Pozzo Nuragico di Coni (Nuragus)

Pozzo Nuragico di Coni (Nuragus) is one of the most significant testimonies to the water cult in the Sarcidano. The well temple stands in the locality of Coni, near the slopes of the Valenza hill, in an area where Nuragic, Roman and medieval traces overlap without erasing one another. The structure is built with basalt blocks laid with great regularity; a stairway protected by a corridor leads to the circular hypogeal chamber, fed by the spring vein. The absence of the vestibule, normally present in many Sardinian sacred wells, makes the monument particularly interesting: it is not certain whether it is missing by original design or because of later spoliation. Of the tholos roof, rows of projecting ashlar blocks and the foundation ring remain, enough to reveal the technical quality of the building. A female bronze figurine in a praying posture, known as the praying matriarch, also comes from the site and is now kept at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari. A short distance away, the nuraghe Santu Millanu and the remains of the church of Santa Maria di Valenza confirm the long continuity of occupation of the place.