The Nuragic complex of Sa Mandra ‘e Sa Giua (or Jua) stands in the town centre of San Nicola (Ozieri).
The site consists of a Nuraghe with adjacent village. This village was occupied up until Medieval times. Indeed, a few hundred metres away, we can find the Romanesque church of San Nicola di Butule.
The Nuraghe is two-foil with a main tholos and is backed on to by two secondary towers. The towers interconnected via an internal courtyard. The Nuraghe has been dramatically altered due to the removal of stones. The base of the fortified tower still remains as does the entrance with architrave and the first few steps of the stairway in the corridor.
There were a few rows of secondary towers. The archaeological digs around the Nuraghe concern some of the village’s huts. The circular ones refer to the oldest period of settlement, while the quadrangular ones bear witness to a continued presence throughout the Roman era.
This continuity is further confirmed with the discovery of ceramic material and the existence of the nearby Pont’ezzu, which possibly provided a connection between the residential area and the main arterial road in northern Sardinia.
