The nuraghe, also called the nurhag, is a type of ancient large stone building found in Sardinia, Italy. These structures were built during the Nuragic Age, which lasted from 1900 to 730 BC. Today, the nuraghe is a symbol of Sardinia and its unique culture, known as the Nuragic civilization. More than 7,000 nuraghes have been discovered. However, archaeologists believe that there were originally more than 10,000.

Etymology

The structure is originally called a nuraghe (Sardinian: [nuˈɾaɣɛ], Italian: [nuˈraːɡe]; plural: Logudorese Sardinian nuraghes, Campidanese Sardinian nuraxis [nuˈɾaʒizi], Italian nuraghi). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin of the word is not clear and people disagree. It may be connected to Sardinian place names like Nurra, Nurri, and Nurru, as well as the Sardinian word nurra, which means "heap of stones" or "cavity in earth." However, these meanings are hard to explain. A link to the Arabic word nūr, meaning "light" or "fire," is no longer widely accepted. Some suggest the Latin word murus ("wall") might be related, as it could have developed into *muraghe and then nuraghe. However, this idea is debated.

Another theory suggests the word may come from a Proto-Basque term nur ("stone") with a common plural ending -ak. The Paleo-Sardinian suffix -ake also appears in some Indo-European languages, such as Latin and Greek. A different possibility is that the term nuraghe came from the name of an ancient Iberian hero, Norax. In this case, the root nur might be based on the Indo-European root *nor.

General layout

The typical nuraghe is found in areas where earlier prehistoric Sardinian cultures lived. These locations are often near alluvial plains, though few nuraghes are now in plains because many were destroyed by human activities like farming, building dams, and constructing roads. The nuraghe has the shape of a short cone-shaped tower, similar to a medieval tower, and contains a vault inside that resembles a dome.

The walls of the structure have three parts. The outer layer is tilted inward and made of many stone layers. The stones become smaller as the height increases, with the lower parts made of rough, broken stones and the upper parts made of smooth, fitted stones. The inner layer is made of smaller stones, forming a dome shaped like a bullet. This dome often uses smooth, fitted stones. Between the outer and inner layers is a middle layer of very small stones and dirt, which makes the structure very strong. The weight of the heavy stones, some weighing several tons, holds the structure together. Some nuraghes are about 20 metres (65 feet) tall, while the tallest known, Nuraghe Arrubiu, reached 25–30 metres (80–100 feet).

The entrance leads into a corridor with open niches on the sides, which lead to a round chamber. A spiral stone staircase, used to reach upper floors or a terrace, was built inside the thick walls. The staircase was lit by openings in the walls. Some nuraghes had up to three round chambers stacked on top of each other. In larger nuraghes, corridors were common, sometimes built with overlapping stones, like at Santu Antine, where two levels of such corridors reached 27 metres (89 feet) in length.

Today, fewer than 7,000 nuraghes remain standing. Originally, there were more. Nuraghes are most common in the northwest and south-central parts of the island.

• Access
• Niche of the central chamber
• Stairwell
• Tholos of Sant'Antine nuraghe
• Window and embrasures
• Reconstruction of a nuraghe from 1600 B.C.

Function

There is no agreement on what the nuraghes were used for. They may have been homes for rulers, military bases, places for meetings, religious temples, regular homes, or a mix of these. Some nuraghes are located on hills, which are important places to control movement through the area. These structures might have acted as a sign of importance and also helped protect against enemies by being hard to attack.

Nuraghes may have also been a symbol of the Nuragic people. Small models of nuraghes have been found at religious places, like the "maze" temple near Bitti in Sardinia. These structures could have shown wealth or power, or they might have marked land that belonged to a group. Some recent, unconfirmed ideas suggest that Sardinian towns were separate groups that formed alliances, and the building of nuraghes might have been part of agreements about how land was shared.

