A műemlékek sokszínűsége (A 28. Egri Nyári Egyetem előadásai 1998 Eger, 1998)

Előadások / Presentations - Tatiana KIROVA: Nuraghi in Sardinia

TATIANA KIRÓVA NURAGHI IN SARDINIA* It is still unclear what the function of the nuraghi may have been, There is no written evidence of the civilisation of the nuraghi, dated back to more than 3,000 years ago. The only documents surviving are the stones themselves, which tell us about the cult of water and the religion of the people who lived in Sardinia. As the island is located far from the mainland, it was not affected by the great invasions of history. Geolithological conditions on the island were very favourable with various types of stones available. In the north, limestone, in Central Sardinia, anthracite and basalt were found in great abundance. This is why the shepherd's huts around the island were all built of stone. The towers primarily referred to as nuraghi were built from about 2000 BC until the times of Venetian, Roman and Byzantine art. The 15th and 16th century travellers believed that the towers had originally been used for burial purposes. They were built of local materials. While there is no complete inventory available of the nuraghi in Sardinia, 7,500 of them have been counted, with a higher density in the interior of the island. The relics of the nuragh civilisation are to be found between 200 and 800 metres of altitude, on top of the hills. The word nuraghi probably has its origin in the Eastern part of the Mediterranean: „ur" and „nur" are sequences that often occur in Mesopotamia. Nuragh civilisation really means more than just the abovementioned towers: it embraces dwellings, community buildings, military facilities and the homes of tribal chiefs. Today, it is believed that the towers were used for both religious and defence purposes. Some scholars say they might have served as granaries as well or had something to do with mining, very developed at the time. Typologically speaking the towers usually form a truncated cone. In front of them, the remnants of onetime terraces may be seen scattered on the ground. The stone plates discovered suggest that animal and human sacrifice was part of the rites, A Bulgarian researcher says the upper part of the nuraghi was really the altar, and that people participated in the rituals from outside. The tallest nuragh reaches 20 metres. Very few traces of mortar have been identified. At first, it was believed that the stones had just been put together without mortar, then ground mortar was discovered. The simpler buildings only have one room. The bigger ones have several stories, linked together with stair running outside. The walls are very impressive, their thickness goes up to 3 metres. The more important nuraghi are surrounded by other towers. The main task now is not to preserve the towers themselves, as they would survive anyway, but to keep the landscape alive with the towers in it. To achieve this, thematic itineraries are being put in place. * A short summary of the paper delivered in french