Is Paras is a “tancato” nuraghe: the keep with the tallest tholos in Sardinia, the towers and the courtyard tell three construction phases.
THE MONUMENT
The construction history of Is Paras develops in three main phases.
Between the 15th and 14th century BC the central tower was built.
Between the 13th and 12th century BC a smaller tower was added in front of the main one. Walls linking the two towers and enclosing the inner courtyard were also built: the nuraghe took the shape still recognisable today.
Between the 12th and 11th century BC two more towers were added, linked by curtain walls, and the outer defensive wall with towers was built. The site also preserves traces of Roman frequentation (2nd–3rd century AD) and Byzantine frequentation (6th–7th century AD).
DESCRIPTION
THE FORTIFIED CORE
The oldest core is the keep, the circular central tower, built with white limestone blocks in courses. It originally had two storeys; only the lower one survives.
Inside, the chamber still preserves its intact tholos ceiling, over 11 metres high, the tallest found so far in Sardinia. A well-like storage pit opens in the floor.
In front of the keep stands a smaller tower. Between the two towers, enclosed by straight walls, is a courtyard: this layout makes Is Paras a “tancato” nuraghe, recalling an enclosed space. In Sardinian, tanca means “enclosed land”.
Two further towers, added later, turn the nuraghe into a three-lobed structure. Around it runs the outer wall with towers, known as antemurale.
THE VILLAGE
Inside and outside the outer wall extended a village of circular huts. The settlement has yet to be systematically excavated.
HISTORY AND USES
After the protohistoric age the area was frequented again in Roman and early medieval times, as shown by hut remains and pottery.
EXCAVATIONS
In 1974 Maria Ausilia Fadda excavated the nuraghe. Between 1975 and 1977 investigations continued with Alberto Moravetti. In 1988 some stretches of the outer wall were brought to light; a further campaign followed in 1998.
SOURCES
SardegnaCultura, “Isili, Nuraghe Is Paras”.
SardegnaTurismo, “Nuraghe Is Paras”.
IDESE, “Nuraghe Is Paras”.
Art Bonus, “Nuraghe Is Paras”.
THE NAME OF THE SITE
The name Is Paras means “the priests” in Sardinian. It recalls that the land where the nuraghe stands belonged for a long time to the Piarist Fathers.
Previously the monument was known as su Idili, from the name of the locality.
THE LANDSCAPE
Isili lies in the Sarcidano, in central-southern Sardinia, in a territory of limestone plateaus.
The position of the nuraghe allowed control of the surrounding landscape and of the routes between Sarcidano and Marmilla.
