Giacomo Pozza
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The Nuragic civilization developed in Sardinia from 1800 to 500 BC. It's the oldest civilization of the western mediterranean area.
The Nuragics built more than 7000 Nuraghi, towers and fortresses that were all built between 1800 and 1100 BC. Some Nuraghi could be extremely big and made of several towers and walls, like the Nuraghe Arrubbiu, that with its 25-30 meters of height was the tallest structure in Bronze Age Europe. There are three main types of Nuraghe: 1)Complex Nuraghi, Like Arrubbiu, Barumini, Santu Antine, Losa, Seruci and many others, which are big Nuraghi made of several towers, usually the tallest tower is located in the center of the structure. 2) The Simple Tholos Nuraghe: these are the most common ones and are made of a single tower. 3)The Corridor Nuraghi, these are the least common ones, they are believed to be the oldest type of Nuraghe, they are often reffered to as proto-nuraghi, they have a rectangular shape.
The Nuragics of course not only built the Nuraghi, but also many other structures, like the hundreds of Water well temples that can be found in Sardinia (built mainly between 1300 and 1000 BC), these temples were really advanced buildings for the time, a good example of this type of structures is the Holy well of Saint Cristina, which is considered by some archeologists to be an advanced astronomical observatory. The Nuragics also built hundreds of Giant tombs called "Tombe dei giganti" and many Megaron temples.
The Nuragics traded with all the mediterranean people, they were sailors as proved by the discovery of many heavy Nuragic anchors and by the fact that Bronze age Nuragic pottery is found in many regions of the Mediterranean sea (Cyprus, Crete, Spain, Sicily, Tyrins and many others).
The Nuragic civilization made the first statues in Europe: the so called Giants of Monte prama are a group of 40 giant statues (their height ranges between 2 and 2,5 meters) depicting warriors and athlets, dated between the IXth and the VIIIth century BC, even if recent discoveries suggest that they could even be a couple of centuries older.
The Nuragics are also famous for the big qauntity of small bronze sculptures that they've produced, called the bronzetti, one of the biggest collection of small bronze figures of all time. Nowadays more than 700 of these figures are known, these bronze models depict warriors (which mostly wore a typical horned helmet and used a round shield) Leaders or kings, priests, offerers, muscians, animals and even bronze models of Nuraghi. The most common type of bronzetto is the Nuragic ship model, more than 157 bronze ships were found (and many hundreds of terracotta ships too) proving the importance of the sea in the life of the Nuragics.
Some Nuragic bronzetti are found in Italy too, mostly in Etruria, in fact Etruscans often traded with the Nuragics and according to many archeologists the Etruscan aristocrats used to organize arranged weddings with the Nuragic nobility.
Recent discoveries of bronzetti in the bronze age water temple of Funtana Coberta and in a Nuragic tomb in Orroli suggest that the production of Nuragic bronzetti began around the XIIIth century BC, although it flourished during the early iron age.
The ancient inhabitans of Sardinia adopted a phoenician alphabet during the early iron age, although some recent discoveries suggest the existence of an exclusive Nuragic writing system during the bronze age.
Iteresting facts about the Nuragic civilization:
The Nuragics were the first ones to produce wine in Europe around 1600 BC.
The Nuragics were the first ones to bring melons to Europe arund 1310-1150 BC.
According to some archeologists the Nuragic Sardinians are identifiable with the Sherden mercenaries who invaded Egypt and the middle east during the late Bronze age.
The Name Sardinians or SRDN is attested since at least 900-800 BC in the Nora stone, one of the first alphabetical documents of the western mediterranean sea, although a complete reliable translation of the document doesn't exist yet.
The Nuragics built more than 7000 Nuraghi, towers and fortresses that were all built between 1800 and 1100 BC. Some Nuraghi could be extremely big and made of several towers and walls, like the Nuraghe Arrubbiu, that with its 25-30 meters of height was the tallest structure in Bronze Age Europe. There are three main types of Nuraghe: 1)Complex Nuraghi, Like Arrubbiu, Barumini, Santu Antine, Losa, Seruci and many others, which are big Nuraghi made of several towers, usually the tallest tower is located in the center of the structure. 2) The Simple Tholos Nuraghe: these are the most common ones and are made of a single tower. 3)The Corridor Nuraghi, these are the least common ones, they are believed to be the oldest type of Nuraghe, they are often reffered to as proto-nuraghi, they have a rectangular shape.
The Nuragics of course not only built the Nuraghi, but also many other structures, like the hundreds of Water well temples that can be found in Sardinia (built mainly between 1300 and 1000 BC), these temples were really advanced buildings for the time, a good example of this type of structures is the Holy well of Saint Cristina, which is considered by some archeologists to be an advanced astronomical observatory. The Nuragics also built hundreds of Giant tombs called "Tombe dei giganti" and many Megaron temples.
The Nuragics traded with all the mediterranean people, they were sailors as proved by the discovery of many heavy Nuragic anchors and by the fact that Bronze age Nuragic pottery is found in many regions of the Mediterranean sea (Cyprus, Crete, Spain, Sicily, Tyrins and many others).
The Nuragic civilization made the first statues in Europe: the so called Giants of Monte prama are a group of 40 giant statues (their height ranges between 2 and 2,5 meters) depicting warriors and athlets, dated between the IXth and the VIIIth century BC, even if recent discoveries suggest that they could even be a couple of centuries older.
The Nuragics are also famous for the big qauntity of small bronze sculptures that they've produced, called the bronzetti, one of the biggest collection of small bronze figures of all time. Nowadays more than 700 of these figures are known, these bronze models depict warriors (which mostly wore a typical horned helmet and used a round shield) Leaders or kings, priests, offerers, muscians, animals and even bronze models of Nuraghi. The most common type of bronzetto is the Nuragic ship model, more than 157 bronze ships were found (and many hundreds of terracotta ships too) proving the importance of the sea in the life of the Nuragics.
Some Nuragic bronzetti are found in Italy too, mostly in Etruria, in fact Etruscans often traded with the Nuragics and according to many archeologists the Etruscan aristocrats used to organize arranged weddings with the Nuragic nobility.
Recent discoveries of bronzetti in the bronze age water temple of Funtana Coberta and in a Nuragic tomb in Orroli suggest that the production of Nuragic bronzetti began around the XIIIth century BC, although it flourished during the early iron age.
The ancient inhabitans of Sardinia adopted a phoenician alphabet during the early iron age, although some recent discoveries suggest the existence of an exclusive Nuragic writing system during the bronze age.
Iteresting facts about the Nuragic civilization:
The Nuragics were the first ones to produce wine in Europe around 1600 BC.
The Nuragics were the first ones to bring melons to Europe arund 1310-1150 BC.
According to some archeologists the Nuragic Sardinians are identifiable with the Sherden mercenaries who invaded Egypt and the middle east during the late Bronze age.
The Name Sardinians or SRDN is attested since at least 900-800 BC in the Nora stone, one of the first alphabetical documents of the western mediterranean sea, although a complete reliable translation of the document doesn't exist yet.
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