Finds

Bronze statue of a dog

In the collapse between the north-west curtain wall and tower D of the Su Nuraxi bastion (fig. 1) a bronze votive figure of a dog has been recovered (measurements: h. 2 cm; width 0.4 cm; length 4.5 cm), pet used both for hunting and for accompanying flocks.

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Fig. 1 - Map of Su Nuraxi, nuraghe and village (from Lilliu 1962, Table LVI.1, page 328).

The animal is sitting on his hind legs. The body is round; the tail is wagging; the head, upturned, has straight ears, emphasised eyes, and the muzzle is marked by an engraved line for the mouth. Between the 10th and 7th century B.C. (figs. 2, 3, 4, 5).

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Figs. 2, 3 - Su Nuraxi, bronze statue of a dog (RAS Archive photo).
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Figs. 4, 5 - Su Nuraxi, bronze statue of a dog (from Lilliu 1966, p. 350).

The item is currently on show at the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari.

 

Bibliografia

  • FODDAI L., Cane - scheda 31, in MORAVETTI A., ALBA L., FODDAI L. (a cura di), La Sardegna Nuragica. Storia e materiali, Sassari 2014, p. 423.
  • LILLIU G., Il nuraghe di Barumini e la stratigrafia nuragica, in Studi Sardi, XXII-XXIII, 1955, pp. 434-435.
  • LILLIU G., I nuraghi. Torri preistoriche della Sardegna, Verona 1962.
  • LILLIU G., Sculture della Sardegna nuragica, Verona 1966, pp. 350-351.
  • SANTONI V., Il nuraghe Su Nuraxi di Barumini, Guide e Studi, Quartu Sant’Elena 2001, pp. 89-90.
  • TRUDU E., Il nuraghe Su Nuraxi di Barumini, in MINOJA M., SALIS G., USAI L. (a cura di), L'isola delle torri: Giovanni Lilliu e la Sardegna nuragica. Catalogo della mostra, Sassari 2015, p. 398.

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