The small temple of Malchittu, in Gallura, was built along the northwest-southeast axis and with the entrance oriented exactly at dawn on the winter solstice. Instead, the temple of Sa Carcaredda, in Ogliastra, has the star Sirius as its reference.
These are some of the new discoveries exhibited during the eleventh archaeoastronomy conference "The measurement of time", which was held in Sassari, at the Fondazione di Sardegna, thanks to the organization of the Società Astronomica Turritana and the Circolo Aristeo.
It is known that the ancients considered the Sun and the stars to orient themselves in space and time and in Sardinia there are important examples of this type. An astronomical link would seem to unite some Nuragic temples built in the archaeological complexes of Serra Orrios (Dorgali), Romanzesu (Bitti), S'arcu 'e is forros (Villagrande Strisaili) and which is also repeated in the archaeological complex of Oes, in Torralba. According to the surveys carried out, between the small temple 2 of Oes and the nearby areas of the nuraghe Oes and Paule s'ittiri the reciprocal orientations correspond respectively to the winter and summer solstices.
Knowing how to interpret the solstices and equinoxes was fundamental for agriculture, as for practicing worship and, often, whoever kept the "official" count of the days was in some cases considered a priestly figure. During the conference, cases were illustrated in which, all over the world, the orientation of buildings is clearly inspired by the sunrise at certain times of the year, such as the temple of Amun-Ra in Egypt, or the Etruscan sanctuary of Diana Tifatina in Capua, dedicated to the goddess of the moon.
The event was possible thanks to the patronage and support of the Sardinia Region and the Sardinia Foundation, the patronage of the Municipality of Sassari and the University of Turritana.
