“The nuraghe Losa, among the most renowned on the island for being one of the most majestic and best-preserved, was surveyed and illustrated in the Atlas of Lamarmora (1840) and became the subject of an initial series of excavation campaigns, starting in 1890, under the direction of the Royal Commissioner Filippo Vivanet and his assistant Filippo Nissardi. The latter is also credited with the first comprehensive survey of the complex, carried out during the work; the related plans and sections were published by Giovanni Pinza in the volume Primitive Monuments of Sardinia, published by the Accademia dei Lincei in 1901, the first organic synthesis on the prehistory and protohistory of Sardinia. The excavations were resumed, between April and June of 1915, by Antonio Taramelli, who uncovered new structures of the settlement adjacent to the fortress, especially on the North-East and South-West sides. We have scarce information, instead, about the materials found during these researches, both in those by Vivanet-Nissardi (which were never published) and in those of Taramelli: in both cases, although different objects were regularly displayed in the showcases of the Museum of Cagliari, one would have to wait until the mid-1950s for a first preliminary review by Giovanni Lilliu (LILLIU, 1955), and much longer to obtain a first graphic documentation (SANTONI, 1988, 1990) and a study of the most significant finds by the author and other colleagues (Losa I; Losa II). A series of excavation, consolidation, and restoration interventions carried out by Ferruccio Barreca, with the assistance of Giuseppe Lai, ziu Peppinu, in the years 1970-71 and 1975-76, have allowed the monument to be fully accessible to the public. Starting from the years 1989-90, new excavation campaigns – directed by the author, with the collaboration of P.B. Serra and G. Bacco – have provided new elements related to the material life scenarios that have concerned the site over the centuries…”
(excerpt by Vincenzo Santoni taken from “Sardegna Archeologica,” a series of guides and itineraries published by Delfino Editore)
The black and white images are taken from the cited volume. The color photos are by Andrea Mura-Nuragando Sardegna, Bibi Pinna, @Marco Secchi Fotografia, and Diversamente Sardi.
