A ziggurat-shaped altar unique in the Mediterranean
In the countryside between Sassari and Porto Torres lies one of the most mysterious prehistoric monuments in Europe: the altar of Monte d'Accoddi, a large stepped platform of earth and stones, with a long ramp leading to the top, built between about 4000 and 2700 BC, long before the nuraghi. Its shape recalls that of the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia, the stepped temple towers of the Sumerians, and it is unique in the whole western Mediterranean.
Discovered in 1954, the monument is a truncated pyramid about 30 metres long at the base and about 10 metres high, built in two phases: a first "red temple", with walls plastered in red ochre, was covered by a larger structure, the "second temple". At the top there was probably a shrine where rituals took place. Around the altar stand other mysterious elements: a large menhir of white limestone, a stone slab with holes, perhaps for sacrifices, a spherical stone, and the remains of a prehistoric village with huts. It is thought to have been a sacred place of great importance for the communities of the Ozieri culture and later periods, perhaps dedicated to a mother goddess or the sun. The site is small, but its atmosphere, in the middle of the countryside, is unforgettable.
Tip: the site is well signposted from the main road between Sassari and Porto Torres; guided tours explain the hypotheses about its function.
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