Latest Fieldnotes

There’s a car park off the main road, and a gate on the left leads you to a sandy path, past a fab outcrop of weathered rock ahead, and then to the left to the tomba.

Free and open access – no facilities except parking.

The tomb was restored in the 1970s and is now well preserved. The stele is 3.65 metres tall, and weighs 7 tonnes! The rear of the tomba is surrounded by bushes, but it’s possible (if naughty!) to climb behind the stele to view the funeral corridor – about 11 metres long – and capstones, and indeed climb into the corridor.

A beautiful site – quite a few people wandered past while we were there, but it was never busy. Loads of insect life, particularly praying mantes (mantids, mantises, whichever plural you prefer!) in glorious late afternoon sunshine. There are numerous other bits of rock strewn over the area – Beardy found what appeared to be a cist when we were having a mooch about, aware of two other tombas somewhere nearby but further reading says the area was used from Nuraghic to Roman times and right through to the middle ages.

This nuraghe is just south of Serra Orrios and clearly visible from the road.

Even though it’s signposted, it’s behind a high wire fence and the gate is locked – it looks fairly ruinous so maybe is unsafe rather than just closed to visitors.

Taking the main road, SS125, north out of Dorgali, you come to a left turn (SP38) signposted to Serra Orrios but keep going on. You need to go another 750 metres along the road – the first bend is sharp, and it’s most of the way round the second bend when there’s a track to the right to the dolmen, with a farm track almost directly opposite it. There’s room to park a couple of cars under a tree opposite the track to the dolmen.

There is a signpost, but it had been knocked or pulled over and was just inside the field – I pulled it over the wire fence and propped it up against the wall, so those travelling south at least would be able to see it.

The track continues for 140 metres, then there’s a fork and a sign directs you to keep left, up a much narrower and quite overgrown path, for another 120 or so metres until the way ahead becomes almost impassable and instead you go through a gate to the left. A series of arrows painted on rocks guide you the last 140 metres to the dolmen itself.

What a stunning spot! A young German-speaking couple were picnicking there, but kindly moved for our cameras.

The dolmen, dated to c 3000BCE, has an almost circular capstone, resting on 7 slabs, and a kerb of stones around it.

The village huts – excavated in 1937 and again in 1947 – number more than 70; most are to the east of temple B, but there’s a distinct cluster to the north too.

The huts – mainly circular single roomed structures, but a few showing two rooms – were built around a series of plazas, two of which have wells. The walls are thick, and storage niches can be seen, along with seats and hearths inside the huts. The pathways between the huts are paved, and each hut has a stone step at its entrance.

The last port of call on the tour is the meeting temple, set apart from the village huts. The finds from excavation in the 1930s were not recorded, but its structure, with a vestibule and interior seating, leads archaeologists to theorise that it was a sacred rather than living space.

Temple B has a wall surrounding it, with 3 entrances, the middle one of which leads into an ante chamber rather than directly into the temple courtyard.

The temple itself has small vestibule and doorway with a lintel, and both the vestibule and the temple itself have low seating around the interior walls.

From the gate at the top of the path from the car park, the first area you find is a huge sacred enclosure with the first of the megaron temples – not well preserved.

A doorway in the wall has a foyer area on the outside and takes you on to the rest of the site.

