The nuraghe Is Paras is an archeological site of

Isili Isili, Ìsili in sardinian language, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of South Sardinia, southern Sardinia, Italy, located about north of Cagliari in the Sarcidano traditional region. Isili borders the following municipalities: Ger ...

, a town in the historical region of

Sarcidano The Sarcidano, it, Cavallo del Sarcidano, italic=no, is a rare Italian breed of semi-feral horse originating from the Altopiano del Sarcidano in the comune of Laconi, in Oristano Province of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. It is one ...

province of South Sardinia The Province of South Sardinia ( it, provincia del Sud Sardegna; sc, provìntzia de Sud Sardigna) is an Italian province of Sardinia instituted on 4 February 2016. It includes the suppressed provinces of Province of Carbonia-Iglesias, Carbonia- ...

. The

nuraghe 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 ...

is located in a strategic position dominating the underlying territories open to the West. Its shape is that of a trilobate nuraghe, formed by a triangular bastion with three towers at the corners. According to the archaeologist

Giovanni Lilliu Giovanni Lilliu (born in Barumini, Italy on 13 March 1914 – died in Cagliari, 19 February 2012), was a renowned archeologist, academician, publicist and politician and public figure and an expert of the Nuragic civilization. Largely due to his sci ...

its tholos is the largest and most harmonious of all those present in Sardinia. The diameter of the base of the tower is of about 12,50 meters, its tholos chamber reached a height of 11,80 meters, making it the tallest dome in the world when it was built in the 15-14th century bc, it was surpassed by the underground tholos of the

tomb of Atreus The Treasury of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon is a large ''tholos'' or beehive tomb constructed between 1350 and 1250 BC in Mycenae, Greece.Wace, A. J. (1940). The Treasury of Atreus. ''Antiquity, 14'', 233. ISSN 0003-598X The tomb was used for an un ...

one or two centuries later. Inside the main tower there's a circular well. Originally there was an additional chamber on top of the first one, which would be reached through the still partially extant spiral staircase. Three smaller towers were added around the main one during the 13th century bc and connected by a wall. The complex was in turn surrounded by an external wall with towers.

Gallery

File:Nuraghe of Is Paras - Isili - Sardinia - Italy - 02.jpg File:Nuraghe of Is Paras - Isili - Sardinia - Italy - 04.jpg File:Nuraghe_Is_Paras_6.jpg

Bibliography

, ''I nuraghi, torri preistoriche della Sardegna'', Cagliari, La Zattera 1962 *

Ercole Contu The male first name Ercole, Italian version of Hercules, can refer to: People * Ercole (name), list of people with the name House of D'Este *Ercole I d'Este (1431–1505), Duke of Ferrara *Ercole II d'Este (1508–1559), Duke of Ferrara, Modena a ...

, ''L'architettura nuragica'', Ichnussa. La Sardegna dalle origini all'età classica, Milano, Scheiwiller 1981 * A. Moravetti, ''Gli interventi del 1975-77 nel nuraghe Is Paras di Isili'', in ''L’eredità del Sarcidano e della Barbagia di Seulo'', Sassari - Blackwood e Partners 2000 * T. Cossu, ''Il Nuraghe Is Paras di Isili: campagna di scavo 1998'', in ''L’eredità del Sarcidano e della Barbagia di Seulo'', Sassari - Blackwood e Partners 2000 {{coord, 39.7486, N, 9.1075, E, source:wikidata, display=title Buildings and structures in Sardinia Archaeological sites in Sardinia Former populated places in Italy Tourist attractions in Sardinia Nuraghe