Photo: Cristiano Cani · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nuraghe Is Paras

Trilobed nuraghe in white limestone with the tallest and most harmonious tholos of Nuragic Sardinia, on the outskirts of Isili.

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About the museum

The Is Paras nuraghe stands in the immediate northern outskirts of Isili, in the Sarcidano, on top of a marly hill. It is a fortified residence of a Nuragic chief, a symbol of the wealth linked to the copper trade, and it is known for the white colour of the limestone with which it was built. The layout is that of a complex nuraghe with a trilobed bastion – triangular, with three towers at the corners – enclosed by a massive outer wall with at least three towers.

The keep houses the finest and tallest tholos dome known in Sardinia: the circular chamber rises about 12 metres, with regular courses of limestone and marl, and a well opens at its centre. A helical staircase, now reduced to 11 steps, once led to the upper floors. The archaeologist Giovanni Lilliu considered it the largest and most harmonious tholos in Sardinia.

Excavations have documented several phases: the trilobed layout dates to the Late Bronze Age (1330-1150 BC), while the greatest development occurred between the Final Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (1150-900 BC). In the Roman imperial and Byzantine periods the site was held by a military garrison, which built dwellings on the collapsed remains of the bastion and of the huts. The village on the slopes of the hill has not yet been excavated.

Highlights

Tholos about 12 metres high, the tallest in Nuragic Sardinia
Trilobed bastion in white limestone
Outer wall with towers
Well at the centre of the keep chamber
Online virtual tour of the nuraghe