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The sky is clear and a light airplane makes a slight turn a few hundred metres above sea level. Looking down, clusters of enormous rock are dispersed here and there. It seems like a scene from the Flintstones. Instead, its Sardinia's "nuraghi".
Almost 7,000 nuraghi are still standing, spread throughout Italy's island of Sardinia. Each one is a big tower of stone, either on its own or clustered in a group. The precise purpose of these nuraghi is not certain. Some theories suggest they were used as a means of defence, others claim they are monuments to the dead. One thing is for sure, these imposing stone towers are the remains of the ancient Nuragica civilization that lived on Sardinia from the Bronze Age until around the second century A.C.
From Sassari to Olbia and Olbia to Cagliari, the sites of Palmavera, Santu Antine, Santa Cristina and Nuraghe Losa are the largest and best preserved of the nuraghi. The example found at Su Nuraxi, in the area of Barumini, has been recognised as a cultural world heritage by UNESCO and the Regia Nuragica of Barumini is a museum that contains artefacts of the history and life of these ancient European navigators.
Similar to England's Stonehenge monoliths, the "Tombs of the Giants" are another legacy from Sardinia's forefathers. Concentrated in the centre of this Italian island, the tombs are megalithic constructions whose plan is in the shape of a bull's head. The menhir is a giant upright monolith while the dolmen tombs are made up of an assembly of table-like giant rocks that provide the Stonehenge resemblance.
These ancient heirlooms of the Nuragica have survived the centuries and scientific studies show that the genetic strand of this ancient civilization is alive still in the Sardinian population of Ogliastra.
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