Archaeological excavations at the site of the medieval village of Geridu, in the Sorso countryside, continue to yield valuable discoveries for understanding rural Sardinia's medieval past. Ongoing research within the perimeter walls of a dwelling that burned down around 1350 has revealed earlier residential phases, with wall structures dating to the 13th century. Further investigations have identified occupation of the area dating to the height of the Giudicati period (11th-12th centuries), along with the walls of an even older dwelling likely from the Giudicati period or the early Middle Ages.
Professor Marco Milanese, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Sassari and director of the excavation, stated: “This is the extraordinary discovery of three medieval dwellings, one on top of the other in the same space, which testifies that for at least three hundred years (from 1000-1100 to 1350) the village houses were built, lived in, demolished, and rebuilt always in the same area.”
The research is being conducted as part of work to build a new fence around the archaeological site, as well as enhancement measures and the installation of a video surveillance system.
The results were presented this morning, on the Geridu website, during a press conference also attended by Gabriella Gasperetti (Superintendency Official SABAP Sassari and Nuoro), Fabrizio Demelas (Mayor of the City of Sorso), Federico Basciu (Councillor for Culture – City of Sorso), Justin Leid Wenger of Stanford University, Professor of Archaeology, who collaborates with Marco Milanese together with three doctoral students.
The continuation of the research will allow us to further investigate the depth of time and discover the foundation phases of the medieval village and its relationships with the traces of the Roman age, which testify to the presence of an older settlement, on the same site where the “ bidda de Geriti ” was organised in the Giudicale age or even previously.
Excavations are also continuing in the area of the church of Sant'Andrìa (the parish church of Geridu) and are confirming the plan of the large medieval Gothic church, a building proportionate to the number of inhabitants (around 1,500) estimated to have been built around 1320. The structures of the square bell tower, traces of the flooring of the transept and nave, and traces of the demolition of the church in the 19th century to recover the large limestone blocks and reuse them in the new parish church of San Pantaleo in Sorso are emerging.
