A nuraghe is a type of stone construction in the shape of a rounded cone, found throughout Sardinia. Around 10,000 are still standing. They were built from 1800 B.C. until 1000 B.C. The three-letter root “NUR” of the word nuraghe was derived from the word for "a heap of stones" or a "big hollow".
They were built with a “tholos” or false dome, which was created by superimposing circular rows of large stones, one on top of another, without the use of any binding material. Every row of stones was shifted slightly inwards from the file below.
Most are “simple” nuraghes, that is, consisting of a single tower with an entrance to a room furnished with two cells in the walls. Stone steps give access to the top.
Other nuraghes consisted of several towers joined to a central tower. These are the so-called complex or 'polylobed’ nuraghes, furnished with several rooms, stairways and corridors.
Before this type of dwelling was built, the Nuragic people constructed “proto-nuraghes” or corridor nuraghes, which are therefore the most ancient type. Inside, rather than the large circular room typical of later structures, they have one or more corridors covered by flat slabs.
The nuraghes were used to control the territory and its resources, as well as being a clear manifestation of the power of the Nuragic community that built them.
From around 1000 B.C., no new nuraghes were built but some of the existing ones were restored and adapted in later periods as places of worship and for burials.
