The menhirs of prehistoric Sardinia. Volume 1

Abstract

The scope of the dissertation is a study of the various types of menhirs from prehistoric Sardinia. The term ―men-hir literally means long stone (Breton men- stone, hir- long). Menhirs are monoliths of various forms, either worked or natural, which are vertically inserted into the ground and are traditionally attributed a sacred or funerary function. There are different types of menhirs, such as aniconic menhirs, anthropomorphic menhirs and statue-menhirs. The study does not refer to one type of menhir alone but departs from the consideration that different types of menhirs are often found in the same archaeological contexts, or form part of the same menhir groups or menhir alignment. Consequently, no menhir type was omitted in this study. The term ―prehistoric‖ is applied loosely since, as will be argued, dating the menhirs is fraught with difficulties related both to the nature of the evidence being discussed and the knowledge of the chronology of prehistoric Sardinia more generally. The main aim of this dissertation is to present and analyse the menhirs in a systematic and explicit way. The major challenge has been to create an exhaustive catalogue of all menhirs, as a basis for presenting the data and studying the results within a clear framework of interpretation. To date, a detailed and systematic study conducted in the manner chosen here has not been carried out for the menhirs of prehistoric Sardinia. Furthermore, although much information is available stemming from studies conducted between the 1950s and 1990s, most of the literature is in Italian, and many of the books related to the menhirs are published in Sardinia, primarily for a Sardinian readership, and are difficult to obtain or purchase. This exercise is aimed to remedy the current situation by bringing together the data in a systematic manner.