The monumental stele and the Albucciu nuraghe
A few kilometres inland from the Costa Smeralda, around Arzachena, lies one of the richest concentrations of prehistoric monuments in Sardinia, an unexpected contrast with the luxury of the coast. The most spectacular is the Tomba dei Giganti di Coddu Vecchiu, a "Giants' Tomb", one of the collective tombs of the Nuragic civilisation, built around 1800 to 1600 BC: a long burial chamber, covered by stone slabs, preceded by a semicircular exedra of standing stones, like two open arms, at the centre of which rises a huge stele, a carved granite slab about four metres high, with a small door at its base, symbolically the entrance to the world of the dead.
The name "giants' tomb" comes from the popular belief that only giants could have been buried in such large tombs, while in reality they were collective tombs for the community. Nearby you can visit other important sites: the Nuraghe Albucciu, an unusual nuraghe built against a granite rock, the Tempietto di Malchittu, a nuragic temple in the shape of a megaron on a hill, the Li Muri necropolis, with prehistoric circular tombs, and the Tomba dei Giganti di Li Lolghi, with an even taller stele. All these sites are part of an archaeological itinerary with a combined ticket.
Tip: visit the sites in the early morning or late afternoon, when the light is warm and the heat bearable; combine them with a day on the Costa Smeralda.
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