The first evidence of life in the valleys and plains of Mt Sirai, located in the heartlands of the Sulcis, SW Sardinia, can be traced back the Neolithic Age (though the morphology and structure of the mountain make it a natural fortress, and therefore the relief might possibly have been a shelter for man from the earliest ages). These settlements on Mt Sirai are represented by small natural ravines - the so-called shelters under the rock - which acted as habitations for the living and burial places for the dead.
More concrete proof of life on Mt Sirai comes, still in the Neolithic era, from around 2500BC. Here, there are the remains of several characteristic underground burial chambers cells, in groups of twos or more, the "Domus de Janas". In this period there must have also been a place for worship, as demonstrated by two large steles (there were probably more) reused in the construction of the so-called "Mastio Tower Pit"..

In the nuragic period, the mountain probably formed a natural shelter, especially suited for breeding farm animals. The clearest testimony to the presence of nuragic people are the towers erected both at the summit and along the slopes. Of the various nuraghi scattered around the area, the most impressive and important nuraghe is "Sirai", which is situated on the plain to the south-east of the mountain. Other nuragic towers rise up both to the south and south west. The flat lands around Mt Sirai were also defended by the mounatin, but its simple structure leads experts to think that its main function was a look-out and warning tower rather than a fortress specifically. Moreover, numerous architectural fragments from both the nuraghe and the Giant's Tomb were discovered on the plain; they were obviously reused, therefore, by the Phoenicians and Punics.

The first traces of a prolonged presence of the Phoenicians in Sardinia can be dated to around 750 BC and on Mt Sirai, too, there are clear signs of this. The settlement at Mt Sirai may have been created by the Phoenicians who, from the first half of C8th BC, occupied the Sulcis area and the island of Sant'Antioco, or alternatively, by those who occupied the area of Portoscuso, where a Phoenician necropolis has been found.

The habitation on Mt Sirai was of considerable size, extending over the site of the old nuragic tower and covering an area roughly the same as that which can be seen today (very little, unfortunately!). It was built around the sacred part, today called the "Mastio" (stronghold, fortress) because, when it was discovered, it was thought that its use was military.This construction was partly founded on the circular base of the pre-existing nuraghe, though, over the centuries, it underwent numerous restructurings. It has bee established that the nuragic tower was still in good condition in the Phoenician period and that the place for Phoenician worship was inside the cella.

In the valley to the north of the colony there was a large incineration necropolis, made up mainly of individual tombs in the ground However, there is also evidence, albeit infrequent, of individual ground tombs. At present, 95 tombs containing ritual vases and important personal belongings have been unearthed.

The Phoenician community spent about two hundred years peacefully around Mt Sirai, with commercial, farming and domestic activities, until around 540 BC, when Carthage decided to conquer Sardinia to. The hostility of the North African city was directed largely towards the Phoenician cities and therefore also against Mt Sirai. Accordingly, after bitter fighting, vast destruction and a massacre of its inhabitants, Carthage took firm control of the site. And, as with all Phoenician cities on the island, no record was left of previous inhabitants. In particular, it was on this occasion that the nuragic tower which contained the Phoenician temple was razed to the ground.
The new tenants settled around what did remain of the Mastio.

Following the breakout of the first Punic War, which lasted between 264 and 241 BC, aimed at preventing possible landings of contingent Roman soldiers, a number of garrisons were established in the fortified centres, made up of mercenary troops.

After the end of the first Punic War, Carthage was forced by Rome to give up control of Sardinia. Thus, without striking a blow, the island fell under the control of Rome in 238 BC, which at first meant simply demolishing all the fortresses erected by Carthage, to possible pockets of resistance. In particular, the walls of Mt Sirai were completely destroyed and all the materials used for the reconstruction of the new settlement. The appearance changed, as buildings were completely redesigned and new habitations rose up on the former Phoenician and Punic sites the Punic. The temple of the Mastio was also completely restructured.

Suddenly around 110 BC, for reasons not yet completely clear, the settlement of Mt Sirai was abandoned. This did not happen slowly and progressively, but spontaneously and suddenly as one can conclude from the state of the habitations and the objects left behind.

The causes of such an unexpected abandonment of the habitation of Mt Sirai are probably due to some natural difficulty, perhaps the impoverishment of the water.

Text by Dr. Piero Bartoloni translated into English by Laurence Gambella