Nuraghes were not tombs for kings and their families, as some people thought because human remains were found there. These remains were from much later times, such as the Carthaginian and Roman periods. Nuraghes were also not temples or burial sites, as modern research shows that temples and tombs from ancient times had different shapes and designs.

In 2002, Juan Belmonte and Mauro Zedda studied the directions of the entrances of 272 simple nuraghes and the central towers of 180 more complex ones. Their findings showed that many entrances faced the sunrise during the winter solstice and the Moon’s southernmost rising point. These patterns stayed the same over time. Earlier nuraghes had entrances angled around −43°, while later ones had angles of about −45½°. Zedda believes these directions might have pointed to a star, possibly Alpha Centauri.

Types

Protonuraghes are the oldest type of nuraghe. They look thicker and more solid compared to the "classical" (tholos-vaulted) nuraghes. Protonuraghes usually have an irregular shape and do not have the large circular room found in later types. Instead, they are built along one or more corridors or long rooms. Even though they lack the central circular room, they can sometimes be as large as later nuraghes.

This type is known for repairs made later, possibly because of changes to the original design or other needs.

This is the most common type of nuraghe and the most widely found. It has a single tower shaped like a cone that has been cut short at the top. The tower contains one or more stacked rooms, covered by a chamber shaped like a dome. The entrance is usually at ground level, leading into a passageway. From there, the path goes into the central chamber, and another path leads to a spiral staircase built inside the wall, which connects to a terrace or upper room.

Inside, in addition to the usual circular rooms, there are smaller spaces such as niches.

A "tancadu" nuraghe (a Sardinian word for courtyard) is a later version of the single-tower nuraghe. A second circular building was added to the main tower, connected by two walls. A courtyard was inside the structure, sometimes with a well.

Polylobed nuraghes, also called Nuragic royal palaces, are the rarest type. They are very complex and often built as a unified structure. They look like strong fortresses with several towers linked by tall walls. These walls may have been built to create more usable space and to strengthen the central tower. These "Megalithic castles" were surrounded by extra walls, sometimes with additional towers (called bulwarks).

Notable nuraghes

Nuraghes are listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Su Nuraxi di Barumini, located in the southern part of the island, was selected to represent all nuragic heritage. However, one of the tallest and most complex nuraghes is Nuraghe Santu Antine, found near the village of Torralba in northern Sardinia. Other well-known nuraghes include those near Alghero (Nuraghe Palmavera), Macomer, Abbasanta (see Losa), Orroli (Nuraghe Arrubiu), Gonnesa (Nuraghe Seruci), and Villanovaforru (Nuraghe Genna Maria).

Date and cultural significance

The nuraghes were built during the middle of the Bronze Age (18th–15th centuries BCE) and continued into the Late Bronze Age. Some people have suggested that the El-Ahwat structures in Israel might be connected to the nuraghes, but this idea has been disputed. The El-Ahwat structures are believed to be from the 12th or 11th century BCE. The only buildings widely accepted as being related to the nuraghes are the torri (plural of torre) in southern Corsica and the talaiots on Menorca and Mallorca.

According to Massimo Pallottino, an Italian archaeologist who studies the Etruscans, the architecture of the Nuragic civilization was the most advanced in the western Mediterranean during this time, including areas in southern Italy known as Magna Graecia. Out of the 7,000 nuraghes that still exist today, only a small number have been carefully studied through scientific excavation.

Image gallery

• Nuraghe Arrubiu, Orroli
• Nuraghe Santa Barbara, Macomer
• Nuraghe Adoni
• Nuraghe Is Paras
• Stairwell inside Nuraghe Nolza
• Nuraghe Iloi, Sedilo
• Nuraghe Oes, Giave
• Nuraghe Ruiu, Chiaramonti
• Nuraghe Orolio, Silanus
• Nuraghe Santu Antine, Torralba
• Nuraghe Loelle, Buddusò
• Nuraghe Orolo, Bortigali
• Nuraghe Nieddu, Codrongianos
• Nuraghe S'Urachi
• Nuraghe Su Mulinu, Villanovafranca