Nuraghe

Nuraghe Nuraghe or ( feminine, masculine in German often wrong ) are prehistoric and early historic tower structures of Bonnyrigg culture ( 2200-1600 BC) and the inseparably connected with them, following Nuraghen (ca. 1600-400 BC ) in Sardinia. They are in great structural diversity. Your use is now increasingly rare interpreted as a place of worship as castles or tombs.

• 4.1 niches or cells
• 4.2 stairs to the upper floor
• 4.3 Nebentholoi
• 4.4 Coupling the
• 4.5 guard cells

Etymology

Even the BC ruling on the island from the middle of the 3rd century Romans used the term " Nuraghe ". The origin of the word, which is found in Sardinia in different variations is unclear. One hypothesis is that the root ONLY plugged into terms that can be found in other regions of the western Mediterranean as "NUL ", " NOR", etc., and 1 " pile " or 2 " cave " or " Hollow Tree "means third fire. According to another theory, the word Punic origin.

Dissemination

In Sardinia, was placed on the surface relative spread of 2.7 Nuraghes to 10 km ² determined. In some areas in the northwest, the concentration is even greater. An example is the Valle dei Nuraghi six investment to 10 km ². According to recent estimates about 6,500 copies were built on Sardinia. 1962 registered Giovanni Lilliu the remains of about 7,000 Nuraghe. Most often they are in the west and in the center of Sardinia (see distribution map - dark green area).

Designs

Preforms

The classical or Tholosnuraghen emerged from a variety of different architectural proto- or Korridornuraghen. The difference lies mainly in the design of the ceiling construction, made ​​possible by the use of the Kraggewölbes more interior rooms. The transition to the Nuraghe with vaulted ceilings seem Nuraghes Albucciu in Arzachena, S'Ulivera represent ( at Silanus ) and Su Mulinu at Villanovafranca, where you will find both forms in the ceiling design. Even with a protonuraghi first signs of vaulting technique were observed.

Tholosnuraghen

Juan Belmonte and Mauro Zedda have examined 272 simple and 180 complex Nuraghe. They found that the alignment of access was always oriented to the southeast. Also, some of the windows in the Nuraghe are aligned to astronomical points. Such phenomena were observed in the Nuraghe Aiga at Abbasanta and the Nuraghe Sa Jua of Aidomaggiore. Here came the summer solstice the sun in the construction of a. Solar alignments are strong arguments for a religious function, as such orientations and window openings have no defensive qualities. Most archaeologists are reluctant to admit a religious purpose of these structures. The fact is that Nuraghes often stand next to temples, shrines particularly well, so that a close link is undeniable.

Niches or cells

How complex the area of ​​a Tholosnuraghe ( with time) was also in the center was the dominant Tholos, a normally single -standing tower, the " Mastio " is called. He has within the meter-thick walls almost always a round chamber, which usually has niches and either:

• Not ( for example Arrubiu, Domu e S'Orku, Oes )
• One ( for example, Nuraddeo )
• Two (eg Lugherras, Palma Vera, Su Nuraxi, Nuraghe Mannu )
• Three ( for example, Losa Nuraghe Madrone )
• Four ( for example, Sa Cuguttada at Mores )
• Or niches rather than a ring-shaped handle, which is about two ( Nuraghe Leortinas ) or three to achieve ( Nuraghe Santu Ballantine ) passages from the chamber.

The majority are three niches available, the left may be rudimentary. In Su Mulinu also a fine crafted altar was found.

Stairs to the upper floor

Among the usually worn upper floors is via a spiral rotating staircase, the branches mostly in the access corridor to the central chamber on the left ( Santu Ballantine, Nuraghe Oes ). In the Nuraghe Domu s'Orku and Su Nuraxi the stairs handling starts at the top of the Kuppellaibung. The beginning is only accessible via ladders.

