Coddu Vecchju

From Arzachena, take the 427 or SP14 towards Tempio, the site is always signposted. There’s ample parking, and a building for tickets and information (with refreshments etc on sale and toilets available) about 300 metres north of the site. We’d bought tickets at Nuraghe Albucciu so just had to show these to be given our site guide. Open 09:00 – 19:00.

A gentle stroll along the road side and then down a path brought us to the tomba. Wow! It’s huge!

The building was done in two stages, the first part being an allée couverte (circa 2500 BCE?) with the giant stele and esedra (forecourt area, the wings, or some might propose, the open legs of the tomb) added later. The site is roped off, and visitors are asked not to climb onto or into the tomb, but a variety of raised viewing platforms have been built all the way round the back to make it easier to see.

The stele is massive – almost 4½ metres tall, but narrower than some others at 1.9 metres – and has a pronounced pink tinge to its stone; it was built with two slabs on top of each other, and both sections have relief carvings in them. The wings of the tomba are stone slabs in decreasing height. Behind the stele – the tallest one on the island – there’s a short corridor, which joins the newer part to the body of the original tomb – about 10 metres long with granite slabs forming the walls, floor and capstones.