The planimetric profile of the well temple of Santa Cristina, in Paulilatino, which according to a fascinating and equally reasonable interpretation symbolizes a vulva, understood as a source of life, is repeated in other monuments connected to the cult of water, such as in the sacred wells of Santa Vittoria in Serri and Coni in Nuragus, in that of Funtana Coberta in Ballao, and even in the planimetry of the so-called Nuraghe Sisini, located in the eponymous hamlet of Senorbì, which could actually reveal itself to be another grand monument connected to the ancient cult of water. This shape is also comparable, whether accidentally or not, to that of the “menat” pendant, adopted as a symbol by Hator, the Egyptian cow goddess of love, joy, and pleasure (the menat pendant was also worn around the neck by the grand vizier Imothep and, furthermore, by the way, in hieroglyphic writing the name of the goddess Hator meant “house of Horus” and was written “hwt-hrw” with a pronunciation similar to “hutheru”). It is also interesting to observe the similar analogy with the Egyptian ankh (life/the vital breath) and with the emblem of Tanit, the Phoenician goddess of fertility and love. All symbols connected to the sexual sphere, to fertility, and by extension to that concept of rebirth or regeneration of life that informed the spirituality of the ancient Sardinians and finds its material representation in the various monumental expressions, starting from the Neolithic domus de janas, continuing through menhirs, nuraghi, giants’ tombs, and sacred wells.
The photos of the sacred wells of Santa Cristina in Paulilatino, Santa Vittoria in Serri, Coni in Nuragus, and Funtana Coberta in Ballao are respectively by Diversamente Sardi, Bibi Pinna, Francesca Cossu, and Andrea Mura-Nuragando Sardegna. The Nuraghe Sisini in Senorbì is captured in a shot by Maurizio Cossu.
