Nuraghe Santu Antine
Sa Domo de su Re (House of the King)
Middle to Late Bronze Age·Nuragic civilisation·🇮🇹 Sardinia, Sassari, Torralba, Italy
About
About Nuraghe Santu Antine
Megalomaniacal nuraghe known as House of the King at Torralba, among largest and most complex nuraghi: central tower 17 m preserved (original 21-23 m) with three corbelled chambers stacked, trilobate with three 12 m bastion towers linked by curtain walls with intramural galleries and courtyard, enclosed by outer village of hut foundations. Built c.1600–1200 BCE of local limestone and basalt. Shows perfect dry-stone corbelling without mortar. Called Sa Domo de su Re by locals.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01How 3 storeys of tholos corbelled without centering
Theories
- 01Royal residence for Logudoro plateau chiefdom
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1600–1200 BCE
- Period
- Middle to Late Bronze Age
- Culture
- Nuragic civilisation
- Purpose
- Fortress-palace and territorial control centre
- Abandoned
- c.800 BCE
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1933-50s Taramelli, Contu
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 1600–1200 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1038 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
40.4869° N · 8.7690° E · 350 m · 2 mapped features
Central Tower
towerThree-storey tholos tower 17 m high preserved
40.4869° N · 8.7690° EBastions
bastionThree 12 m bastion towers with gallery
40.4870° N · 8.7692° E
Gallery