30/01/2026
The Goddess of Water: The Sacred Well of Santa Cristina
For three thousand years, in Sardinia, someone has built a ladder so that the sky could meet the water. In this episode, anthropologist Arianna Carta takes the listener into the heart of the Nuragic sanctuary of Santa Cristina, one of the most enigmatic sacred sites in the Mediterranean.
Through archaeology, symbolism, and popular traditions, the sacred well reveals its hidden language: an architecture of the womb, a refined astronomical knowledge, a rite of descent and transformation linked to water, the moon, and feminine power.
Lyrics: Arianna Carta
Voice: Arianna Carta
cover photo: the well seen from above – ph: Bibi Pinna
Arianna Carta presented her research at theEuropean Association of Archaeologists. In 2027 his analyses will be published by Venexia Editrice
Essential bibliography
- Carboni, Romina. 2012. "Venerable Demeter, Bringer of Harvest, with Magnificent Gifts. The Diffusion and Problems of Agrarian-Fertilization Cults in Sardinia During the Late Punic and Roman Ages," in Res Sacrae. Notes on Some Cultic Aspects of Roman Sardinia. Cagliari: Edizioni AV: 9-29
- Carta, Arianna. 2022. 'Who's Afraid of the Goddess? Leopard's Tale, Menopausal Syndrome: Terms of Debate within Archaeology', Studia mythologica Slavica 25: 245-272
- Chevalier, Jean, and Alain Gheerbrant. 1992. Dictionary of Symbols: Myths, Dreams, Customs, Gestures, Forms, Figures, Colors, Numbers. Milan: Rizzoli.
- Coomaraswamy, Ananda, K., 1938. “The Inverted Tree.” Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society of Bangalore 29(2): 1–38.
- Durant, Gilbert. 2013. The Anthropological Structures of the Imagination: An Introduction to General Archaeotypology. Bari: Dedalo Edizioni.
- Eliade, Mircea. 2008. Treatise on the History of Religions. Turin: Bollati Boringhieri.
Eliade, Mircea. 2018. Images and Symbols. Milan: Jaca Book. - Garbati, Giuseppe. 2014. "The Elusive Goddess: More on Demeter in Sardinia in the Light of Recent Research," Byrsa. Writings on the Ancient Mediterranean East: 81-114
- Gimbutas, Marija. 2008. The Language of the Goddess. Rome.
- Guénon, René. 2000. Symbols of Sacred Science. Milan: Adelphi.
- Lanternari, Vittorio. 1984. Prehistory and Folklore: Ethnographic and Religious Traditions of Sardinia. Sassari: L'Asfodelo.
- Larner, Franco. 2008. History, Technology, Architecture, and Satronomy. Mestre: Edizioni Flap.
- Lebeuf, Arnold. 2011. The Well of Santa Cristina, a Lunar Observatory. Krakow: Tlilan Tlapalan.
Lebeuf, Arnold. 2015. «Nuraghic Well of Santa Cristina, Paulilatino, Oristano, Sardinia.» In Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, 1413-1420. New York: Springer Science+ Business Media. - Ledda, Simona. 2009. «Demeter: reasons and places of worship in Sardinia.» Insula: Notebook of Sardinian culture (6): 5-24.
- Lilliu, Giovanni. 2017. Sardinian Civilization from the Paleolithic to the Age of the Nuraghe. Nuoro: Il Maestrale.
- Melis, Maria Grazia. 2008. “Observations on the Role of Water in the Rituals of Prehistoric Sardinia.” Journal of Prehistoric Sciences (LVIII), 111-124.
- Melis, Paolo. 2017. “Pre-Nuragic Religiosity” In: Prehistoric Sardinia: History, Materials, Monuments. Sassari: Carlo Delfino Editore
- Moravetti, Alberto. 2003. The Nuragic Sanctuary of Santa Cristina, Guides and Itineraries, Archaeological Sardinia. Sassari: Carlo Delfino Editore.
- Neumann, Erich. 1981. The Great Mother: A Phenomenology of the Feminine Configurations of the Unconscious. Rome: Astrolabio.
- Ries, Julien. 2007. Man and the Sacred in the History of Humanity. Milan: Jaca Book.
- Tanda, Giuseppa. 2017. "Funerary Hypogeism in Sardinia" In: Prehistoric Sardinia: History, Materials, Monuments, 111-135. Sassari: Carlo Delfino Editore.
