The most distinctive characteristic of the Nuragic culture on Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea are the nearly 7,000 large conical rock towers (called nuraghi), apparently an important part of the site occupations.
While the earliest occupations on Sardinia date to the early Neolithic period, ca. 7000 BC, the nuraghi were probably built during the Middle and Late Bronze age. The nuraghi are usually located near a small villlages of round huts. Also found on Nuragic culture sites are the communal shaft burials called Giant's Tombs.
Source
Blake, Emma 2001 Constructing a Nuragic Locale: The Spatial Relationship between Tombs and Towers in Bronze Age Sardinia. American Journal of Archaeology 105(2):145-162.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
