Ancient site · Settlement
Su Nuraxi di Barumini
Su Nuraxi ('the nuraghe') at Barumini is the finest example of Sardinia's nuraghi: stone towers built by the Nuragic civilisation. Its central basalt tower, with three chambers stacked inside, rose about 18.6 metres.
Later four corner towers and a curtain wall were added around it, and a village of round stone huts grew outside from the 13th to the 6th century BCE. Archaeologists still debate whether nuraghi were mainly fortresses, homes of leaders or religious buildings. Giovanni Lilliu excavated it in the 1950s.
- Dates
- tower 17th–13th century BCE; village to the 6th century BCE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 39.71° N, 8.99° E
How we know
The Nuragic people left no writing; dates come from excavations begun in the 1950s and radiocarbon.
Nearby sites
- Carthage founded c. 814 BCE (traditional date); destroyed 146 BCE; Roman city to 698 CE
- Pantheon, Rome c. 126 CE; a church since 609
- Colosseum 72–80 CE; games until the 6th century
- Pompeii 7th–6th century BCE – 79 CE
- Pont du Gard 1st century CE; used perhaps until the 6th century
- Ġgantija temples c. 3600–2500 BCE
Related
- Nuragic civilisation archaeological culture
- The world in 2000 BCE: Cities of Bronze chapter