The Mannu Nuraghe (big Nuraghe) is part of (is included in) an archaeological site that rises on a basaltic plateau 200 meters above sea level in a strategic point that dominates the entire Gulf of Orosei.
The entire complex, discovered and explored in 1927 by A. Taramelli, covers an area of numerous hectares and includes an extraordinary quantity of square blocks of basaltic and trachyte stone. The site dates back to the Middle Bronze Age (1500 B.C.), as has emerged by multiple findings; principally ceramic and lithic materials including objects for everyday use.
Notwithstanding its name, the Mannu Nuraghe is a small, single-tower construction, totally realized in basalt and trachyte (greyish-coloured volcanic rock). Its maximum height is 4.70 meters with a diameter of approximately 12 meters. The blocks making up the structure are positioned/aligned in intermittent/asymmetric rows close to the Codula di Fuili.
The entrance, a trapezoidal shape, faces east. The inside passage that leads up to the room has a platband block covering: this room has a rather irregular elliptical conformation inside of which there are two big elevated recesses.
The Nuraghe probably rose as a sighting tower and as a complementary function with respect to the bigger nuraghic complex Su Nuragheddu located a few hundred meters away on the Su Planus basaltic plateau.
That which makes this site very important from an archaeological point of view is above-all the Nuraghic village, whose dimensions make it one of the biggest in Sardinia. The village and its 200 huts were continuously populated for the entire Roman period up until the Imperial period.
Arriving from Dorgali on national highway no. 125 (the Eastern Sardinian road) in the direction of Baunei: at the intersection, turn in the direction of Cala Gonone and drive 5.1 kilometres. At this point, you get a glimpse of the dirt road that leads to the Nuraghe. You will find the guides that tour the Nuraghe at the Nuraghe Mannu holiday farm located on the dirt road after approximately 1.8 km.
