ROUGH STONE MONUMENTS 



huts was still visible. The walls in one case stood 

 high enough to show, from the corbelling of their 

 upper courses, that the huts were roofed in the 

 same fashion as the nuraghi themselves. Another 

 village, that which surrounds the nuraghe of Su 

 Chiai, was protected by a wall of huge stones. 



It is thus clear that the nuraghi were the 

 fortified centres of the various villages of Sardinia. 

 Probably each formed the residence of the local 

 chieftain ; that they were actually inhabited is 

 clear from the remains of everyday life found in 

 them, and from the polish which continual use 

 has set on the side -walls of some of the staircases. 

 In general appearance and design the nuraghi 

 recall the modern truddhi, hundreds of which dot 

 the surface of Apulia and help to beguile the 

 tedium of the railway journey from Brindisi to 

 Foggia. The truddhi, however, are built in steps 

 or terraces and have no upper chamber. 



Who were the foes against whom such elaborate 

 preparations for defence were made ? Two 

 alternatives are possible. Either Sardinia was a 

 continual prey to some piratical Mediterranean 

 people, or she was divided against herself through 

 the rivalry of the local chieftains. 



The second explanation is perhaps the more 

 probable. Mackenzie seems to adopt it, and fancies 

 that in the growth of the largest nuraghi we may 

 trace the rise to power of some of these local 

 dynasts at the expense of their neighbours. He 



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