Civico Museo Archeologico Ittireddu

Hall 5: the origins of History

Hall 5 of the museum houses the findings ascribable to the period between the Iron Age and the Roman times.

In the context of the Island, known as the "crossroads  of peoples", the discovery of imported artefacts from out of the island found in the territory of Ittireddu attests to its participation in the commercial trades by virtue of its location along the access routes.

A panel examines the role of Sardinia in the political and economic dynamics of the Mediterranean during the first millennium BC: during the eleventh century BC, the interruption of the production and trade of copper fromCyprusand the spread of the new metallurgical technologies related to iron towards the western areas, was mainly caused by the Nuragic civilizations. Due to the availability of iron from the mining area ofEtruria,  the Tyrrhenian coast facingSardiniabecame the main target. The Phoenicians, since the beginning of their western adventure, were the first peoples to appear (IX century BC.), and then settle (VIII century)  and expand (VII-VI centuries) in Sardinia as well as in other western lands (North Africa, Sicily, Spain), mainly settling on coastal promontories (Tharros, Nora) in the south of the island and then inland, all places at the core of the Mediterranean trades between the Phoenician civilization, the areas conquered by the Greeks, and the Etruscan sites. In the north of the island, it is worth mentioning the particular case of Olbia, where the Greek phase (630 BC) coincided also with the Phoenician foundation of the half of the eighth century.

In the context of that period of history, it is worth mentioning the multi-layered site of Monte Zuighe, represented on a large panel, whose particular morphology and location suggest a long human presence which continued without interruption and for several millennia, from prehistory to the Middle Ages, as attested to by the findings and the remains of buildings often hidden under thick vegetation.

A few historical finds were found in Monte Zuighe, suggesting the continuity of life and trades during the first millennium BC. These are fragments belonging to two Etruscan amphorae (VII -VI centuries and V century BC), the bottom of a lekytos characterised by black figures probably ascribable to the Attic production (end VI - early V century). Dozens of bronze arrowheads and other pottery items can be dated back to the Punic Age.