The Giorgio Asproni National Archaeological Museum is an

archaeological museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological Types Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum. Others display artifacts inside buildings, such as Na ...

in the historic centre of Nuoro, in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, near the

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Snows The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Snows ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria della Neve) is the main place of Roman Catholic worship in Nuoro, Sardinia, and the cathedral church of the diocese of Nuoro. Built in the mid-nineteenth century, it stands i ...

. Established in 2002, it is located in a nineteenth-century building that belonged to Giorgio Asproni, a Sardinian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

of that era.

The exhibition

The exhibition, recently renovated, includes objects from the territory of the

province of Nuoro The province of Nuoro ( it, provincia di Nuoro; sc, provìntzia de Nùgoro) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital is the city of Nuoro. It has an area of , and, , a total population of 210,972. The provinc ...

, the earliest dating from the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

and the latest from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The most consistent material is related to the Nuragic age. The museum has a strongly educational setting, with reproductions of some monuments (for example ''Sa Sedda 'e sos Carros'' of Oliena), from which the excavated objects come, and is currently on the ground floor of the building, while the upper floors are still being set up.

Palaeontology

The first room of the museum exhibits palaeontological findings related to some of the animals that populated

in the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

. Among these, the remains of animals no longer present in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

stand out, such as some species of monkeys or hyenas. Most of the findings come from the excavations of Mount Tuttavista in

Orosei Orosei ( sc, Orosèi) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italy, Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about east of Nuoro. Orosei borders the following municipalities: Dorgali, Galtellì, ...

and from caves in the territory of Oliena.

Pre-Nuragic age

The oldest materials consist of chipped stones from the

. There is also a selection of materials, mostly pottery, related to the various phases of Sardinia's prehistory. From the Early Bronze Age came the skeleton of Sisaia, a woman that was buried individually with a different ritual compared to the usual collective one of her times, and whose skull shows the signs of a trepanation which probably occurred for magical-religious reasons. The woman survived it, as shown by the perfect welding of the bone washer that was removed and later repositioned in its place.

Nuragic age

The

nuragic The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese Sardinian , Italian ), or also nurhag in English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 B.C. To ...

phase is the one to which the archaeological museum of Nuoro dedicates the most space, exhibiting some of the most important findings from the area around it. On a thematic level, the exhibition favours materials from places of worship characterized by the ritual presence of water (well temples and sacred water sources). Among other things, the strong points of the exhibition include a vast collection of Nuragic bronzes, the reconstruction of part of the complex of Sa Sedda 'e Sos Carros in Oliena, and some of the decorated ashlars of the Nuraghe Nurdole in Orani.

Hellenistic age

A small space is dedicated to the

Hellenistic age In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 ...

, but there are still valuable element s there, such as fragments of decorated pottery from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

Roman age

The Romanization of the territory is represented by a sample of the most widespread forms and productions of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

and

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

e of the

Roman age In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

, but there are also a few epigraphs and a military diploma, a certificate of discharge of a soldier who had served in the Roman army at the time of emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

Middle ages

A last display case presents some fragments of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

and post-medieval pottery, coming from the area of the castle of

Posada Posada may refer to: *Battle of Posada, a 1330 battle, part of the Hungarian-Wallachian Wars Places In Poland *Posada, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-west Poland * Posada, Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland *Posada, Masovian Voivodeship, east- ...

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{Authority control History of Sardinia Archaeological museums in Italy Sardinian culture Museums in Sardinia