Li Muri is about a ten minute drive from Li Longhi. Drive past the site and park in the car park on the hill. Walk back up the hill and buy a ticket at the small hut. Once again I was able to use the guide who also spoke excellent English and had a deep love of this site.
This Neolithic necropolis should have a ring of familiarity about it to anyone who has read about or visited British prehistoric burial sites. The site is not large but it is full to the brim with archaeology. The site is neatly ‘tucked in’ amongst numerous rocky outcrops with views over the surrounding valleys.
Basically what you have here are five cist burials, four of the burials date to about 4500BP, the fifth cist dates to a later pre-Nuraghic culture. There are also a number of standing stones or Betyls, and small cist-like boxes that ‘were used for offerings’.
The four Neolithic cists are surrounded by a number of small concentric circles and were originally covered by an earth mound or cairn with only the outer kerb showing. The cists were orientated north–south and when excavated yielded a rich crop of distinctive grave goods including obsidian arrowheads, polished axes, mace heads, flint knives, pottery, soapstone necklaces and a steatite bowl which may be of Cretan origin.
The fifth, and later, cist is aligned roughly east-west and was also covered by a cairn.
My guide was extremely enthusiastic about the site and went to great lengths to explain many aspects of Sardinian prehistory including the trade in Obsidian throughout the Mediterranean. Sardinian obsidian was the best in Europe and Galluran obsidian was the best in Sardinia. She was also very keen on Irish archaeology having just spent seven months living in Galway.
One thing that struck me about the site was a large outcrop of weathered granite on the margins of the site. For me the rock almost seemed part of the site and on closer inspection I noticed a number of weathered depressions and natural bowls within its structure. I tried to discuss this with the guide and how the people who built the monument could have easily chosen a rock-free site in the adjacent field. But she only smiled and said that we can only discuss the facts of the site. I did however detect a knowing look in her smile or maybe I was kidding myself, perhaps she just pitied me for my wide eyed ramblings. She did inform me that the local rocks, some of which are weathered into the most bizarre shapes, contained rock shelters. Some of these shelters had been excavated and yielded early pottery.
The necropolis of Li Muri reminded me of home. There are definite parallels with sites on the North York Moors such as Obtrusch and round barrows and cairns in many other parts of our islands.

Once again this is a sign posted site with a car park and a small booth from where you can buy tickets for the monument. On my visit, I had the good fortune to find a guide here who spoke very good English and had recently spent 3 months in Newbury.
If the service is available, pay the extra Euro for the guide, they are usually very knowledgeable and generally keen to speak English, they also carry folders containing illustrations, details of finds and general information about the sites.
Li Longhi is a fascinating site situated on a prominent hill. Like Pasceradda, the tumulus remains intact and the monument has undergone some restoration. The path to the monument is only short and you approach it from the front. The first thing you notice is the stelae, it’s huge and it’s broken. The repair job on the stelae reminds me of my own attempts to repair things at home. They’ve just taken the huge lump that fell off and clagged it back on, it’s pretty unsympathetic but it works and restores the stelae to it’s original height. The stone to the right of the stelae is also a replacement.
The passage is a little confusing until you realise that this monument developed in 3 stages. The first stage of the monument was the construction of a dolmen, the remains of which form the rear of the passage. The dolmen was constructed, during the period of the Bonannaro Culture using rough stone slabs placed on the original ground surface. The second stage of the monument was the construction of an allee couverte or passage; this was dug into the bedrock. The walls of the passage were constructed using a mixture of large slabs and dry stone walling, a mound/tumulus/cairn of stones was also constructed at this point. The final phase of the monument was the addition of the horned façade.
Within the passage, the dolmen was separated from the rest of the monument by a 
blocking slab and a bench, as at Pascaredda.
There is only one capstone in situ on the passage, my guide informed me that the archaeologists have speculated as to whether the passage was actually capped with removable wooden planking to allow access. What intrigued me was what happened to the capstone of the dolmen. I wonder if it was reused in the construction of the passage or perhaps in the horned façade of the monument.
My guide also informed me that Roman and Greek writers had witnessed and recorded how the Tombi were still being used when they had visited Sardinia. There are written accounts describing people sitting on a bench-like structure attached to the horned façade of the monument whilst rituals took place within the area defined by the facade.
Li Longhi is well worth a visit, when combined with a visit to Cuddu Vecchiu and the Necropili di li Muri. It provides insight into the development of the wonderful Tombi dei Giganti in this part of the island.

Coddu Vecchiu is signposted on the Tempio to Arzachena road. As with Pascaredda, if you approach this site from the west you will be travelling through a beautiful and bizarre landscape passing peaks with boulder strewn ridges and valleys with huge monoliths that appear to have been thrust upwards through the earth by the hand of some unseen orogenic deity. I wrote in my note book “these rocks must have names”. Even the modern quarries chop away the hillsides to create the appearance of stepped pyramids.

Coddu Vecchiu is served by a car park. There is a small visitor’s centre in the car park where you can purchase a ticket for the monument, buy an ice cream, a cold drink or use the toilet.
Tip No.1– Sardinians are obsessed with change, in the monetry sense, so keep plenty in your pocket. That said, I managed to score a free ice cream at Coddu Vecchiu because the very nice lady behind the counter did not want to lose her change, despite having lots in her till.

