Associazione Città Italiane Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO
The Su Nuraxi complex in Barumini
Associazione Città Italiane Patrimonio Unesco
Su Nuraxi: gli scavi
Veduta aerea di Su Nuraxi
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For many years, the remains of the Nuragic village lay in seeming piles of rocks on the top of a nearby hill. This collection had been ransacked over the years by locals looking for building materials. The dig revealed a well-designed settlement laid out at the foot of a central tower.
Su Nuraxi di Barumini is the best-kept and most complete example of a nuraghe. The ensemble of these monuments scattered all over the island of Sardinia and nowhere else, is the most important evidence we have regarding prehistoric culture in the Mediterranean basin.
NURAGHI IN THE BRONZE AGE
What exactly are nuraghi and what were they for? They were circular defensive towers in the form of truncated cones built of dressed stone, with corbel-vaulted internal chambers. Some nuraghi like those in Barumini were positioned inside a protective ring made up of smaller towers and connected by fortified walls. Villages with small houses laid out in a circular fashion were to be found huddled together within the main protected areas.
The first central defensive structures date back to the mid and late Bronze Age i.e. between 1,500 and 1,800 BC and would seem to have been built by families or clans that lived in isolation.
Towards the end of the Bronze Age, Nuragic society began to evolve; became somewhat more sophisticated and showed signs of developing a hierarchical system. Outlying towers were fitted with additional architectural features that served both social roles and defensive purposes.
THE IRON AGE THE RISE AND FALL
The most significant improvement to the defences of Buramini took place at the beginning of the Iron Age between the 10th and 8th centuries BC. A period that coincided with Carthaginian invasions of the island.
It was not only the defensive fortifications that were strengthened. The same process was applied to the other nuraghi on the island. The population meanwhile sought safety in numbers by living in groups near these massive stone fortresses. Later, the nuraghi became fortified villages within whose walls lived chieftains or princes who offered protection to neighbouring hamlets. This was not dissimilar to what happened in mediaeval castles where local people could seek shelter for themselves and their animals in times of danger. The reality was that these villages were small town-like settlements inhabited by soldiers and craftsmen.
During the 7th century BC Su Nuraxi was overwhelmed by the Carthaginians and its defensive system was all but obliterated. Be that as it may, the settlement was preserved and the homes rebuilt though in a different style.
During the 3rd century when Sardinia was conquered by the Romans, most of the nuraghi were abandoned. This however was not the case of Su Nuraxi: Archaeological excavations have shown that the site remained inhabited until the end of the 3rd century AD.
CHRONOLOGY PROBLEMS
There has always been a lot of speculation and debate about when exactly the nuraghi were built. The main feature of the Su Nuraxi complex is a huge central tower that was built with great slabs of rock placed one on top of the other without mortar or cement. This was certainly the case of the oldest of the towers that dates back to the second millennium BC. The four side towers were added later and connected by a massive stone wall. These huge walls were later reinforced and at the same time, a second protective belt that circled the homes was built. Most of these homes were small, unsophisticated, stone dwellings with only one room
After the destruction wrought by the Carthaginians and the dismantling of the defences, new dwellings were built but were no longer in the same style because the stones used were smaller than before.
The Su Nuraxi complex in Barumini
Jump the contents and go to the summary
Su Nuraxi
For many years, the remains of the Nuragic village lay in seeming piles of rocks on the top of a nearby hill. This collection had been ransacked over the years by locals looking for building materials. The dig revealed a well-designed settlement laid out at the foot of a central tower.
Su Nuraxi di Barumini is the best-kept and most complete example of a nuraghe. The ensemble of these monuments scattered all over the island of Sardinia and nowhere else, is the most important evidence we have regarding prehistoric culture in the Mediterranean basin.
NURAGHI IN THE BRONZE AGE
What exactly are nuraghi and what were they for? They were circular defensive towers in the form of truncated cones built of dressed stone, with corbel-vaulted internal chambers. Some nuraghi like those in Barumini were positioned inside a protective ring made up of smaller towers and connected by fortified walls. Villages with small houses laid out in a circular fashion were to be found huddled together within the main protected areas.
The first central defensive structures date back to the mid and late Bronze Age i.e. between 1,500 and 1,800 BC and would seem to have been built by families or clans that lived in isolation.
Towards the end of the Bronze Age, Nuragic society began to evolve; became somewhat more sophisticated and showed signs of developing a hierarchical system. Outlying towers were fitted with additional architectural features that served both social roles and defensive purposes.
THE IRON AGE THE RISE AND FALL
The most significant improvement to the defences of Buramini took place at the beginning of the Iron Age between the 10th and 8th centuries BC. A period that coincided with Carthaginian invasions of the island.
It was not only the defensive fortifications that were strengthened. The same process was applied to the other nuraghi on the island. The population meanwhile sought safety in numbers by living in groups near these massive stone fortresses. Later, the nuraghi became fortified villages within whose walls lived chieftains or princes who offered protection to neighbouring hamlets. This was not dissimilar to what happened in mediaeval castles where local people could seek shelter for themselves and their animals in times of danger. The reality was that these villages were small town-like settlements inhabited by soldiers and craftsmen.
During the 7th century BC Su Nuraxi was overwhelmed by the Carthaginians and its defensive system was all but obliterated. Be that as it may, the settlement was preserved and the homes rebuilt though in a different style.
During the 3rd century when Sardinia was conquered by the Romans, most of the nuraghi were abandoned. This however was not the case of Su Nuraxi: Archaeological excavations have shown that the site remained inhabited until the end of the 3rd century AD.
CHRONOLOGY PROBLEMS
There has always been a lot of speculation and debate about when exactly the nuraghi were built. The main feature of the Su Nuraxi complex is a huge central tower that was built with great slabs of rock placed one on top of the other without mortar or cement. This was certainly the case of the oldest of the towers that dates back to the second millennium BC. The four side towers were added later and connected by a massive stone wall. These huge walls were later reinforced and at the same time, a second protective belt that circled the homes was built. Most of these homes were small, unsophisticated, stone dwellings with only one room
After the destruction wrought by the Carthaginians and the dismantling of the defences, new dwellings were built but were no longer in the same style because the stones used were smaller than before.