A Study on the Stability and Construction Techniques of Nuragic Towers

Bortolussi, Augusto;Dentoni, Valentina

;Levanti, Cristina;Cara, Stefano;Pinna, Francesco;Grosso, Battista

2025-01-01

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Abstract

The Nuragic civilisation, which developed on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia (Italy) betweenthe middle-late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age (1800–700 B.C.), is characterised by the wide-spread production of architectural structures of varying complexity, among which the truncatedcone-shaped towers built from rock blocks have dominated in the most advanced phases.Numerous studies have investigated the Nuragic towers’ function and their territorial distributionwith reference to the social organization of Sardinian inhabitants. By contrast, relatively few workshave focused on construction techniques and the stability of these structures. This manuscriptexamines the statics of the elementary architectural nucleus that forms the Nuragic complexes andexplores its relationship with the construction methods. The structural elements are identified, anda static analysis is performed to clarify the mechanisms that govern the tower’s equilibrium. Finally,a hypothesis regarding the construction method is proposed, grounded in the recognized staticprinciples. In light of the recent nomination of 32 Nuragic sites for inclusion in the UNESCO WorldHeritage list, the research findings may provide valuable guidance for future conservation andconsolidation works.