Thenuraghe, ornurhag,[1] is the main type of ancientmegalithicedifice found inSardinia, Italy, developed during theNuragic Age between 1900 and 730 BC.[2] Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture known as theNuragic civilization. More than 7,000 nuraghes have been found, though archeologists believe that originally there were more than 10,000.[3]
Natively, the structure is called anuraghe (Sardinian:[nuˈɾaɣɛ],Italian:[nuˈraːɡe]; plural:Logudorese Sardiniannuraghes,Campidanese Sardiniannuraxis[nuˈɾaʒizi],Italiannuraghi). According to theOxford English Dictionary the etymology is "uncertain and disputed": "The word is perhaps related to the Sardinian place namesNurra,Nurri,Nurru, and to Sardiniannurra 'heap of stones, cavity in earth' (although these senses are difficult to reconcile). A connection with the Semitic base of Arabicnūr 'light, fire, etc.' is now generally rejected."[4] The Latin wordmurus ('wall') may be related to it,[5] being a result of the derivation:murus–*muraghe–nuraghe. However, such theories are debated.
An etymological theory suggests aProto-Basque origin by the term*nur (stone) with the common-ak plural ending;[6] thePaleo-Sardinian suffix-ake is also found in someIndo-European languages such asLatin andGreek.[7] Another possible explanation is that the termnuraghe came from the name of theIberian mythological heroNorax, and the root*nur would be an adaptation of the Indo-European root*nor.[8][9]
The typical nuraghe is situated in areas where previous prehistoric Sardinian cultures had been distributed, that, is not far fromalluvial plains (though few nuraghes appear in plains currently as they were destroyed by human activities such as agriculture, dams and road building) and has the outer shape of a truncated conical tower, thus resembling a medieval tower, with atholos-like vault inside.[10]
The structure's walls consist of three components: an outer layer (tilted inwards and made of many layers of stones whose size diminishes with increasing height: mostly, lower layers consist of rubble masonry, while upper layers tend to be ofashlar masonry); an inner layer, made of smaller stones (to form acorbelled dome of the bullet-shapedtholos type, and where ashlar masonry is used more frequently); and an intermediate layer of very small pieces and dirt, which makes the whole construction very sturdy: it stands only by virtue of the weight of its stones, which may each amount to several tons. Some nuraghes are about 20 metres (65 ft) in height, the tallest one known,Nuraghe Arrubiu, reached a height of 25–30 metres (80–100 ft).[10]
The entrance leads into a corridor, on whose sides are often open niches, that lead to the round chamber. A spiral stone stair, leading to upper floors (if present) and/or to a terrace, was built within the thick walls and it was illuminated by embrasures. The Nuragic towers might have as much as three corbel chambers one on top of the other. In complex nuraghes corridors were often present, sometimes corbelled, such as atSantu Antine, in which the corbelled arch corridors were superimposed on two levels, and reached a length of 27 metres (89 ft).
Today fewer than 7,000 nuraghes remain standing; their number was originally larger. Nuraghes are most prevalent in the northwest and south-central parts of the island.[11]
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There is no consensus on the function of the nuraghes: they could have been rulers' residences, military strongholds, meeting halls, religious temples, ordinary dwellings or a combination of any of these things. Some of the nuraghes are, however, located in strategic places – such as hills – from which important passages could be easily controlled. They might have been something between a "status symbol" and a "passive defence" building, meant to be a deterrent for possible enemies.
Nuraghes could also have been the "national" symbol of the Nuragic peoples. Small-scale models of nuraghe have often been excavated at religious sites (e.g. in the "maze" temple at the Su Romanzesu site nearBitti in central Sardinia). Nuraghes may have just connoted wealth or power, or they may have been an indication that a site had its owners. Recent unconfirmed theories tend to suggest that Sardinian towns were independent entities (such as thecity-states, although in a geographical sense they were not cities) that formed federations and that the building of these monuments might have depended on agreed-on distributions of territory among federated unities.
