Isili, Ìsili in sardinian language, is a comune (municipality) in the province of South Sardinia, southern Sardinia, Italy, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Cagliari in the Sarcidano traditional region.
The Province of South Sardinia is an Italian province of Sardinia instituted on 4 February 2016. It includes the suppressed provinces of Carbonia-Iglesias and Medio Campidano, great part of the old Province of Cagliari, and two other municipalities.
The nuraghe is located in a strategic position dominating the underlying territories open to the West. Its shape is that of a trilobate nuraghe, formed by a triangular bastion with three towers at the corners.
The nuraghe is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 B.C. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture, the Nuragic civilization. More than 7000 nuraghes have been found, though archeologists believe that originally there were more than 10,000.
According to the archaeologist Giovanni Lilliu its tholos is the largest and most harmonious of all those present in Sardinia. The diameter of the base of the tower is of about 12,50 meters, its tholos chamber reached a height of 11,80 meters, making it the tallest dome in the world when it was built in the 15-14th century bc, it was surpassed by the underground tholos of the tomb of Atreus one or two centuries later. Inside the main tower there's a circular well. Originally there was an additional chamber on top of the first one, which would be reached through the still partially extant spiral staircase. Three smaller towers were added around the main one during the 13th century bc and connected by a wall. The complex was in turn surrounded by an external wall with towers.
Giovanni Lilliu, was a renowned archeologist, academician, publicist and politician and public figure and an expert of the Nuragic civilization. Largely due to his scientific and archeologic work in the Su Nuraxi di Barumini in Sardinia, Italy, the site was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.
A Tholos, from Ancient Greek θόλος), in Latin tholus, is an architectural feature that was widely used in the classical world. It is a round structure, usually built upon a couple of steps, with a ring of columns supporting a domed roof.
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Bibliography
Giovanni Lilliu, I nuraghi, torri preistoriche della Sardegna, Cagliari, La Zattera 1962
Ercole Contu, L'architettura nuragica, Ichnussa. La Sardegna dalle origini all'età classica, Milano, Scheiwiller 1981
A. Moravetti, Gli interventi del 1975-77 nel nuraghe Is Paras di Isili, in L’eredità del Sarcidano e della Barbagia di Seulo, Sassari - Blackwood e Partners 2000
T. Cossu, Il Nuraghe Is Paras di Isili: campagna di scavo 1998, in L’eredità del Sarcidano e della Barbagia di Seulo, Sassari - Blackwood e Partners 2000
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.
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Related Research Articles
Su Nuraxi is a nuragic archaeological site in Barumini, Sardinia, Italy. Su Nuraxi simply means "The Nuraghe" in Campidanese, the southern variant of the Sardinian language.
The Nuragic civilization, also known as the Nuragic culture was a civilization or culture on the island of Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, which lasted from the 18th century BCE to 238 BCE when the Romans colonized the island. Others date the culture as lasting at least until the 2nd century CE or possibly even to the 6th century CE.
The Giants of Mont'e Prama are ancient stone sculptures created by the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia, Italy. Fragmented into numerous pieces, they were found by accident in March 1974, in farmland near Mont'e Prama, in the comune of Cabras, province of Oristano, in central-western Sardinia. The statues are carved in local sandstone and their height varies between 2 and 2.5 meters.
Santu Antine is one of the largest nuraghi in Sardinia. It is located in the centre of the Cabu Abbas plain.
The main structure was built around the 19-18th century BC, and the other parts of the nuraghe date back to the 17-15th century BC.
The main tower originally reached a height of 23-24 metres and contains three tholoi chambers on top of each other. The central tower with diameter of 15 metres is 17 metres high. Santu Antine is made of huge basalt blocks. It has 3 floors. The top floor is now gone. Some 27 meters long corridors built with the corbel arch technique can be observed inside of the Nuraghe, superimposed on two floors, the Nuraghe was provided with three wells.
The Arzachena culture was a late Neolithic pre-Nuragic culture occupying the northeastern part of Sardinia (Gallura) and part of southern Corsica from roughly the 4th to the 3rd millennium BC. It takes its name from the Sardinian town of Arzachena.
The Pre-Nuragic period refers to the prehistory of Sardinia from the Paleolithic till the middle Bronze age, when the Nuragic civilization flourished on the island.
The Nuraghe Arrubiu is one of the largest of the nuraghi in Sardinia. It is located in Orroli, in province of South Sardinia. Its name means "red Nuraghe" in the Sardinian language, which derives from the basalt stones of which is built.
The Nuragic bronze statuettes are typical Nuragic Sardinian bronze sculptures of the final phase of the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age.
The nuragic holy well is a typical Sardinian hypogean Bronze Age structure for the worship of the waters. Scattered throughout the island, along with the Giants' grave and the megaron temples, they testify to the deep religiosity of the Nuragic populations. These temples were a place of pilgrimage and ceremonies: it is believed that at certain times of year the various nuragic populations of the area gathered together in their vicinity.
The Nuraghe Adoni is a Nuragic complex dating back to the Bronze Age located in the municipality of Villanova Tulo in the province of Cagliari. The site is located on a hill at the center of the historic region of Sarcidano.
The nuraghe Seruci is an important archaeological site, located in the municipality of Gonnesa, in the Iglesiente region of Sardinia.
The nuraghe Palmavera is an archaeological site located in the territory of Alghero, Sardinia. It is classified as a complex nuraghe, that consists of several towers joined together. The nuraghe and the surrounding village were built in various phase during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
The Nuraghe Antigori is a nuragic complex dating back to the second millennium BC. It's located in the municipality of Sarroch, in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari.
The nuraghe Genna Maria is an archaeological site in the comune of Villanovaforru, province of South Sardinia.
The Nuragic Sanctuary of Santa Vittoria is an archaeological site located in the municipality of Serri, Sardinia. The name refers to the Romanesque church, located a few meters from the Nuragic temple, built on a Roman worship site.
Nuraghe Su Mulinu is an archaeological site located in the territory of Villanovafranca, in the province of South Sardinia.
The Nuraghe S'Urachi or S'Uraki is an archaeological site of the Bronze Age period located in the municipality of San Vero Milis, in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy.
