The 2017-2023 excavation campaigns in the Middle Bronze Age nuraghe and settlement of Tanca Manna (Nuoro)

Abstract

The continuation of stratigraphic investigations at the Tanca Manna nuraghe in Nuoro has significantly enhanced our understanding of the residential structures of a Bronze Age settlement and contributed to the restoration of the original state of the single-tower nuraghe. This paper presents a synthesis of the findings, which offer a valuable example of research on an early Nuragic settlement. The study confirms the unique characters of the site, notably the presence of rectangular huts with complex internal layouts, such as partition walls, horizontal slab-built flatbeds, and centrally positioned cooking features. The construction technique is made of large stones to form the perimeter walls and incorporates the natural rock.

The stratification of the archaeological deposits revealed numerous ceramic fragments, datable to the early phases of the Middle Bronze Age (MBA1 and MBA2), further corroborating the coexistence of a monumental structure, likely a proto-nuraghe, situated on the granite outcrop next to the huts. This proto-nuraghe was later surmounted by the single-tower nuraghe. The investigation of the latter allowed for a thorough examination of the internal stratigraphy and construction techniques, as well as a revaluation of the entrance, which had been partially modified by restoration works in the 1960s and early 2000s.