The Giants of Monte Prama are two to two and a half-meter-tall figures built by the Nuragic civilization on the island of Sardinia between the eighteenth and second centuries BC.
Researchers disagree on whether the Nuragians originated on the island or were related to the Sea Peoples, who ravaged the Mediterranean coast in the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BC. According to the latter idea, they would have arrived in Sardinia after being defeated in their failed invasion of Egypt in the 13th and 12th centuries BC.
The Giants, or Colossi, as archaeologist Giovanni Lilliu dubbed the sculptures, were found in 1974 near the town of Cabras on the island’s west coast.
They are warriors with shields, archers, and fighters. Aside from its enormous size, one of its most striking features is the eyes, which are formed by two concentric discs. It’s uncertain if they’re mythical heroes or gods.
Because the find occurred near a tomb on the same date, it is presumed that they were stationed as guards surrounding it. This, however, is not totally evident.
They might have come from a nearby temple that has yet to be identified. The Giants were revealed to the public in March 2015 at Cagliari’s National Archaeological Museum, after 40 years of investigation and repair.
With the over 5,000 components identified, 33 Giants might be built in all. Two further components were discovered in September 2016, both of which were complete and undamaged.
Radar scans indicate that a third component may be buried deeper. The last two found Giants are distinct in that, unlike earlier sightings, they carry their shields to the side rather than over the head.
A position similar to that of a little Nuragic bronze unearthed at the same time in Viterbo (north of Rome), the date of which is unavoidable: 9th century BC.
If the relationship is established, we will be looking at the oldest colossi (huge statues) discovered in the Mediterranean, going back several years before the Greek colossi. There’s more because experts believe the Giants wore masks identical to those worn in Sardinian traditional festivities today.
Although they were not identical, it would imply that some ancestor rites and practices have been practiced on the island for about 3,000 years. What do you think about the Monte Prama Giants?
