Among the old newspaper clippings, the front page of the daily l’Unione Sarda from August 26, 2005, appeared, informing readers about the “discovery” of an enormous nuragic complex at Foresta Burgos. This discovery will be briefly mentioned again in the same newspaper in July 2007, in an article from which the following excerpt is taken:
<<Foresta Burgos was the land of the Iliensi, one of the nuragic populations described by the historian Titus Livius. Indomitable people of those tanned Sardinians, derogatorily referred to as “barbarians,” who were conquered by the Romans. At the top of the hill, they built their impregnable village. Today it is called “Sa Reggia” and can be reached by climbing for a kilometer along a mule track that starts just above the covered riding school. By foot or by off-road vehicle, you reach the summit where the remains of the palace emerge. Yes, because according to the archaeologist from the University of Cagliari Giuseppa Tanda – who directed the excavation site for a year – here stood the palace of the mysterious king of the Iliensi. The imposing ruins of a complex nuraghe suggest it could be larger than the spectacular one at Barumini. A central keep, five towers, and a wall stretching one hundred meters: so far, no site has yielded anything similar. “This wall – emphasizes Tanda – is unique in Sardinia because it has a walkway like those in medieval castles.” One could think of a capital of the area considering the number of scattered settlements in the region that reaches up to Bonorva. Counting the number of huts uncovered and the vastness of the tower complex, one could hypothesize a village of about a hundred families, thus 4-5000 inhabitants dating back to a period between 1600 and the eighth century BC. At the entrance to the area, a circle of stones was found detached from the rest of the complex: the meeting hut? Who knows. The excavation site in 2005 yielded many finds and allowed for outlining the contours of the settlement, but then funding ran out. Closed, like many others despite the significance of the discoveries.>>
The photos of the nuragic complex “Sa Reggia” in Burgos are by Sergio Melis and Dan Floris.