Editorial care: Alessandra de Nardis – Editing and sound design: Alessandra de Nardis Original music composed with Suno (PRO account) and used under commercial license
16/12/2025
Archaeological invisibility
Alessandra de Nardis works across archaeology, cultural dissemination, and gender studies, exploring how images construct—even before words—what we think we know about the past. Her career path stems from her professional experience in the fields of images and communication, which has led to a central understanding: we don't imagine prehistory from data, but from our cultural preconceptions. The images that accompany archaeological narratives don't simply represent, but select, simplify, and normalize, rendering some presences visible and others systematically absent.
In his work he questions the illusion of an “objective” image of the past, showing how archaeological imagery reflects the culture that produces it more than the historical reality it claims to narrate.
Text: Alessandra de Nardis
Voice: Alessandra de Nardis
Essential bibliography
- Anna Belfer-Cohen & Erella Hovers Now You See Them, Now You Don't: Modern Gender Stereotypes and Archaeological Interpretation of the Past (2020) – Studies on the Near Eastern Paleolithic and the sexual division of activities, with particular attention to the risks of androcentric interpretation and the projection of modern cultural models onto the past.
- April Nowell Invisible Hands? Women, Children, and the Archeology of Human Origins (2010) – Research on symbolic behavior in the Paleolithic and on the construction of prehistoric narratives, with a critical approach to linear evolutionary models and stereotypical representations.
- Rebecca Wragg Sykes Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art (2020) – Studies on Neanderthals and the complexity of Paleolithic societies, with a strong commitment to deconstructing simplistic and preconceived images of prehistory.
Editorial care: Alessandra de Nardis – Editing and sound design: Alessandra de Nardis Original music composed with Suno (PRO account) and used under commercial license
05/12/2025
The Stone Goddess. Janas and the Sacred Landscapes of Sardinia
Who's Afraid of the Goddess? - Episode II
What do the janas tell us about the ancient female societies of Sardinia?
In this episode, anthropologist Arianna Carta guides us through domus de janas, myths, and symbols that speak of the Goddess and her connection to the earth. A journey through archaeology and popular traditions, to discover the feminine power engraved in stone.
Lyrics: Arianna Carta
Voice: Arianna Carta
Essential bibliography
- Alziator, Francesco. 1957. Sardinian folklore. Cagliari: The Raft.
- Bottiglioni, Gino. 2004. Legends and traditions of Sardinia. Nuoro: Ilisso.
- Buttitta, Antoninus. 1996. Of Signs and Myths: An Introduction to Symbolic Anthropology. Palermo: Sellerio
- Caredda, Gian Paolo. 1992. Sardinian legendsCagliari: Edisar.
- Eliade, Mircea. 2008. Treatise on the history of religions. Turin: Bollati Boringhieri.
- Gimbutas, Marija. 2008. The language of the goddess. Rome: Venexia.
- Goettner-Abendroth, Heide. 2012. Matriarchal Societies. Studies in the World's Indigenous Cultures. Rome: Venexia.
- Halbwachs, Maurice. 1987. Collective memory. Milan: Unicopli.
- Hrobat Virloget, Katja. 2015. “If You Fall In, You Arrive at the Afterlife.” Liminal Places of the Landscape in Karst Folklore.” In: Views of the Afterlife in Ancient and Modern Cultures, edited by: Franco Crevatin, 65-82. EUT Editions, University of Trieste.
- Kropej Monika. 2012. Supernatural Beings from Slovenian Myth and Folktales. Ljubljana: ZRC Publishing.
- Lanternari, Vittorio.1984. Prehistory and folklore: ethnographic and religious traditions of Sardinia. Sassari: The Asphodel.
- Lilliu, Giovanni. 2017. The civilization of the Sardinians from the Paleolithic to the age of the nuraghiNuoro: The Mistral.
- Mencej, Mirjam. 2011. “Connecting threads.” Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore (48): 55-84.
- Tanda, Giuseppa, and Carlo Lugliè. 2008. The Sign and the Idea: Prehistoric Art in SardiniaCagliari: CUEC.
- Thompson, Tok. 2004. «The Irish Sí Tradition: Connections between the Disciplines, and What's in a Word?» Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 11 (4): 335-368.
