Prehistoric Sardinia
Absolutely unique archaeological sites of the period nuragico. Is still a mystery integrity of megalithic stones together dry after millennia.
The settlements range from nuraghic Ziqqurat Monte d'Append the domus de Janas di Pranu Muteddu to Gioni. In addition to the villages of Barumini, Serra Orrios, Tiscali and Abini to civilization nuragica includes the Tombs of the Giants and S'Ena Thomes and sacred wells in the Santa Cristina Paulilatino and Santa Vittoria in Serri.
Most of these sites was adjacent museum where they are cataloged and displayed artefacts found.
Ziqqurat Monte d'Accoddi
The Ziqqurat of Monte d'Accoddi (from Sardinian Kodi archaic meaning: mountain), is a megalithic monument between oldest in Italy, located 11 kilometers from the city of Sassari.
This is troncopiramidale structure built with large blocks along the rough exterior, and filled with earth and stones. You log on to its top by a long ramp into clay, supported on both sides by a large wall of dry stones. Its form has no equal in the Mediterranean and Europe, and draws very altars a terrace called Mesopotamia ziqqurat.
Domus de Janas
The Domus de Janas are sepulchral structures consisting of tombs carved into the rock and the most varied forms. The popular name literally means "fairy houses", and are called in Sardinia with the name of forrus or forreddus. Have been attributed to the Culture of Ozieri, a people industrious, peaceful and devoted to agriculture, which flourishes in the period between 4000 and 3000 BC about. The tombs are often linked together to form real underground necropolis, sometimes very elaborate, with a common corridor for access un'anticamera has carved niches in the walls, and a room overlooked by many small cells in which were deposited the dead.
Very beautiful are the tombs are decorated with reliefs and engravings representing spiral motifs and horns, the symbol of the male deity, such as those which can be found in the necropolis of Alghero, consisting of 36 rooms underground, and in that of Pani Loriga at Santadi.
Of particular interest is the necropolis of Saint Andrew Priu around Bonorva, consisting of 20 tombs. Some breed in the ceiling, the type of wooden hut and a house with a double-sloping roof; others have a more complex with an atrium semicircular the ceiling graffiti radially, rooms with pillars, for the rites, and the smaller rooms, arranged to receive the bodies of the deceased. Stands out among all the domus de Janas necropolis, the so-called tomb of the head, probably a family chapel, consisting of 18 rooms.
Were found more than 2400 domus de Janas scattered throughout the island, but many remain to be excavated. Groupings are more complex Anghelu Ruju and Sedini, in the province of Sassari, is l a domus de Janas largest in Sardinia, from which was derived a real house, now converted into a museum.
Complex nuragici di Barumini, Serra Orrios, Tiscali, and Albini
On Nuraxi (Il Nuraghe) is the largest stronghold of nuragica Sardinia, located at Barumini, fifty kilometers from the city of Cagliari. The fortress was built using large blocks of stone just rough gray anthracite, is a mighty central tower of frustoconical shape, built around 1100-1050 BC, 18 meters high, the tower is connected to a bastion consisting of 4 towers external, placed at the 4 corners and oriented according to cardinal points. Among the central tower and the bastion is a courtyard, in which a well, the complex is finally surrounded by a defensive wall, made 7 more towers, smaller than the other, linked by a wall. Outside the city wall stretched a village consisting of about fifty to circular huts, built using large boulders walled dry and covered with wooden roofs and boughs of conical shape. During the sixth century BC, the fortress was destroyed and then rebuilt in time for Carthaginian then be occupied by the Romans, before being finally abandoned.
A Orrios Serra, about 10 km from Dorgali and 23 from Nuoro, you can visit one of the best preserved villages nuragici dating from the twelfth-tenth century BC The 70 huts, each with a hearth in the center, are gathered in groups, at least six around central open spaces, places meeting of the inhabitants, with a well for water in the municipality. In the village were also found places of worship.
A Tiscali you can visit a village nuragico very special, which for the single position is certainly one of the most exciting: it is located on the bottom of a huge chasm, and consists of about twenty huts.
Finally, the village shrine Abini, composed of several huts and a circular from a sacred well protected by a fence.
The Giants' caves
The tombs of the giants tombs are characteristic of civilization nuragica. They had the function of collective tombs and could contain a large number of tombs inumazioni.Questi details consist essentially of a long burial chamber built with slabs of stone of large dimensions. The most interesting is the facade, in the center of which is the stele, a large slab of stone carved finely arranged vertically, the sides of the stele are arranged, in the vertical direction, the lower plates that form an arc.
The tombs and necropolis over time became increasingly large and only later to the popular tradition has defined the Sardinian domu 'e namely S'Orcu Casa Dell'Orco, as it thought that the large quantity of bones found in them were the remains of a giant banquet. The name was later Italianized.
The tombs of the giants can be found all over Sardinia, and now those are well known 321. Of particular interest are Li and Lolghi Coddu Vecchiu (one of the best preserved of the area) around Arzachena, Madau those around Fonni, and those of S'Ena and a Dorgali Thomes. Very interesting are the tombs of menhirs Tamuli, around Macomer.
Holy wells
The wells were sacred structures in which nuragici practiced the cult of water, a key feature of their religion, and almost always stood next to a source.
The most common type consists of a circular well built with square blocks of stone, which is accessed via steps which came up from the surface to water level, above the well may be surrounded by low stone fences circulars, or surmounted by a small building. The most ancient temples were built in the style of nuraghi with blocks of stone not perfectly square. Over time, they were built with more sophisticated technology and with great accuracy in processing, to achieve a perfection and precision drugs.
The holy wells are scattered throughout the territory of Sardinia and those currently known are more than fifty. Particularly interesting and Santa Vittoria in Serri and Santa Cristina in Paulilatino, a magnificent sacred well basalt built around the X century BC, which is the most beautiful architecture nuragica. The entrance of the well, a fan to the ground level, leading to the monumental staircase that descends into the ground until you find the basement room, covered from time to tholos; on the bottom of the shaft buried at the foot of the staircase, c ' is the sacred source. The sanctuary of Santa Cristina seems exceptionally architecture evolved than the other wells sacred basalt blocks used to build the entire structure are cut with extreme precision while Under the architects used nuragici roughly rough boulders.