The spatial relationship between the giants' tombs and Nuraghi of Sardinia
The subject of this thesis is the patterned arrangement of the stone monuments of Sardinia's Bronze Age Nuragic culture. It consists of a study of all the known <I>giants' tombs </I>- communal megalithic tombs of the second millennium BC - and characteristics of their placement in relation to the contemporary settlement towers known as <I>nuraghi. </I>The tombs' chronology, size, contents, and orientation are considered. The tombs' relations to settlements are systematically examined for the first time, through an analysis of patterns in the variables of distance, direction, alignment, altitude differential, and intervisibility. The database is a multi-level one, incorporating islandwide patterns, a regional study of a surveyed area, and a detailed case study of a tomb and two nuraghi. The data were derived from both published sources and my own fieldwork on the island. This spatial analysis permits a reinterpretation of the chronology and function of the tombs themselves. First, the patterning suggests that the earliest tombs predate the earliest nuraghi. Secondly, the characteristics of the tombs and their siting undermine the standard accounts of the tombs' function, and suggest instead a ritual role of
Blake, E.
The spatial relationship between the giants' tombs and Nuraghi of Sardinia. The subject of this thesis is the patterned arrangement of the stone monuments of Sardinia's Bronze Age Nuragic culture. It consists of a study of all the known <I>giants' tombs </I>- communal megalithic tombs of the second millennium BC - and characteristics of their placement in relation to the contemporary settlement towers known as <I>nuraghi. </I>The tombs' chronology, size, contents, and orientation are considered. The tombs' relations to settlements are systematically examined for the first time, through an analysis of patterns in the variables of distance, direction, alignment, altitude differential, and intervisibility. The database is a multi-level one, incorporating islandwide patterns, a regional study of a surveyed area, and a detailed case study of a tomb and two nuraghi. The data were derived from both published sources and my own fieldwork on the island. This spatial analysis permits a reinterpretation of the chronology and function of the tombs themselves. First, the patterning suggests that the earliest tombs predate the earliest nuraghi. Secondly, the characteristics of the tombs and their siting undermine the standard accounts of the tombs' function, and suggest instead a ritual role of
spatial_relationship giant tomb sardinia subject pattern arrangement stone monument sardinia bronze age culture consists study known giant tomb communal megalithic tomb second_millennium characteristic placement relation contemporary settlement tower know tomb chronology size content orientation consider tomb relation settlement systematically_examine first_time analysis pattern variable distance direction alignment altitude differential database multi_level incorporate pattern regional_study survey area detailed_case study tomb data_derive publish_source fieldwork island spatial_analysis permit reinterpretation chronology function tombs themselves first pattern suggests early tomb predate early secondly characteristic tombs sit undermine standard_account tombs function suggest instead ritual role