head tomb” of Sant’Andrea Priu Bonorva (SS) or in Monti Crobu-Carbonia (SU). Other decorations were created using the technique of relief or engraving, the most common motifs are bovine protomes or spirals, symbols of fertility and rebirth.

Today, Sardinia presents itself not only as the oldest, but also as the most nurtured cradle of the entire Western Mediterranean burial system.

Despite the great age of the artefact, it testifies to the pre-existing skill of the artist, who depicts a female body that is both round and sinuous, with the head resembling that of a Prolagus, an ancient lagomorph that became extinct in the Nuragic period. The reason for this depiction, which refers to an ancient connection to the animal world, is probably to be found in the reproductive properties of Prolagus, whose fertility was symbolic.

Around 4700 BC, during the Neolithic culture of Bonu Ighinu, these female idols are numerous, especially in the burial area, as in the hypogean necropolis of Cuccuru de is Arrius in Cabras, where each deceased held a statuette in his right hand.

The most beautiful and complete one comes from tomb no. 387 and can be seen in all its splendour in the showcases of the Archaeological Museum of Cagliari.

It depicts a woman with a voluptuous body reminiscent of pregnancy and a head that is especially decorated with braids and perhaps a small headdress.

In this case, it can be said that each idol had the function of accompanying the body on the path to rebirth, which was ideally shared by the goddess in an eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth. Our journey takes us to the next culture, called “St Cyriac” and originated between 4200 and 4000 BC.

The female bone head from Ilbono also dates from this period. We are indeed witnesses to a stylistic development in the art of the cult of women, in which the bodies are slimmer and the head takes on a cylindrical form, as in the case of the Ilbono artefact.

The later culture of San Michele di Ozieri, which dates back to the period between ca. 4000 and 3300 BC, represents the final peak of this period kind of idolatry, with a considerable number of statuettes from contexts both funerary and civil. The most emblematic and richest example is undoubtedly the statue of “Sa Turriga“. The statue is made of marble and is 40 cm high. Its geometric and austere expression gives an incredible charm to our object, which now takes on a hard and pure stylisation in its forms. Arms and bust merge into a single body. The breast is the part of the whole that refers to the female world.

With the Copper Age, from 3,300 BC, the mother goddess disappeared in the rest of Europe from the religious and artistic world of the Aeneolithic communities, while in Sardinia it did not disappear but changed shape. These still geometric and stylised figures seem to return to a certain original naturalism, with the round head and the reappearance of the arms, which are again differentiated from the rest of the body. The long life of this cult perhaps ended with the beginning of the Bronze Age and the beginnings of Nuragic civilisation. Only in the Iron Age and the figurative bronzes depict women and their Representations in the form of priestesses and deities back in fashion come.