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Nuraghes


The nuraghe [nuˈraɡe] (plural Italian nuraghi, Sardinian Logudorese nuraghes / Sardinian Campidanese nuraxis) is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 BCE. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture, the Nuragic civilization. More than 7000 nuraghi have been found, though archeologists believe that originally there were not fewer than 10,000.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the etymology is "uncertain and disputed": "The word is perhaps related to the Sardinian place names Nurra, Nurri, Nurru, and to Sardinian nurra 'heap of stones, cavity in earth' (although these senses are difficult to reconcile). A connection with the Semitic base of Arabic nūr 'light, fire, etc.' is now generally rejected." The Latin word murus ('wall') may be related to it, as the old Italian word mora ('tombal rock mound'), as used by Dante in his Comedy. However, the derivation: murus*muraghe–nuraghe is debated.

An etymological theory suggests a Proto-Basque origin by the term *nur (stone) with the common -ak plural ending; the Paleo-Sardinian suffix -ake, also found in some Indo-European languages such as Latin and Greek. Another possible explanation is that Nuraghe came from the name of mythological hero Norax, and the root *nur would be an adaptation of the Indo-European root *nor.


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