THE NURAGIC CIVILIZATION

ITINERARIES: ARCHAEOLOGY

The archaeological heritage of the area of Arzachena can be considered among the most interesting in Sardinia, both for the density of the monuments in relation to the extension of the municipal territory, and for their variety (funerary and cultic circles, rock shelters, funerary tafoni, dolmens, nuraghi, megalithic defensive walls and fortified villages, nuragic temples), as well as for the abundance of scientific data that the excavations carried out in them since 1939 have given to archaeologists, proposing new problems for the knowledge of Sardinian prehistory in general and Gallura in particular. The discovery of the main monuments known up to now is due to the intuition of a well-deserving citizen of Arzachena, Michele Ruzittu (1871-1960), an elementary school teacher better known among his fellow citizens by the good-natured name of Babbai Micáli The continuation of the research and scientific excavations carried out since 1940 by the Superintendence for Antiquities of Sardinia, intensified after the institution of the Archaeological Superintendence for the Provinces of Sassari and Nuoro, have offered a series of testimonies attesting to a cultural succession that starts from the Middle Neolithic and reaches the advanced Roman age. The Middle and Recent Neolithic is documented both in its civil aspect (Monte Incappiddatu, Pilastru) and in its funerary aspect (Li Muri and La Macciunitta), while the Early Metal Ages are testified by dolmens and rock shelters. The numerous nuraghi, the villages, the giants' tombs, the fortified areas of Monte Mazzolu, Monte Tiana, Punta Candela, located on high ground rich in typical dwelling and funerary tafoni, attest instead to the development of the Nuragic civilization with aspects peculiar to the Gallura territory. Until now, the evidence of the Punic age is very faint, limited only to the very recent discovery, in the tomb of the giants of Moru, of a small stele with an engraved daleth, and a coin with the head of Tanit and an equine protome (300 264 BC). The testimonies of the Roman age of which we have up to now are not yet sufficient for the identification of the site of TuroboleMinor (or Turibulus Minor), a station indicated in the ltinerarium Antoninianum (III century A.D.) at XIV Roman miles from Olbia, and that some scholars, proposing the reconstruction of a coastal route of the road, believe it should be located in the Gulf of Arzachena. Moreover, traces of the Roman road system are also preserved in several sites in Gallura, such as Calangianus, Tempio, Santa Teresa and, of course, Olbia. The presence of the attribute "minor" has led to the hypothesis, on the other hand, of the existence, never proved, of Turobole Major (or Turibulo Majore), while sites like Viniola, Tibula, Longonis, are historically documented.