“The name Su Tempiesu derives from the fact that a gentleman from Tempio, at the beginning of the century, worked in the area cutting down forests to produce charcoal. The monument was discovered in 1953 by the Sanna family, the owners of the land, while they were terracing in an attempt to plant a small garden near the spring, which at the time was surfacing at the height of the last rows of the temple’s roof.
An initial excavation was supervised in 1953 by the Superintendency of Antiquities of Sardinia, which entrusted the direction of the works to G. Davoli, a young archaeologist and student of Giovanni Lilliu, who, having abandoned all archaeological activities, published the results of the excavation in 1958 in a broad and detailed manner. The state of progressive ruin and the need for a thorough investigation led the Archaeological Superintendency for the provinces of Sassari and Nuoro to resume excavations and necessary restoration works between 1981-86 under the direction of the writer.
The monument is set against an incision interposed between two steep walls of schist rock where the water vein that feeds the sacred well has been captured and channeled. The temple is entirely constructed with perfectly worked trachyte blocks, squared and cut obliquely on the visible face, except for those used for the rows of the tympanum. The blocks feature long tail-like appendages that allowed for installation with alternate interlocking, without the use of cohesive mortar. Some blocks of the roof have mammillary protuberances…”
This is the beginning of the description of the sacred spring Su Tempiesu of Orune, published by archaeologist Maria Ausilia Fadda in one of the booklets of the “Sardegna Archeologica” series, published by Carlo Delfino Editore in 1988.
The photos of the sacred spring Su Tempiesu of Orune are by: Nicola Castangia, Nuraviganne, Marco Cocco, Valentino Selis, Nicola Barbicha Tornello, and Romano Stangherlin.
