The touristic branch of the cave “Su Mannau” is divided into
two parts:

- the archaeological branch and the speleological part.

The first room that can be visited is 70 m long and 20 m high
and it’s called the archaeological room. This part of the cave
was used with the purpose of worship by the ancient
inhabitants of Sardinia.

It has a great historical and religious significance. The
presence of a small lake lead us to believe that this was a
place of worship for the Mother Goddess whose symbol was
the water. This cult could be connected ideologically with the
worshiping in the nearby area of Antas temple, which is just a
few kilometers away far. The whole room is rich in small
fragments of oil lamps made in different shapes. Through the
archaeological studies, three periods are identified: Nuragic,
Punic and Roman. There is an ancient road that connects the
cave of “Su Mannau” with the valley of Antas.

The “lucerne” (oil lamps) were filled with oil and then they
were lit up in honor of the divinity of the Mother Goddess,
symbolized by the water.
In sardinian language “Su Mannau” means “Great and
Scary”; legend says that an ogre was condemned to live in
the cave because he was very ugly and according to the
legend he cried and with his tears he created the river in the
cave.