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  • Santa Vittoria
  • Esterzili
  •  
  • Italy
  • Sardinia
  • South Sardinia
  • Esterzili

Credits

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Monuments

Periods

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Chronology

  • 1400 BC - 1500 AD

Season

    • The enclosure of Santa Vittoria di Esterzili has long been cited as a prime example of this type of monument, whose chronological-cultural attribution oscillates between the “Monte Claro” and the Nuragic period. New excavations inside the Santa Vittoria enclosure have provided important information regarding the understanding of questions linked to this category of monument and have revealed a structure that is very different from that known in archaeological publications. The Santa Vittoria enclosure wall stands on the northern end of the hill of the same name, abutting a rocky outcrop that was partially cut to fit the wall facings and was used as a source of building material. The structure is roughly oval in plan (N-S axis 42 m, E-W axis 26 m), and originally had two entrances (east and west) on the same axis. The enclosure wall was circa 2 m wide with a double facing. A bench ran around its base (completely excavated on the west side) made up of a series of large slabs of different lengths and resting on an irregular mass of material, to a height of 0.35 m above floor level and a width of 0.30 m. The floor surface, of beaten kaolin clay, rested on a loose foundation of irregular stones used to level the bedrock below. A circular hut (overall diameter 9 m) was built on top of this loose foundation. This was partially demolished in later occupation phases, in particular during the construction of the church of Santa Vittoria, which exploited the walls of the nuragic building. The nuragic hut is mainly preserved on the north side, where the four courses of the perimeter wall are still standing, the paved floor is intact, and five blocks survive from a bench that must have originally run all round the interior. The structure’s plan falls within the category of circular buildings with perimeter bench interpreted as being political and cult meeting places. The dating of the Esterzili monument is based on a patch of deposit (US 22) that had remained undisturbed despite the radical transformations that took place in the various occupation phases. The context was recorded outside the hut, on the east side of the old church and close to the suggested entrance to the circular building. The materials dated to the Recent Bronze Age. The extension of the excavation area will provide data that is more definitive, while further important information could be provided by an investigation to clarify the chronological and relational ties between the village on the slope of mount Santa Vittoria and the enclosure.

Bibliography

    • A. Moravetti, Il complesso nuragico di Palmavera, Sassari.
    • E. Contu 1998, La Sardegna preistorica e nuragica, I, II, Sassari.