Our Trail del Marganai staff wants you to experience time traveling without the need for a special machine, but simply “running”. Your feet will take you to discover the testimonies of human activities of the past and all this will happen with you runners surrounded by breathtaking natural landscapes! Enjoy and run!
The nuraghe Sa Domu e s’Orku is our starting point for all races of the Marganai Trail 2019. It is located on a small hill at the foot of Monte Mannu, a few minutes walk from the village of Domusnovas and it was built in several phases from 1600 BC up to 1000 B.C. It is the largest nuragic complex in the whole South-East, probably, in other times, it was one of the biggest in Sardinia. Nowadays, different parts collapsed and Mother Nature decided to “embrace” the ancient building, abandoned for about 3000 years, with its fragrant shrubs … hence the difficulty of accessing the interior rooms. The name of the building means “the house of the ogre” and it is said that the inhabitants of the area invented the name, in order to prevent the children from approaching.
The central tower, is part of a bastion with three towers, which is surrounded by a rampart that includes 5 more external towers, as well as two curtains with independent entrances. The main tower has a diameter of 8,80m at the ground and a staircase leads from inside to the upper floor. Its entrance, now partially buried, gives access to the courtyard, where metals were melted. Around the nuraghe there are numerous traces of huts that were part of a village.
Good to know: these constructions have the peculiarity of being built without the use of mortar (dry-laid walls) and the massive stones could weigh several tons. Today, after millennia, over 7000 towers are spread all over the surface of Sardinia, thanks to the technical ability of the nuragic people (see for example the use of an architrave and the small opening above the entrances, that allows to distribute the weight sideways).
For information and guided tours:
Consorzio Natura Viva Sardegna: 0039.3480553309; Email: consorzionaturaviva@gmail.com