Temple of Antas explained

The Temple of Antas is an ancient Carthaginian-Roman temple in the commune of Fluminimaggiore, southern Sardinia, Italy.^[1] It is located in an area colonised by the Carthaginians and then by the Romans, attracted by its silver and lead deposits.^[2]

It consists of a Roman temple, under whose steps are the remains of the Carthaginian one, which was dedicated to the god Sid Addir, a later incarnation of the local god Sardus Pater Babai, the main male divinity of the Nuragic civilization.^[3]

The original temple had been built around 500 BC over a sacred limestone outcrop, and restored around 300 BC. The Roman temple was built by emperor Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD) and restored under Caracalla (213-217 AD).

Its remains were discovered in 1836 by general Alberto La Marmora, and rebuilt to the current status in 1967.^[4]

The fore section of the temple includes six columns, with a height of some 8 metres, with Ionic capitals. Originally a triangular pediment was also present. The cella was accessed through two side openings and had a mosaic-covered pavement, part of which has been preserved. The temple was provided with two square reservoirs, which housed the water for the sacred rites of purification.

It is likely that a statue of the Sardus Pater was housed in the cella. According to the size of the only remain found, a finger, it has been estimated that it was some 3 metres high.

The archaeological area of temple includes a small necropolis, remains of an ancient Nuragic village (13th-10th centuries BC), Roman quarries of limestone and an ancient path connecting the temple to a sacred cave where the water cult was practised.

See also

• List of Ancient Roman temples

External links

• Italian page about the temple
• Sassari, Fluminimaggiore, tempio di Antas
• Bagnolo . V. . Paba . N. . 29 November 2019 . UAV-Based Photogrammetry for Archaeological Heritage Site Survey and 3D Modeling of the Sardus Pater Temple (Italy) . International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences . XLII-2/W17 . 45–51 . 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W17-45-2019. 2019ISPAr4217...45B . 210962715 . free .
• Columbu . Stefano . Gaviano . Emanuela . Costamagna . Luca Giacomo . Fancello . Dario . 3 September 2019 . Mineralogical-Petrographic and Physical-Mechanical Features of the Construction Stones in Punic and Roman Temples of Antas (SW Sardinia, Italy) . Minerals . 2021, 11, 964 . 964–997 . 10.3390/min11090964. free .
• Bagnolo, V.; Argiolas, R.; Cuccu, A. (31 January 2019). Hbim for Archaeological Sites: From SFM Based Survey to Algorithmic Modeling . International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences . XLII-2/W9 . 57–63 . 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W9-57-2019. 2019 . Bagnolo . V. . Argiolas . R. . Cuccu . A. . 2019ISPAr42W9...57B . 133930378 . free .
• Bernardini, Paolo; Ibba, Antonio. "Il santuario di Antas fra Cartagine e Roma", in: J. Cabrero Piquero e L. Montecchio (cur.), Sacrum nexum: alianzas entre el poder político y la religión en el mundo romano, Madrid-Salamanca 2015, pp. 75-138 .
• The temple of Sardus Pater
• The Punic-Roman Temple of Antas, Sardinia

39.394°N 8.5002°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Places: 471971 (Metalla) . Dyson, S., DARMC, R. Talbert, S. Gillies, T. Elliott, J. Becker . 17 February 2021 . January 3, 2015 . Pleiades.
2. Book: Logus-Mezzolani. Archeologia della Sardegna. 21 July 2012. Logus. 978-88-98062-00-3. 24–.
3. Web site: Places: 472015 (Sardus Pater, T.) . Dyson, S. . March 9, 2020 . Pleiades.
4. Book: Raimondo Zucca. Il Tempio di Antas. 1989. Carlo Delfino. 9788871381817 .