Protonuraghe and nuraghe (Taramelli number 2 - 4) Near the western edge of the site, close the church of Santa Vittoria, the remains of a nuragic tower are found. It was built with rows of basalt blocks and has an external diameter of about with slits splayed inwards and dates to the recent Bronze Age (1300-1220 BC). From the tower starts a corridor about long and high supported by two wings of jutting out basalt blocks that originally formed a covering. The corridor reaches the wall at the edge of the plateau. The megalithic structures between the corridor and the wall have been attributed to a
protonuraghe dated to the Middle Bronze Age (1500 - 1330 BC). with regular rows of well-squared blocks of basalt and limestone that give a two-tone effect. It impressed Taramelli for its construction without mortar. It has a residual height of about below ground level and about above it and consists of a circular well of about in diameter. The
sacred water collects in a basin with a rounded bottom at the base of the well through special holes in the wall that allow rainwater to filter through. The wall is very regular and is made of twenty rows of black basalt stones, very well worked in the visible part and wedge-shaped in the part in contact with the rock well. The staircase that descends to the basin is composed of 13 steps and has a slightly trapezoidal passage that narrows at at the base. The staircase ceiling is stepped. The shape of the ruins suggests that the well had, like other sacred wells, an elevated
tholos vault and that the two wings of the access hall, equipped with seats, could be covered with a double-pitched stone roof and a triangular tympanum similar to the
Su Tempiesu at
Orune, whose façade remains leaning against the rock. The vestibule of the temple is almost square in shape and is contained in the two lateral wings of the temple. The flooring is made of white limestone slabs coming from
Isili (about away) perfectly interconnected without the use of binder. Near the staircase there was a rectangular altar with a concavity equipped with a drain hole, which in turn gave onto a transverse channel which allowed the outflow of the liquids produced by the sacrifices without mixing them with the
sacred waters of the well. The temple is surrounded by a
temenos,
sacred enclosure, elliptical in shape, which had the function, as in other temples, to separate the temple from the rest of the site. The fence is built in megalithic work, that is with rough-hewn and not perfectly squared stones like those of the well.
Hypetral temple (Taramelli number 7) It is a building of rectangular shape oriented N-S with a structure of basalt blocks of squared isodome masonry and probable access from the south. The thickness of the walls is between . It was excavated in 1919-20. The work is very damaged because its stones were largely used for the construction and restoration of the nearby church of Santa Vittoria during the Middle Ages and subsequently. and many household utensils.
Founders' hut (Taramelli number 18) It is a single-room building of about of internal diameter with a basalt isodome structure. The excavation highlighted the presence of remains of stone slabs that presumably constituted the roof covering, originally supported by a wooden beam structure. A seat or bench runs all around the internal perimeter. Slag of copper and lead smelting and layers of ash were found here, which made Taramelli presume it was a foundry for the production of weapons and votive objects. Lilliu gives a different reading, assuming that it could have been a hut intended to host important people of the local clans. Outside the founders' hut, outside the enclosure, there is a less-well-built stone structure that could have been an enclosure for animals (sheepfold).
Market (Taramelli number 31) It consists of a series of nine cells with a rectangular plan closed by the external wall of the enclosure and by transverse walls. Each cell has a seat on three sides and is open towards the square. The market was equipped with a roof similar to that on the portico. Two of the cells contain slabs used as counters for displaying goods.
Three huts (Taramelli number 19, 20, 21) To the S-W of the market three huts are found, two with a circular plan and the third with a rectangular plan. Particular attention deserves the one towards the north, which is called the hut of the two-headed axe (Taramelli 19). It has an entrance to the south, towards the square, with a diameter of about and a perimeter wall of basalt about thick. The roof was made of limestone slabs supported by a radial wooden structure. Along the entire internal perimeter is a stone step that acts as a seat. The floor is paved with limestone and basalt elements. Inside there is an altar base above which a semi-spherical limestone cap was placed. At its feet it was found a double-headed bronze axe, in length. According to Taramelli this axe could constitute a sacred element to which animals were sacrificed, and indeed several bones were found on the spot (cattle, pigs, game and shellfish). A Punic coin from the mint of Sicily was also found in the hut, which attests its continuity of use to least until the 4th century BC, the date of minting. An older pavement, made of limestone, was found under the more recent one. Nuragic artefacts were found in the layer between the two floors, among which was a double headed axe model which would attest to the origin of the ritual of the ax from the Nuragic period around the 7th century BC.