The site is just a short walk from the car park and approaches the site looking towards the forecourt. If you can manage to take your eyes off this beautiful site you should check out the lovely large, squat, weather-worn rock outcrops to the left of the path to the monument.

The Monument is stunning and sits in a low valley on an elevated hillside surrounded on one side by scrub land and the other by strictly regimented lines of grape vines running like contour corduroy across the hillside. It would be nice to think that this arrangement stretched back to the origins of the monument. As we know, many megalithic monuments were deliberately sited within liminal areas on the edge of farmland, one foot in the wild and one in the cultivated fields perhaps symbolising the continuity between past and the present. In his book ‘The Bronze Age in Barbarian Europe’ Jacques Briard describes the Sardinian central stelae as; “the sacred stone in front of the kingdom of the dead was visible from afar and reminded the living, at work in the nearby fields, of the frailty of human life”.

It is the central stone or stelae which draws the eye here. This design of stelae is known as a bilithon, a two piece stone. Once again there is a pink tinge to the rock which is enhanced by a vein of pink crystal running downwards at approximately 45 degrees from the top left hand corner of the bottom stone. Later I was to visit the Neolithic cemetery of Il Muri where large amounts of ochre were found in the cists. This set me to wondering if this use of reddish/pink stone and the use of ochre were linked over the millennia between the erection of the monuments. Perhaps red was a colour associated with death. Marija Gimbutas has this to say about the use of ocre “Red was the colour of life, of blood, which was neccessary to secure regeneration”.

My first impression of the monument was that this Tombi definitely had a different architect to Pascaredda. It’s well worth having a detailed look at the stones of the façade. The central stelae have been beautifully carved. The carving borders the lower stone and extends around the outside edge of the upper stone. Care has also been taken to carve around the small portal at the base of the stone. The carving had also been applied to the back of the stelae, presumably after the two stones were united and erected.

The stone to the right of the stelae has a natural channel carved into it that runs from ground level to the side of the stelae, the final stone of the left hand horn of the façade has a natural cup in its face. I’m sure these features would have not gone unnoticed by such accomplished masons as the Tombi builders and once again we see the use of weather worn stone in the construction of a monument.

The monument we see today is a stripped-down version of the original. Many years ago when the monument was excavated the archaeologists didn’t believe that the stone cairn that covered it was actually part of the structure so they removed it.

The passage of the monument is aligned east-west and unlike Pascaredda is constructed of large stone slabs on the interior (visible) passage and thick, dry stone walling on the exterior (unseen) walls. The passage also differs from Pascaredda in its layout. There is no ‘bench on the back wall and the side slabs butt straight onto the central stelae. There is also a large slab on the floor of the chamber marking a small step down in the passage just before the stelae, creating a small anti chamber behind the small portal at the base of the stelae. Perhaps this was the place for offerings.
In summary, Coddu Vecchiu is a beautiful Tombi dei Giganti sitting in a lovely landscape. It is well signposted and judging from the day we went, and its close proximity to a main road, can be quite busy.

This was my first Sardinian site. It’s location on the Tempio to Calganius road is pretty much where Julian Cope describes it in the Megalithic European, unfortunately, due to Ryanairs meagre baggage allowance, I didn’t have the book with me and the site wasn’t on my map so I came across it by accident. Fortunately for me the Sardinians are pretty good at signposting their ancient monuments.
To reach the site you have to walk down a country lane and along a path on the edge of a field, you then cross over a fairly dodgy looking wooden bridge and the site is just in front of you in a cork wood. That sounds fairly straight forward, as it is, but the walk is absolutely beautiful and a great introduction to the sounds and smells of the Sardinian countryside, it also grounds you in a landscape ringed by sharp, craggy mountains with the Monte Limbara peaks rising to over 1300 metres.
Pascaredda is beautiful, you approach the site from the rear so the first thing I noticed was how neatly the stone capped mound fitted into the surrounding valley. As I moved around the mound the horned façade and forecourt came into view. The rocks of the façade had a definite pink tinge to them which would be something I would also encounter at Li Longhi. The carved portal stone is large but not huge, the proportions and symmetry of the monument are perfect and the carving is beautifully executed. After sitting and taking in the fact that I was actually here, I began to mooch around the mound and passageway. The mound appears to be constructed of small cobbles and earth. One of the cap stones had been removed from the passage, so I was able to slip down into the passage with relative ease. The passage was orientated east-west and was constructed in a dry stone style. It was interesting to note that the passage was independent of the façade, by this I mean that the large carved portal stone had been placed over an existing portal and the passage may have originally been a self-contained unit. This could imply that the façade was added at a later date. The rear (west) end of the chamber had a bench-like structure constructed by placing a large slab horizontally across the back of the chamber. Another feature, which was to become a occurring theme in the monuments I visited in Sardinia, was the use of water/wind eroded stones in the monuments.
Pascaredda was my first Tomba dei Giganti and I think it will always remain my favourite. It just all fits in so well, the walk to the site, the intact mound, the tomb, the lovely façade, the nearby stream, the mountains, Perfect!

