Sa Carcaredda

The nuragic settlement ( Italian Villaggio nuragico ) Sa Carcaredda near Villagrande Strisaili in the province of Nuoro in Sardinia consists essentially of a kind of small megaron temple and a younger type of giant tomb with a square facade.

The temple

The temple is located in the "Funtana 'e Binu" area not far from the upper Flumendosa Lake, on the border with Barbagia . It has a round paved cell , which is accessible through an outside rectangular, inside rather oval paved atrium with ante (an extension of the side walls). The shape of the cell differs from most canonical examples, which are usually rectangular. On the floor there was a fireplace made of small limestone blocks covered with a layer of clay ; Above that there were more limestone blocks, which were decorated on the outer side with the decoration of a four-tower nuraghe . Numerous bronze votive offerings and utensils were found inside the temple .

At the entrance to the temple, the foundations of a round (left) and a rectangular structure can be seen, which are also unique on the island. A long narrow room is accessible through three passages on one long side. The temple, which consists of polygonal granite blocks , is well preserved following a restoration. It comes from the final phase of the nuragic culture 1200–900 BC. Chr.

The giant grave

The buildings called "Tumbas de los zigantes" in Sardu and "Tombe dei Giganti" in Italian (plur.) Are the largest prenuraghic cult structures in Sardinia and are among the latest megalithic structures in Europe . The 321 known giant tombs are monuments of the Bronze Age Bonnanaro culture (2,200-1,600 BC), the precursor culture of the Nuragic culture . The gigantic grave with a square facade has an extraordinary monumentality, especially with the dimension of the exedra . Along the exedra, as is obligatory for this type of analage, there is a bench altar made of stone blocks. In the middle of the facade was a trilith entrance of extraordinary size, of which only two large fragments have survived. Inside, the burial chamber is well preserved. There is a slanted plate on the floor. The complex is older than the temple.

See also

• List of prehistoric and protohistoric archaeological sites in Sardinia
• Sardinian megaron temples

literature

• Maria A. Fadda: Sa Carcaredda (Villagrande Strisaili) - NU. In: Bollettino di Archeologia. No. 13/15, 1992, ISSN  1120-2742 , pp. 173-175.

Web links

• photos
• Video from the temple
• Description (Italian) and pictures
• The giant grave and picture

Coordinates: 39 ° 59 ′ 35 ″  N , 9 ° 25 ′ 36 ″  E