Monumental Bronze Age Tomb Discovered Amid Dense Vegetation in Sardinia

A new megalithic funerary monument, one of the many so-called “Giants’ Tombs” scattered around Sardinia, has been uncovered in the central part of the Italian island. The Bronze Age tomb was discovered at Carrarzu Iddia, an archaeological site near the town of Macomer, as reported in Finestra Sull’Arte.

The excavation was overseen by two local archaeology and fine art organizations, who were already working in the area.

This tomb, and others in Sardinia, was built as a collective burial site around 1800 BCE by the Nuragic people. It was previously unknown due to thick vegetation and other debris concealing the structure, made up of a burial chamber and a semicircular exedra, or an area by the entrance, where members of the  Nuragic civilization would gather to worship their ancestors. Over time, this element would become a recognizable feature of Nuragic funerary architecture.

One particular detail stood out to the archaeologists overseeing this excavation. The interior burial space is divided into two levels, which might shed light on Nuragic funerary practices and construction techniques, according to Finestra Sull’Arte.

Based on ceramic objects found inside the recently unearthed tomb, researchers believe that this structure dates to the early Nuragic period. This tracks with other nearby excavations—including a well, a burial ground, and a settlement—that are from the pre-Nuragic period.

Bortigali, the town where the archaeological site is located, is about 40 miles north and inland of Mont’e Prama, where ancient sculptural fragments and a monumental necropolis were first discovered in the 1970s. Mont’e Prama was home to distinctive,  prehistoric cone-shaped stone towers known as nuraghi, for which the Nuragic culture is named.