In the municipal territory of Romana, the Mudeju area and the nearby spring of Abbarghente show a completely original face of the water cult in ancient Sardinia.
Instead of building the usual monolithic well temples, protohistoric communities preferred to organize the site by directly utilizing the gaseous veins rising to the surface. Acidulous streams rich in salts emerge from the ground, serving as a constant attraction for the inhabitants of the area.
Therapeutic properties merged with the mystical dimension. The continuous gurgling of the flow and the presence of dissolved iron were interpreted as direct manifestations of subterranean forces. Those who reached the springs did not merely perform rituals and symbolic offerings: they drank the mineral water and applied muddy deposits to painful areas, combining devotional gestures with an empirical medical practice based on the earth's benefits.
The artifacts emerging from the investigations, attributable to the Punic, Roman, and late antique eras, attest to the prolonged fame and frequentation of this site. The Mudeju and Abbarghente complex in Romana highlights a concrete way of experiencing sacred space in the ancient island, where veneration arose spontaneously before a natural phenomenon capable of granting relief to the body and uniting the local community.
