The nuragic complex of Barumini is the most important archaeological site in Sardinia and is located near Barumini, in the province of Medio Campidano.
Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, "Su Nuraxi" of Barumini is the most complete and best-preserved example of a nuraghe while testifying to an innovative and imaginative use of available materials and techniques by a prehistoric community.
The village of Barumini with its nuraghe "Su Nuraxi" shows that this area has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. Nuraghi were truncated cone-shaped defensive towers made of large dry boulders, equipped with inner rooms. In the case of the village of Barumini, the nuraghe is placed inside an enclosure consisting of smaller towers connected by massive walls.
Surrounding these main buildings was the village with small circular houses. Other rooms intended for specific domestic or ritual activities can also be found. The Nuragic village huts date from the 7th-6th centuries B.C., when the area was under Punic and Roman rule.
The outer curtain wall, on the other hand, is even older and presupposes the settlement of other peoples in the Iron Age (between the ninth and eighth centuries BC). This curtain wall is itself a modification to an antemural (i.e., a first defense wall) that encompasses the oldest sector of the village dating as far back as the Bronze Age, between the 11th and 10th centuries BC.
What is special about Barumini is that one can visit not only a simple watchtower, albeit a very ancient one, but also walk among the remains of an entire village thousands of years old.
