Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu and Petroglyph Park-b

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu

   The south of Sardinia is not all beaches. Inland, on the edge of the Gerrei hills, lies Pranu Mutteddu, a flat upland of granite, cork oak and scrub that holds one of the island's more striking prehistoric sites. The name means something like the plain of the little stones in Sardinian, and the place is known for its menhirs, standing stones raised several thousand years ago by Neolithic people, many of them still upright and arranged in rows or groups across the clearing.

   Read the complete Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu is where the day begins. Next is Necropolis of Mandras.

2. 2. Necropolis of Mandras

   Cut into a slope of volcanic rock above the valley of the Tirso, near the village of Ardauli in central Sardinia, the Necropolis of Mandras is a cluster of prehistoric tombs that the Sardinians call domus de janas, houses of the fairies or witches. They were carved out of the rock with stone tools by farming communities, mostly in the late Neolithic, and some of the chambers imitate the inside of a house, with carved beams, doorways and pillars. Folklore said they were built by tiny women who wove gold at night, and in a sense the name says more about how ancient they felt to later generations than any date could.

   Read the complete Necropolis of Mandras write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Necropolis of Mandras comes up about 103 km into the recorded legs. Next is Petroglyph Park-b.

3. 3. Petroglyph Park-b

   The Logudoro in northern Sardinia is a high, rolling country of basalt plateaus and the worn cones of extinct volcanoes, where cork oaks and wild olives stand in dry pasture and every second hill seems to have a ruined nuraghe on it. Petroglyph Park-b lies near the small villages of Cheremule, Giave and Torralba, in an area where the rock itself was used as an archive, carved into tombs and marked with symbols by people who lived here thousands of years before Rome.

   Read the complete Petroglyph Park-b write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 171 km into the recorded legs you reach Petroglyph Park-b. Next is back through Necropolis of Mandras.

4. 4. back through Necropolis of Mandras

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Necropolis of Mandras write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Necropolis of Mandras, late in the day. Next is Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu.

5. 5. Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu. That is the ride.