Top 14 Natural Monuments around Locusantu/Luogosanto

A beautiful Nuragic giant's tomb, not far from Arzachena, nestled in a lovely landscape with orchards. It lies close to the road from Arzachena to Luogosanto.

The cost of visiting each excavation site is €4 (as of April 2024) and it is open from 10 a.m.

I can't add anything more informative to Jenny's detailed explanations. I'll just say this: It's really impressive what this culture was able to build so many thousands of years ago.

I can't add anything more informative to Jenny's detailed explanations. All I can say is: It is really impressive what this culture was able to build so many thousands of years ago.

The Li Lolghi Giant Tomb stands majestically on a hilltop in the Li Muri region. The large Nuragic collective tomb with a total length of 27 m is the result of two construction phases. In the early Bronze Age (around 1800 BC) a tomb consisting of an elongated dolmen (allèe couverte) was erected; Later, during the Middle Bronze Age (between 1600 and 1400 BC), a long burial passage was added at a lower level than the oldest part of the tomb, ending with a two-story aedicule, presumably intended for receiving war offerings . The deceased was probably buried from above by removing one of the cover plates of the burial chamber. At the same time the exedra was added, a semi-circular space formed by slabs fixed to the floor and at the center of which there is a large monolithic arched stele 3.75 m high, decorated with the usual frame in relief. At the base is a hatch brought into the tomb by the offerings. The entire part behind the exedra, including the funerary gallery and the allée coverte, was enclosed in a large mound of earth and stones, the remains of which are still visible today. During the excavation of the monument, numerous finds, especially ceramics, from the two construction phases of the tomb were found. The nature of the vessels and their location suggest that they served as offerings at meals honoring the deceased. The tombs of the giants also serve as places of worship honoring their ancestor, but also as symbols of ownership and control over the territory, as suggested by the grandeur of these monuments. Source: https://www.gesecoarzachena.it/?page_id=1548

The Li Muri Necropolis is the oldest site in the Arzachena area. It dates from around 6,000 years ago, i.e. from the Neolithic period. The burial circles are among the oldest evidence of Western European megalithism and bear close comparisons with southern Corsica. Burials of this type are also found in the French and Spanish Pyrenees, while in Sardinia it seems to be widespread only in the Gallura region, particularly in the Arzachena region. The necropolis consists of four burial circles touching each other with variable widths between about 5 and 8.5 meters in diameter. They are delimited by small slabs fastened with a knife and arranged in concentric circles, which served to house a mound of stones and earth that encircled the tombs, giving them the appearance of four artificial mounds. Within each circle was a small rectangular stone chest containing one or at most two deceased in a crouched posture. Each burial was accompanied by a set of valuable objects: flint blades, necklaces of unspecified stone, spheroid buttons (perhaps set in sticks for use as weapons or scepters), axes of polished hardstone, and in one case a sophisticated soapstone chalice indicate this that the deceased were prominent figures in the community. Traces of red ocher, a substance symbolizing regeneration and used to clean or symbolically cover human remains, have been found in the tombs. Two large granite menhirs, stone monuments set vertically into the ground with the function of tombstones or symbolic representations of deities or the soul of the deceased, were placed between one circle and another. Outside the circles there are also small square stone boxes, presumably intended to collect grave goods. A fifth circle differs from the others both in its secluded location and in the features of the tomb at its center. The finds found prove a first use in the Neolithic, which is evidenced by fragments of flint blades and beads of a necklace made of steatite; In the Bronze Age (around 1600 BC), this circular grave would then have been converted into an allée couverte, i.e. a communal grave. https://www.gesecoarzachena.it/?page_id=1558

The giant tomb of Coddu 'Ecchju is a magnificent example of Nuragic funerary architecture. It is an imposing communal tomb, likely containing the remains of the deceased from the nearby village of La Prisgiona. This Bronze Age monument was constructed in two phases: The exedra was added to a gallery tomb (10.50 m long) or semicircular chamber built around 1800 BC (probably between 1600 and 1400 BC). This chamber was enclosed by a series of slabs set into the ground, with a large, arched stele (4.04 m high) in the center, decorated with a relief frame and featuring a small door at its base, likely used for placing offerings inside the tomb. The deceased was probably buried from above by removing one of the slabs covering the corridor. The burial of the deceased was likely carried out from above by removing one of the slabs covering the corridor. ``` The burial chamber was enclosed within a large mound of earth and stones, encompassing the area behind the exedra. This mound served the practical function of housing the mound itself, but also defined the ceremonial space where ancestor rites were performed, as evidenced by the numerous ceramic vessels found in the area. Ancestor worship was of great importance in the Nuragic culture. Source: https://www.gesecoarzachena.it/?page_id=1246

Giant tomb from the Bonnanaro culture