The Nuragic Civilisation of Bronze Age Sardinia

Three thousand years ago, on the island of Sardinia, flourished a remarkable society. Right across the island, between about 1800 BC to 800 BC, they constructed around ten thousand astonishing stone structures called nuraghes. The ruins of around 7,000 of these structures can be seen today. Evidence for the kind of society this was, is also seen in the unique bronze figurines and models that they left behind. Hundreds of these show armoured warriors bearing bows, swords and shields, along with the horned helmets they wore into battle. This society reached its peak in the late bronze age when their influence spread beyond their home island. Sardinian material culture from this era is found as far away as Crete while at the same time Mycenaean pottery and Cypriot bronzes appear all over Sardinia. So who were these people? Why did they build thousands of these enormous, complex structures? Were they really as warlike as their figurines suggest? And what happened to them? This