They were not tombs of princes and their families, as was mistakenly believed by taking as an argument the discovery of human remains there, but of strata of a later age than the Nuragic, that is, Carthaginian and Roman. Neither were they monumental temples, which today are known to be of different shapes and types, even for prehistoric island times, likewise burials (domus de janas or "fairy houses"; tumbas de sos gigantes or "tombs of the giants").[12]
In 2002, Juan Belmonte and Mauro Zedda measured the entrance orientations (declinations andazimuths) of 272 simple nuraghes and of the central towers of 180 complex ones. The data revealed clear peaks corresponding to orientations pointing to the sunrise at wintersolstice and to the Moon at its southernmost rising position. These alignments remained constant throughout the history of nuraghe.[13] The most common declinations revealed were of around −43° for the earlier nuraghes, shifting to just −45½° for the later. Zedda has suggested that the target is likely a star, quite possiblyAlpha Centauri.[13]
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Protonuraghes are considered to be the most archaic type; they differ somewhat from the "classical" (tholos-vaulted) nuraghes in their stockier look. Protonuraghes generally follow an irregular plan and lack the large circular room present in presumed later forms; instead, they are laid out along one or more corridors or long rooms. Although lacking the central circular room, they are sometimes similar in size to later nuraghes.[14]
This type is distinguished by the restorations made in later times, supposedly because of a change to the protonuraghes design, or for other needs.
This is considered to be the predominant type of nuraghe, and it represents the most diffused typology.[14] The single tower, of a truncated conical shape, contains one or more superimposed chambers, covered by atholos-shaped chamber. The access, generally located at the ground level, leads into a passageway that leads, in the front, into the central chamber and in one side (usually the left) in the helical staircase, built inside the wall mass, that lead to the terrace or to the upper-floor chamber.
In addition to the usual circular rooms, in their inside can be found other smaller environments such as niches.
A "tancadu" nuraghe (Sardinian term for courtyard) represents the evolution of the single-tower nuraghe; another circular building was later added to the main tower, with two enclosing curtain walls connecting the two. A courtyard was present within the structure, sometimes provided with a well.
Also calledNuragic royal palaces, the polylobed nuraghes are the least frequent typology. Very elaborate and often designed in a unified manner, they look like veritable fortresses with several towers linked by high ramparts, whose function was to offer more useful space and perhaps to reinforce the central tower. These "Megalithic castles" were surrounded by additional walls, sometimes also provided with towers (the so-called bulwark).
Nuraghes are inscribed on theUNESCOWorld Heritage Site list.Su Nuraxi di Barumini, in the south of the island, has been chosen to represent all the nuragic patrimony, but one of the highest and most complex nuraghes is theNuraghe Santu Antine near the village ofTorralba, in northern Sardinia. Other famous nuraghes are nearAlghero (Nuraghe Palmavera),Macomer,Abbasanta (seeLosa),Orroli (Nuraghe Arrubiu),Gonnesa (Nuraghe Seruci) andVillanovaforru (Nuraghe Genna Maria).
The nuraghes were built between the middle of theBronze Age (18th–15th centuries BCE) and theLate Bronze Age. The claim that the El-Ahwat structures fromIsrael might be related has been contested; those are dated to either the 12th or the 11th century BCE.[15] The only buildings widely accepted as being related to nuraghes are thetorri (plural oftorre) fromsouthern Corsica and thetalaiots fromMenorca andMallorca.[8]
According toMassimo Pallottino, an Italian archaeologist specialized inEtruscology, the architecture produced by theNuragic civilization was the most advanced of any in the western Mediterranean during this epoch, including those in the regions ofMagna Graecia.[16] Of the 7,000 extant nuraghes, only a few have been scientifically excavated.
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with structure similar to nuraghes
Nowadays Sardinia is part of Spain and ancient tower-like ruins tapered towards the upper end dot the rural and mountainous areas, and they are built with solid rocks and have narrow openings; to the center are small steps leading to the top: they seem like fortresses. The native Sardinians call this type of ruins Nuraghes, perhaps because they are what is left of Norax's feats. [original text: Hodie insula paret regi Hispanorum habetque passim antiquissimas ruinas in locis agrestibus et montosis instar rotundarum turrium in angustiam ascendentium, quae robustissimis saxis sunt extructae, habentes ianuas angustissimas; intra vero muri mediam latitudinem sunt gradus per quos in altum conscenditur: prae se ferunt formam propugnaculorum. Incolae vocant huiusmodi ruinas nuragos, fortassis quod reliquiae quaedam sint operum Noraci.]
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