## 1 Introduction and Aims of Research  
The Antas valley site assumes a great archaeological-cultural significance in relation to the research of the temple of _[PERSON]_, the location of which has been for many centuries one of the most important open questions of ancient Sardinia. Since the time of the geographer [PERSON], dozens of coastal sites and some inhabited areas of the hinterland have been listed as possible locations of the temple. Nevertheless, the location of the _[PERSON]_ temple remained uncertain until the 19 th century [1]. Furthermore, the Antas valley was traversed by a road that connected the Sulcis subregion, an area of strategic and economic importance thanks to the widespread occurrence of metal ore deposits [2], to the area of _Tharros_ and to northern Sardinia (e.g., _Turris_, today Porto Torres). This route was widely used by Romans but was presumably opened since the Punic phase (third century BC) given that Roman roads were commonly based on already existing routes (often Punic roads). Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the temple was located along this main road. This hypothesis was supported by the analysis of the geomorphological, geological and archaeological data of the Iglesiente area, where it is known that the mining exploitation of the widespread metal ore deposits (mainly lead and silver) dates back to ancient times [1, 2, 3, 4]. Several geological studies have revealed that in the Fluminimaggiore area, in the surroundings of Antas, as well as in other areas of the Iglesiente, ore deposits containing lead and silver widely occur ([5], and references therein). In this area, silver is easily exploitable given the conspicuous exposed outcrops [2], and extraction is possible even without costly quarrying operations. This evidence allow us to hypothesize that the position of the temple/sanctuary could be linked to the exploitation of silver, a precious metal resource, the control of which had to be of fundamental importance. It is plausible that the Antas Temple was the place where the Carthaginian authority managed the trade of rough lead and silver. If this hypothesis turns out to be well-founded, it would explain the high importance of the temple and would justify an assault with consequent destruction of the temple by mercenaries, i.e., the damage to the votives found in Antas could not be attributable to natural causes, but to a deliberate _damnatio memoriae_ against Carthage that occurred at the end of the third century BC. The subsequent period of Roman occupation is testified by numerous remains of mining works, by the tools and products obtained in the foundries and by the presence of mining settlements such as _Metalla_ and Antas [6]. The area has been the subject of studies by archaeologists, historians and architects, ([1,2,4] and references therein), but no studies have been carried out on the geomaterials used in historical times. In the scientific literature there are several geological studies of local lithologies, but no correlation has ever been made between these and the construction materials found in the Antas archaeological area. This research intends to offer a valuable contribution primarily to petrographic study, and to classify the materials used for the construction of the two temples found in the area of Antas referable to both the Punic and Roman phases (Figure 1). Studies aimed at the compositional characterization of stone construction materials can solve problems inherent to historical archaeometry [7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13], or to identify the geographical origin of the lithologies used in the monument [14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20], and, together with studies of ancient mortar [21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27], to define construction phases.