Two bowl barrows to the north of the village of Worth Matravers. The more northerly of the two is a medium sized bowl shape in the middle of a field. It is in good condition and has a small wind bent blackthorn tree growing out of its north east side. The smaller of the two is to the south west and is low and does not appear to be in very good nick, possibly plough damage?

This pair of round barrows just south of a byway which runs along the ridge of a hill above Pallington heath. The western barrow has a large cleft in its top and the foot path runs over it. The smaller east barrow is low and at this time of the year covered in gorse and heather, making it hard to spot or photograph.
There are more barrows along this hill, the heavy foliage and many trees make them hard to spot, I will return in the winter for another look.

Following up on slumpystones interesting discovery I had to see this site for myself.

I’d like to think if this pile of stones had any significance it would have been fenced off (without the iron railings! ;0) ) and lovingly had the upkeep of English Heritage!

But --- on first appearance this does seem to be a curiously dumped pile of sarsen stones, which are great to see considering most others from this area have long been broken up and all we can enjoy in Kent are the great significant remnants at Kits Coty and of course Coldrum. It’s just the way they have been dumped; thought I’d add some pictures for people to get a better view!

At least four of the stones (including the ‘shaped’ triangular ones) are buried very deeply, all the rest are of various different shapes and cuts have character, the two at the back are absolutely huge; the main triangular stone with the hotly disputed cup and ring marks looks to me like a lot of glacial weathering, but I am way far from being an expert;

Even more curious is that there are further stones located a short distance nearby deep in the undergrowth – a single smoothed buried ‘post’ stone approx 15ft further NE from the collection, and two stones (again one very deeply buried) 30ft SE easily seen from the beaten path.

Today as part of the Scottish Archaeology month we visited Drumtroddan carved rocks, the talk was given by Jane Murray, a local archaeologist.
We discovered as part of the event that most of the panels at Drumtroddan have been damaged by someone or people trying to clean the carvings with what looks like it must have been a wire brush, this of course is getting reported to Historic Scotland.

This site is about 9km north west of Dorgali, and is on the SP38. It’s run by the Ghivine Cooperative www.ghivine.com who can arrange guided tours of the archaeology and natural features of the area.

There’s plenty of parking; there’s a cafe – food, drinks, souvenirs, clean toilets – right next door and associated with the site.

Tickets are 6 euros for adults (kids 2½ I think) and it is open 09:00 – 13:00 and 15:00 – 19:00.

From the ticket office it’s about 500 metres to the gate to the site, along a flat paved path.

The site is a nuraghic village, excavated from 1936, but with 3 temple buildings worth listing separately.

This is the smallest of the group of dolmens, standing about 90cm high and consisting of a capstone of about 2½ metres square balanced on 3 other slabs.

Free and open access.

Yet again, a plant had been left recently, but this time there was also a message (on a separate piece of stone, not on part of the actual structure). Can anyone translate it?

Bilella (spelt like this and as Billella on the same information board) is signposted off Via Boccaccio in Luras – it’s actually about 1.2km from the turn off.

Free and open access.

Yet again, a plant had been left as an offering!

A curious construction – built on a cut shelf of rock – and looking from one side like a transformers toy climbing a stair! It’s the tallest of the group of dolmens at about 1.65 metres.

This dolmen is smaller than, but similar in construction to Ladas – both have been dated at 3rd millennium BCE. It’s situated on a rocky outcrop with great views from its south easterly facing entrance across the valley below.

