Emerging in the valley crossed by the Rio Tattinu at the foot of Monte Tamara is an area inhabited since prehistoric times that has long been exploited for its mineral resources. It was a place of worship as early as the Nuragic age, as evidenced by the discovery of the sacred well of Tattinu, with the adjoining Nuragic village (11th century BC). The Church of Sant’Elia stands in the countryside of Nuxis, a small town in the lower Sulcis (a municipality since 1957). Built around the year one thousand, it dates back to the Byzantine era and is one of the early Christian sacred buildings of greatest interest in Sardinia. Characteristic are its very small dimensions (ten metres in length and nine in width), typical of the churches built in Sardinia in the second half of the first millennium AD, in the early Christian era. Some other examples are the Basilica di San Saturnino in Cagliari and the Martirium di Sant’Antioco.