- Turchi, Dolores. 1990. Masks, myths and festivals of Sardinia. Cagliari: Torre Editions.
- Van Gennep, Arnold. 1985. The rites of passage. Turin: Bollati Boringhieri.
In the volume The Sacred Feminine in Sardinia: Symbols, Rites, and Forms of Power by Arianna Carta, Venexia Editrice, to be released in 2026.
Editorial care: Alessandra de Nardis and Giusi Di Crescenzo – Editing and sound design: Alessandra de Nardis Original music composed with Suno (PRO account) and used under commercial license
14/11/2025
Marija Gimbutas
Ecologist ante-litteram
Marija Gimbutas, ante-litteram ecologist This is the title we wanted to give to this second impossible interview, with which we aim to highlight – through a holistic approach to the historical reality reconstructed through his research – food for thought of great value also for our contemporary era and its crisis of values.
Bibliography
Anna Baring and Jules Cashford are Jumghian analysts, authors of the book The Myth of the Goddess – Civette di Venexia series, both members of the International Association of Analytical Psychologists
Giuseppe Barbiero, biologist, researcher at the University of Valle d'Aosta, professor of biology and ecopsychology, director of the Green Leaf – affective ecology laboratory
Miriam Robbins Dexter, a scholar and researcher with a PhD in Indo-European studies at the University of California, author of numerous articles on the presence of women in antiquity, founded the Institute of Archaeomythology inspired by the vision of archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, which promotes studies on the prehistory of ancient Europe with an inclusive and interdisciplinary point of view.
Interview by Giusi Di Crescenzo
Voice: Susanna Costaglione
Editorial care: Alessandra de Nardis and Giusi Di Crescenzo Editing and sound design: Alessandra de Nardis Original music composed with Suno (PRO account) and used under commercial license
22/10/2025
Arianna Carta
Who's afraid of the Goddess?
This is the question that was asked Arianna Carta – A cultural anthropologist with a PhD that combines anthropology and archaeology. She has been studying female power in Sardinia for years, investigating symbolic and material traces over time. She presented her research at theEuropean Association of Archaeologists and in 2026 his analyses will be published in an essay edited by Venexia editrice.
Lyrics: Arianna Carta
Voice: Arianna Carta
Bibliography: Full article (in English) please refer to the link: Who's Afraid of the Goddess? Leopard's Tale, Menopausal Syndrome: Terms of Debate within Archaeolusg Academia.edu/AriannaCarta
Editorial care: Alessandra de Nardis and Giusi Di Crescenzo Editing and sound design: Alessandra de Nardis Original music composed with Suno (PRO account) and used under commercial license
25/09/2025
Marija Gimbutas
Impossible Interviews
We at Prehistory in Italy, starting from the work of the archaeologist Marija GimbutasWe want to delve deeper into the archaeological traces that tell another story of humanity. We're kicking off our podcast programming with this impossible interview with her, allowing her words—culled here and there from the many writings she wrote or dedicated to her—to familiarize us with her work.
Interview by Giusi Di Crescenzo
Voice: Susanna Costaglione
Editing, sound design, and editorial care: Alessandra de Nardis
Original music composed with Suno (PRO account) and used under commercial license
25/09/2025
Heath Göttner-Abendroth
Possible Interviews
Our journey to discover the invisible roots of history continues with an interview with Heide Goettner-Abendroth A scholar who, with a genuine scientific spirit, has placed at the center of her research the need to prevent prejudice from obscuring the understanding of historical reality. She has provided a precise definition of matriarchy and exhaustively described ancient and modern matriarchal societies. We interviewed her about her latest work.Matriarchal societies of the past and the birth of patriarchy"
Interview: Prehistory in Italy
Voices: Prehistory in Italy Editing, sound design and editorial care: Alessandra de Nardis Original music composed with Suno (PRO account) and used under commercial license
09/10/2025
Brown Tadolini
Possible Interviews
Why did we move from a primitive society where females were highly valued to an "evolved" society where females are worth very little and are simply breeders of an abundant commodity that is used as labor meat in times of peace or slaughter in times of war? We discuss this with the biologist Brown Tadolini, author of the text Female Evolution: The Contribution of Females to Human Evolution.
Interview on Prehistory in Italy
Editing, sound design, and editorial care: Alessandra de Nardis
Original music composed with Suno (PRO account) and used under commercial license