Nuragic civilizationThe Nuragic civilization, also known as the Nuragic culture, was a civilization or culture on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy, which lasted from the 18th century BC (Middle Bronze Age) (or from the 23rd century BC ) up to the Roman colonization in 238 BC. Others date the culture as lasting at least until the 2nd century AD and in some areas, namely the Barbagia, to the 6th century AD or possibly even to the 11th century AD. The adjective "Nuragic" is neither an autonym nor an ethnonym.
TaulaA taula (meaning 'table' in Catalan) is a Stonehenge-esque stone monument found on the Balearic island of Menorca. Taulas can be up to 5 metres high and consist of a vertical pillar (a monolith or several smaller stones on top of each other) with a horizontal stone lying on it. A U-shaped wall often encloses the structure. They were built by the Talaiotic culture between 500 BC and 300 BC. Their exact cultural meaning remains unknown, but they probably had religious and/or astronomical purposes.
Talaiotic cultureThe Talaiotic Culture or Talaiotic Period is the name used to describe the society that existed on the Gymnesian Islands (the easternmost Balearic Islands) during the Iron Age. Its origins date from the end of the second millennium BC, when the inaccurately named Pre-Talaiotic Culture underwent a crisis and evolved into the Talaiotic Culture. Its name is derived from the talaiots, which are the most abundant and emblematic structures from the prehistoric period of the Balearic Islands.
NuragheThe nuraghe or nurhag is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 B.C. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture known as the Nuragic civilization. More than 7,000 nuraghes have been found, though archeologists believe that originally there were more than 10,000. Natively, the structure is called a nurhage (nuˈɾaɣɛ, nuˈraːɡe; plural: Logudorese Sardinian nuraghes, Campidanese Sardinian nuraxis nuˈɾaʒizi, Italian nuraghi).
Balearic IslandsThe Balearic Islands (Illes Balears ˈiʎəz bəleˈas; Islas Baleares ˈislas βaleˈaɾes ˌbæliˈærɪk or bəˈlɪərɪk ) are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago conforms a province and autonomous community of Spain, with Palma de Mallorca being its capital and largest city. Formerly part of the Kingdom of Mallorca, the islands conformed a province in the 19th century provincial division, which in 1983 received a Statute of Autonomy.
Torrean civilizationThe Torrean civilization was a Bronze Age megalithic civilization that developed in Southern Corsica, mostly concentrated south of Ajaccio, during the second half of the second millennium BC. The characteristic buildings of this culture are the torri ("towers"), megalithic structures similar to the Sardinian nuraghes (although the torri were smaller and less impressive), from which the culture takes its name, and the castelli ("castles"), more complex buildings that include a wall, a tower and huts.
MallorcaMallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands have been an autonomous region of Spain since 1983. There are two small islands off the coast of Mallorca: Cabrera (southeast of Palma) and Dragonera (west of Palma). The anthem of Mallorca is "La Balanguera".
MenorcaMenorca or Minorca (from , later Minorica) is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Mahón (Maó), situated on the island's eastern end, although Menorca is not a province and forms a political union with the other islands in the archipelago. Ciutadella and Mahon are the main ports and largest towns. The port of Mahon is the second biggest natural port in the world.
MegalithA megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The word was first used in 1849 by the British antiquarian Algernon Herbert in reference to Stonehenge and derives from the Ancient Greek words "mega" for great and "lithos" for stone. Most extant megaliths were erected between the Neolithic period (although earlier Mesolithic examples are known) through the Chalcolithic period and into the Bronze Age.
SardiniaSardinia (sɑrˈdɪniə ; Sardegna sarˈdeɲɲa; Sardigna saɾˈdiɲːa) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the 20 regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia and immediately south of the French island of Corsica. It is one of the five Italian regions with some degree of domestic autonomy being granted by a special statute. Its official name, Autonomous Region of Sardinia, is bilingual in Italian and Sardinian: Regione Autonoma della Sardegna / Regione Autònoma de Sardigna.
