Le spade nuragiche dell’età del Bronzo e del Ferro in Sardegna

Riccardo Cicilloni

First

;Marco Matta

Second

2024-01-01

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Abstract

The Nuragic civilisation, which developed in Sardinia between the Middle Bronze Age and the early Iron Age (18th-8th century BC), has a rich metallurgical production, with numerous bronze artefacts among which swords stand out. If, however, during the first phase of the Nuragic period (Middle Bronze and Recent Bronze Age), this category of artefacts is present with only a few specimens, during the Final Bronze and the early Iron Age a great use of swords is documented, both thanks to the numerous examples found, of various shapes and sizes, both thanks to their depiction in the bronze votive statuettes of leaders and warriors. In this phase, the sword undoubtedly also takes on a symbolic meaning, as an expression of a new aristocratic social class that uses such artefacts to bring out its own privileged status.