There are Nuraghes without staircase and those whose staircase of a niche loose or einnischigen chamber runs out ( Baiolu, S'Iscala 'e Pedra ). In the Nuraghe "Sa Pedra Longa " begins the stairs in their own niche in the einnischigen chamber. In "Sa Figu Rànchida " the staircase starts in the right of the three key niches. These designs seem to be early forms.

Nebentholoi

The central tholos was some locations successively closely remodels with smaller, usually completely non- African ( ie, from another function specific ) Nebentholoi. There are Nuraghe with only one ( Domu s'Orku ) Nebentholos and those with two, three, four, up to five ( Arrubiu ) large domed buildings, most of which are sold at most by an integrated courtyard of the central tholos. To differentiate from the simple form they are called Nuraghenkomplexe. The extension of such enlarged facilities consists of a large Walling in existence for several tholoi Nuraghe. In this outer wall four to seven more tholoi can be integrated so that the Nuraghe Su Nuraxi consists of a total of 12 tholoi.

Couple

When Nuraghenbau, large blocks of stone without mortar were carried out as dry stone walls, erected into a tower, which tapers upwardly and inwardly (if necessary by floor ) graduated as a false vault. The access corridor was generally in the southeast.

• In the Nuraghe Domu s'Orku the round, African loose, somewhat eccentrically located interior is vaulted by a very slim Kragkuppel. The entrance corridor has no guard cell and no stairs.
• In the Nuraghe Su Nuraxi the interior somewhat eccentrically located has two side niches ( cells). The entrance hall has a so-called guard cell on the right ( only occasionally be found sentinel cells on the left side ).
• In the Nuraghe Santu Ballantine is the guard cell at a 270 ° approach to the middle room, which merges with the cells.

To build wide -supporting corbelled ( skylights with high diameter) requires experience. In the Nuraghe Domu s'Orku behave diameter and amount of lean Tholos about 1:2. The Tholos at the Nuraghe Is Paras has an internal height of 11.8 m, with a bottom diameter of 6.3 m ( 1:1,87 ). It is among the highest and is obtained under the otherwise rather incomplete in a unique way.

In the multi-storey Nuraghes the dome is lower, at Su Nuraxi 1:1.6 and the ground floor of the Nuraghe Santu Ballantine 1:1.45. The problem of low utilization of interior space, through the required height of the superimposed corbelled was dissolved in Nuraghes Oes sent to: The interior consists of a single, top domed circular chambers, into the prepared three wall -heeled wooden basement floors were drafted, the Nuraghe 4 - floors made ​​.

Guard cells

The guard cell is an intramural, laterally located in the popular Sardinian Nuraghe and the spread in Corsica Torren cell in the access corridor. Additions Nuraghis have lengths between 3.5 and 5.5 m, tunnel-like, low and narrow. They lead from the outside or from an atrium into the chamber of the central Nuraghe. There are Nuraghes without guard cell, which are mainly to be counted among the early forms.

Guard cells are so named because the archaeologists view the cells in the transition as the space for the bouncer. They have different sizes, shapes and positions. Most are located right in the aisle, but there are also left-sided (Santa Barbara, at Macomer ). Occasionally, they extend to whorls or completely absent ( Nuraghe Arrubiu, Domu s'Orku at Sarroch, Nurradeo, Oes, Palma Nuraghe Vera). The small guard cell in protonuraghi Front'e Mola is the oldest.

Wall openings

The secondary towers ( never the central " Mastio " ), and in some cases also had the connection corridors between the secondary tholoi sometimes inwardly splayed stomata as perverse loopholes. In Nuraghe with surrounding ring corridor ( Santu Ballantine ) were addressed later built over wall openings to the surrounding ring back. Su Nuraxi, wherein the slots are directed both to the outside and the courtyard shows that such a function, which also denies Paolo Melis, was not provided, since the slots were (inversely to real Schießschartenm ) outside narrow and inward wider. This is to exclude a fortification function can also be seen on the plateau "Su Pranu " at Siddi, where some Nuraghe are only 200 meters apart.

