Monte Prama Giants - V: Archer
The most frequent iconography of archers represents a male warrior dressed in a short tunic. A square pectoral with slightly concave sides is worn on top of a tunic. In some cases the tunic reaches the groin, in other instances the genitals are left exposed.
Legs are protected by peculiar greaves with notched borders, hanging by laces underneath the tunic; a leg guard shows a figure-of-eight outlined in its back, while a sandal is occasionally depicted on a fragmented foot. Archers’ faces are similar to those of the boxers, with the hair gathered up in braids coming down at the face sides. The head is protected, up to the nape, by a calotte-shaped, crested and horned helmet, with the ears left free.
The Giants of Monte Prama are ancient stone sculptures created by the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia. Fragmented into numerous pieces, they were found by accident in March 1974, in farmland near Monte Prama, near Cabras in central-western Sardinia. The statues are carved in local sandstone and their height varies between 2 and 2.5 meters. These sculptures come us dismembered into 5178 fragments, but many more are missing destroyed perhaps dispersed.
The statues show adult males. They are armed and dressed with great care. No doubt on their social rank, they are persons of uncommon breed. They represent archers, warriors and “boxers”. The term “warriors” here seems to acquire a more general sense: in all the societies of the ancient world, warriors always occupy on absolutely prominent position in the social hierarchy as guardians and holders of the political power.
According to the scholars, the historical and cultural moment that fits best the creation of the Monte Prama sculptures is the Iron Age (X- 1st half of VIII cent. BC)
Nuragic sandstone sculpture
X - 1st half of VIII cent. BC
Drom Monte Prana, Cabras, Oristano, Sardinia
Cagliari Archaeological Museum
Source: Wikipedia Giants of Monte Prama page.
Monte Prama Giants - V: Archer
The most frequent iconography of archers represents a male warrior dressed in a short tunic. A square pectoral with slightly concave sides is worn on top of a tunic. In some cases the tunic reaches the groin, in other instances the genitals are left exposed.
Legs are protected by peculiar greaves with notched borders, hanging by laces underneath the tunic; a leg guard shows a figure-of-eight outlined in its back, while a sandal is occasionally depicted on a fragmented foot. Archers’ faces are similar to those of the boxers, with the hair gathered up in braids coming down at the face sides. The head is protected, up to the nape, by a calotte-shaped, crested and horned helmet, with the ears left free.
The Giants of Monte Prama are ancient stone sculptures created by the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia. Fragmented into numerous pieces, they were found by accident in March 1974, in farmland near Monte Prama, near Cabras in central-western Sardinia. The statues are carved in local sandstone and their height varies between 2 and 2.5 meters. These sculptures come us dismembered into 5178 fragments, but many more are missing destroyed perhaps dispersed.
The statues show adult males. They are armed and dressed with great care. No doubt on their social rank, they are persons of uncommon breed. They represent archers, warriors and “boxers”. The term “warriors” here seems to acquire a more general sense: in all the societies of the ancient world, warriors always occupy on absolutely prominent position in the social hierarchy as guardians and holders of the political power.
According to the scholars, the historical and cultural moment that fits best the creation of the Monte Prama sculptures is the Iron Age (X- 1st half of VIII cent. BC)
Nuragic sandstone sculpture
X - 1st half of VIII cent. BC
Drom Monte Prana, Cabras, Oristano, Sardinia
Cagliari Archaeological Museum
Source: Wikipedia Giants of Monte Prama page.