Kitchen (Taramelli number 24) It consists of a large, almost square room with a side of about with a large entrance facing N and access to the central square. Like other huts in the enclosure, it is supposed to have had a limestone slab roof supported by a wooden structure. The wall opposite the door has a large niche preceded by three basalt blocks that would have formed the wings of the kitchen. The excavations have in fact found large remains of ashes and bones of domestic animals. Near the door there was a counter made up of two stone slabs that could have been used to cut portions of roasted meat.
Enclosure of tortures (Taramelli number 41) It is a group of buildings consisting of a large and almost circular edifice divided into three rooms, one of which is also circular and to which two other external rooms are attached. It probably had a roof made of straw on wood beams. The innermost circular compartment is the best built and has a basalt blocks masonry and an entrance with two basalt jambs. Taramelli called this complex enclosure of tortures, assuming that the judgements carried out by the court in the nearby curia were executed in here. The contemporary interpretation is that of an important house that over time underwent a development from the inside out.
Groups of housings (Taramelli numbers 43 to 52) They are located to the East of the enclosure of the feasts. The first group, further north, consists of a square around which various huts develop. Among them, the most significant is the one called the hut of the stele or hut of the double baetylus, composed of an almost circular space with a diameter of about at the entrance of which two limestone slabs are placed. The floor is partly covered with limestone slabs where the natural basaltic bottom does not surface directly. A base at the bottom of the hut supported a "double baetylus" (now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari) which gives the building its name. It consists of a limestone
cippus, about high, made up of two small columns joined by a raised band representing a model of nuraghe used as an altar. The second group contains two circular huts close together and connected by a wall.
Curia (Taramelli number 35) It is the building furthest from the sacred area and was among the first to be found by Taramelli in the first excavation campaign (1909-1910). It has a circular plan with an external diameter of and an internal diameter of about . It is built with rows of basalt blocks and has an S-E-facing access with a stone threshold. The pavement is made of cobblestones which were originally covered by a layer of beaten black clay. Along the entire internal perimeter runs a seat made of limestone blocks about high which could hold about 50 people. At a height of about ran a shelf made of white limestone slabs of which only a small number remains in place since most of them were used for the construction of tombs of the Roman era. The internal wall has five niches that would have contained ritual objects. At one of them the seat is interrupted to accommodate a stone basin, probably used to contain the ashes of the sacrifices. In front of it there was a baetylus about high in the shape of a truncated cone of limestone resting on a rectangular base. A
trachyte basin was also found on the side of the door. The excavations brought to light bronze animal statuettes that would have represented the sacrificed animals and fragments of model ships with a bull horn bow. Common objects were also found: a dagger, a file, pins, vases in bronze foil of Etruscan origin, coins from Sicilian (4th century BC) and Sardinian mints (around 240 BC) and a cylindrical Cypriot torch holder decorated with three flower corollas (now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari) dating back to the end of the 8th century - first half of the 7th century BC.
Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria At the westernmost point of the nuragic complex stands the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria (Saint Mary of the Victory) which gives its name to the entire site. The primordial church was erected most likely in the Byzantine period during the military occupation of Sardinia. The church was probably rebuilt by the Benedictine
Victor monks from the
Abbey of St Victor, Marseille between the 8th and 9th centuries A.D. The church had a Romanesque style with an original single nave plan, to which another nave was added, almost completely destroyed and rebuilt in recent years. It is still a local place of worship today. To the side of the church are the remains of an ancient cemetery. The festivities of Santa Vittoria occur on 11 September, a date linked to the renewal of agricultural and pastoral contracts in which a procession is held up to the church. ==Excavations==