to tell us their stories.
The excavation campaigns carried out since in the 1970s at the archaeological site of Mont’e Prama have brought to light about 10,000 fragments of stone, belonging to what has become known as the sculpture complex of Mont’e Prama. It is a huge, undefined mass of material: new fragments keep coming to light at the sites, which must be recorded and restored before attempting to match them with different sculptures.
The sculptures of Mont’e Prama were worked in limestone, a relatively soft, light-coloured stone, presumably quarried in the area of Santa Caterina di Pittinuri, distant from the site some 16 km as the crow flies. Most of the betyls and the base of a large model of a nuraghe are in sandstone, from the western coast of the Sinis, some 5 km away. Each of the sculptures was worked from a single block of stone and sculpted all round, to be seen from all sides, also from the back, as shown by carved details on the rear.
The restored material and the latest findings awaiting restoration are on public display at the National archaeological museum of Cagliari and the Giovanni Marongiu civic museum in Cabras.
Currently, fieldwork focuses on extending the excavation area to clarify the original layout of the site and the sequence of events over the long period from original set up of the necropolis to the formation of the sculpture complex, right up to its destruction.
