17 THE CAVE OF SA OMU AND TZIU GIOVANNI MURGIA, FUNTANA ARRUBIA, NURALLAO (SOUTH-CENTRAL SARDINIA – ITALY): FIRST CONCLUSIONS Alexandra FIGUEIREDO Unidade Departamental Arqueologia, Conservação e Restauro e Património, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Centro de Geociencias (UD), alexfiga@ipt.pt Giuseppina GRADOLI COMET – Valorizzazione Territoriale e ISSEP Rosalba FLORIS Cagliary Museum Cláudio MONTEIRO Phd student, Quaternário, Materiais e Culturas, Universidade Traz-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Centro do Geociencias (UD), claudio.monteiro.cr@ipt.pt Irene SANNA and Emanuele PITTONI Freelance Archaeologist (Irene Sanna) and Freelance Anthropologist (Emanuele Pittoni) Resumo: Os dados que aqui apresentamos são o resultado das primeiras intervenções no sítio Gruta Sa Omu and Tziu Giovanni Murgia, localizada em Funtana Arrubia, região de Nurallao (Sardenha). Estes trabalhos integram-se no projecto “Death materialization and life cicle (south-central Sardinia): Technologies and interdisciplinary studies in the detection and preservation of archaeological remains”, coordenado pelo Instituto Politécnico de Tomar. Este projecto interdisciplinar revelou-se necessário para a compreensão da ocupação humana no território de Nurallao, focando o período cronológico da pré-história ao período romano. Entre os diferentes objectivos, pretende-se compreender os cultos e rituais, as continuidades e descontinuidades, as relações entre os povos indígenas e os grupos ou civilizações que, a determinado momento, ocuparam estas regiões, bem como percepcionar as diferentes arquitecturas, ideologias e actos registados. Abstract: With this paper we intend to present the first data of the archaeological works undertaken at the Cave Sa Omu and Tziu Giovanni Murgia, located in Funtana Arrubia area, Nurallao region (Sardinia). These works are integrated in the project “Death materialization and life cicle (south-central Sardinia): Technologies and interdisciplinary studies in the detection and preservation of archaeological remains”. This project stemmed from the need to investigate the human occupation of the Nurallao landscape, starting from prehistoric times until the Roman period. Some of our aims were to understand the rituals and cults, the changes and continuities, the relations between the indigenous and the cultures that, at certain time, start to occupy this regions, the architectures, ideologies and actions. Key words: Bronze Age, cave, burials, trepanation, Sardinia region INTRODUCTION Sardinia as an island has elements that make easy to detect phenomena that differentiate themselves from other parts of Prehistoric Europe. However, it also reveals extraordinary situations that resemble the cultures and traditions of continental regions, due to the strengthening of contacts by sea routes that have occurred in the Mediterranean. But, at what level have they occurred? What is it that really characterizes the ancient’s prehistoric Sardinia groups? What is the relationship between them and the people who circulated at some point in the Mediterranean? We believe that to understand this issue we have to recognize and comprehend the perception of particular rituals, especially those associated with death (these data are usually more resistant to), noting the influences, the differences and similarities observed in this type of deposition and their associated material culture. Nurallao as a region is also presented as the perfect area for the study of this problem, since it is situated in the inner parts of the island (fig. 1), where traditional elements can easily survived and, in addition, large number of traces of this type are reported. In fact, throughout the Nurallao landscape several findings were recorded: several menhir statues, ten Nuraghi monuments (often in bad condition), the megalithic tomb of Aiodda, the sacred well of Nieddiu, two Giants tombs, three Roman graves and one from High Medieval age (fig. 2).