Models

Confirm excavation findings and found models that Nuraghe elaborate, cantilevered structures were crowned. A limestone model exists of Barumini, height 36 cm, a sandstone model of San sperate, height 33 cm, and a bronze model of Olmedo, height 26 cm.

Nuraghenkomplexe

Some Nuraghes form with a myriad of other buildings (mostly round cells ) village-style complexes. The largest and best preserved Nuraghe complex, which was expanded into five phases and is referred to as Großnuraghe, Su Nuraxi is at Barumini in the province of Medio Campidano. He stands in the list of world cultural heritage.

Nuraghe

In the final phase of the culture ( probably from 1000 BC ) emerged nuragical settlements that do partially without Nuraghe. The period of 8 is of particular interest to the 6th century BC The progress of social organization and economic development turn out by the occurrence of agricultural and pastoral villages. We know about 100 nuragic villages, they are in all zones of the country:

• In the mountains, as in Abini and S'Urbale ( Teti )
• On hills, such as Su Iriu ( Gergei ) Medesas di Lasplassasm and Su Nuraxi ( Barumini )
• At high levels, such as Su Pranu di Orrioli, Serra Orrios, Serrucci at Gonnesa
• Nuraghe Mannu seaside ( Dorgali )

The number of houses is between 40 and 200 The villages offered up to 1000 people. They questioned the developed form of paläosardischen settlement and its public, economic and religious life dar. In this era architecture reached its peak.

Nuraghe Myth

The Greek legend - are mentioned Nuraghe at pseudo - Aristotle, Diodorus and other Greek authors - should have been her builder Daedalus. Then they would Aegean origin. Some modern researchers recruited parallels to Mycenaean tholos tombs, but both typological and chronological grounds is influencing the Nuraghenbaus from the Aegean area excluded. The oldest surviving examples of corbelled offer the tholos chambers at the Cairn of Barnenez in Brittany (4500-4000 BC). Also on the Iberian peninsula originated tholoi while the Talayotic and the Maltese temple culture that operated either simultaneously or previously, the round corbelled not know.

Featured Nuraghes

Differences between single tower, N. - complex and Protonuraghe:

• Albucciu ( Province of Olbia- Tempio) ( Protonuraghe )
• Antigori ( province of Cagliari)
• Ardasai (Province of Ogliastra)
• Arrubiu ( province of Cagliari) (largest complex)
• Asoru ( province of Cagliari)
• Brunku Madagui ( Province of Medio Campidano - Protonuraghe )
• Friarosu ( province of Oristano - Protonuraghe )
• Front'e Mola ( province of Sassari) ( Protonuraghe )
• Is Paras ( province of Nuoro)
• Izzana ( Province of Olbia- Tempio) ( Protonuraghe )
• La Prisgiona ( Province of Olbia- Tempio) Großnuraghe
• Losa ( province of Oristano) (complex)
• Madrone ( province of Nuoro)
• Orolo ( province of Nuoro)
• Palma Vera ( province of Sassari) (complex)
• Santu Ballantine ( province of Sassari) (complex) in the Valle dei Nuraghi
• Seneghe - (Province of Oristano - Protonuraghe )
• Su Mulinu ( Province of Medio Campidano )
• Su Nuraxi ( province of Cagliari) (complex)

Other tower structures

In neighboring Corsica consisted in the south about the same time the Torre culture that built similar structures, their ( modern ) name was derived from the word for Tower ( Torre ). Even the Towers as the Talayots in the Balearic Islands, as well as the Scottish Broch seem to like. However, they have in the construction also significant differences and created at least 500 years later than the early Nuraghe. It is generally assumed that Nuraghes without inspiration from the outside (apart from the corbelled ) a purely Sardinian invention. Tower structures unexplored function emerged, for example, in Oman and Great Zimbabwe (Africa).