Sardinia is a big island. It’s not the sort of place you’d traverse in a day — if you wanted to get back at a reasonable time. We stayed in the Southern half for the whole of our stay. But that was OK. We stil got to see lots of Nuraghe (it’s pronounced Nu-Raj-She), thousands of which are found all over the island.
A Nuraghe is a Middle-to-late Bronze Age hollow conical stone building, peculiar to Sardinia. They were built between 2,800 and 4,000 years ago. As no one learned to write at the time, no records of their use exist, and the archaeologists are left guessing. They could be mansions, temples, garrisons or castles.
They vary in size and complexity, with some a single tower (of up to three floors), to geometrically complex arrangements of concentric towers and adjoining settlements. They were built to last, with many of them still standing — albeit minus a roof.
The biggest Nuraghe I saw was Su Naraxi. It’s an impressive structure. Like a lot of these things, it was probably augmented over hundreds of years. It now resembles a small town with a central municipal fortress, houses, meeting hall and ritual room.