Again, a plant had been left to the left of the entrance.

Free and open access.

This dolmen has a huge main capstone – over 3 metres by 4 metres – supported by stone slabs on 3 sides with some wooden posts to help out too. A separate, smaller capstone creates a porch area, and the underside of both stones have been carved in to.

Someone had been recently, and left a potted plant (cyclamen maybe?) tucked safely at the left of the entrance.

Free and open access.

Li Lolghi has ample parking, a wooden information and ticket hut (we’d paid at Li Muri so just picked up our guide leaflet) which has the usual range of info, postcards, ice creams and drinks – including beer!

The slope leads up to the tomba – orientated to face south east – and again was originally an allée couverte as at Coddu Vecchiu, extended circa 1300 BCE.

The giant stele has been broken at a 45° angle and repaired, and has relief carvings on it; the stone slabs of descending height on either side mark out the esedra.

Looking through the portal, you can see along the funeral corridor to the remaining capstone and shelf at the end, before the earlier tomb.

The rear of the monument is gently fenced with posts and rails, and viewing platforms are provided. The whole thing is a massive 26 metres long!

From the fork in the road where the directions to this site and Li Lolghi split, it was 1.2km to the car park and information building (closed when we got there) just past the site, and about 120 metres up a gentle incline to get back to the site itself which has a gate and wooden hut at its entrance.

The site has wooden posts and rails to keep people off the stones, and viewing platforms similar to those we’d seen at Coddu Vecchju.

There are 5 cists; 4 of these have a menhir and stone slabs arranged around them to form a circle; cist number 5 to the far left on my panoramic photo has an incomplete circle with an open front.

This is believed to be the oldest site on the island, at around 4000 BCE.

Tickets are 5 euros to visit both here and Li Lolghi, payable at the information office just down the slope – the guide was at the circles when we arrived and we followed her down to pay after our visit. As usual for the “pay” sites, there were toilets, and a range of info, drinks and snacks on sale.

The nuraghe of La Prisciona is currently (Sept 2007) closed to the public for repairs and excavation, likely to continue until at least May 2008.

The new excavations are revealing a whole series of buildings/rooms surrounding the nuraghe which has a triangular base and 3 towers, and a deep well in its courtyard.

The information office at Coddu Vecchju about 900 metres away shows some images of the excavations.

From Arzachena, take the 427 or SP14 towards Tempio, the site is always signposted. There’s ample parking, and a building for tickets and information (with refreshments etc on sale and toilets available) about 300 metres north of the site. We’d bought tickets at Nuraghe Albucciu so just had to show these to be given our site guide. Open 09:00 – 19:00.

A gentle stroll along the road side and then down a path brought us to the tomba. Wow! It’s huge!

The building was done in two stages, the first part being an allée couverte (circa 2500 BCE?) with the giant stele and esedra (forecourt area, the wings, or some might propose, the open legs of the tomb) added later. The site is roped off, and visitors are asked not to climb onto or into the tomb, but a variety of raised viewing platforms have been built all the way round the back to make it easier to see.

The stele is massive – almost 4½ metres tall, but narrower than some others at 1.9 metres – and has a pronounced pink tinge to its stone; it was built with two slabs on top of each other, and both sections have relief carvings in them. The wings of the tomba are stone slabs in decreasing height. Behind the stele – the tallest one on the island – there’s a short corridor, which joins the newer part to the body of the original tomb – about 10 metres long with granite slabs forming the walls, floor and capstones.

It’s just over 1½km from the car park for Nuraghe Albucciu (see this site for access, facility and ticket details) to Malchittu Temple; the path is generally wide and sandy, but does climb a bit, and the last section to reach the temple is a scramble up uneven rocks. So not recommended for the less mobile!

The temple is a very unusual structure for Sardinia and is situated between two rocky outcrops with fantastic views over the surrounding area. There’s an entrance foyer, with one straight and one curved wall, and a doorway into the main part of the temple, where niches for offerings, and a central hearth, can be seen. There’s an oak tree growing towards the back of the structure. The walls are really impressive and a scramble up the rocks on either side give great views down into the temple.

At the bottom of the rocky scramble, there’s the remains of another structure.

It’s well worth allowing a couple of hours to view this group of sites (here and Albucciu and Moru).