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A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF SARDINIAUntil some twenty years ago archaeologists were convinced that Sardinia, like other islands in the Med, was first colonised by Neolithic man. In 1979, however, new finds of flint spear tips, smooth and toothed scrapers and burins (chisels) were made on the fertile plains about 20km from the Gulf of Asinara. Human settlements during the Neolithic period were confined to the coast or its immediate hinterland. Caves beside the sea were occupied as were places up to 16km from the shore. The volcanic relief of the area around Oristano provided the early settlers with the rocks they required to make blades, knives and arrowheads. At the end of the Mesolithic period (BC 3700-3300) human settlements grew in number and moved further away from the coast. The cave of Bonuighinu is some 20 km inland and was used both as a dwelling and as a burial place. There have been finds here of the ‘Venuses’, typical votive figurines which express primitive man’s hope for abundance and prosperity. During this period (BC 3300-2500) Sardinia was reached by seekers of metal. Farming increased and the population began to leave their caves and set up villages formed of huts. However, the people still liked to be buried in caves and would gouge out burial chambers from the soft rocks. These became known as ‘Domus de Janas’ and plenty can still be seen today. The Aenolithic (or Chalcolithic) period (BC 2500-1800) refers to the final part of the Neolithic when some copper was used. A wider us of metal, especially in the construction of more effective weapons, lead to clashes between local tribes and outside invaders. This began around BC 1800 and is seen as the start of the nuraghic civilisation, the most outstanding feature of prehistoric Sardinia. Thousands of these truncated-cone buildings were erected all over the island – more of which later (*) Excavations have shown that the first Phoenician seamen who came to Sardinia three thousand years ago were mainly concerned with finding ports of call where they could put in during their journeys around the Med and trade with locals. Some of these landing places eventually became towns. The arrival of the Carthaginians around BC 500 resulted in more extensive colonisation. The Romans became the masters of Sardinia in BC 238 during an interval between the first and second Punic wars. They met with fierce resistance on the part of the locals. When the fighting was mainly over they set about there usual construction of public works of every kind. They gave the Carthaginian towns their present appearance, whilst their road were the forerunners of many of the State highways today. Some of their bridges too were used until recent times. There are many blank pages of history of Europe from AD 500 to 1000 and Sardinia is no exception. The fall of the Western Roman Empire was followed by invasions and transformations of many kinds. The church alone maintained a certain degree of continuity. The island remained for a while in the hands of the Byzantines as can be seen in the Greek cross ground plan of many Sardinian churches. By the middle of the 8th century the Arabs occupied the whole of the North African coast and Spain. Travel by sea had become dangerous and Sardinia lost contact with Constantinople and had to fend for itself. The island was split into 4 districts, each with its own rudimentary parliament. Arborea, with its capital at Oristano, is the best remembered as it managed to keep the Aragonese at bay for nearly 100 years. Around the same time the maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa set about the establishment of increasingly close (and increasingly oppressive) links with Sardinia. Their influence, at first religious, soon spilled over into trade. The influential families worked their way into the Sardinian dynasties through marriage and increased their influence. The war undertaken to occupy the island started in 1323 but went on until 1409, due to the stubborn resistance of the district of Arborea, and flared up again from 1470 –78 due to their rebellions. These were difficult times. The population dwindled and many villages were abandoned. The new masters began to introduce their ways, including a feudal system, and their influence in art and architecture. Sardinia passed from the influence of Catalonia to that of Spain in 1479 and this lasted until 1720. The feudal system was consolidated. The villages were becoming ever more distinct from the towns. They were solely rural and required to provide for the larger towns, which were treated as market places and seats of government. Walls and defence systems were perfected and care was devoted to the aesthetic side. The island passed to the House of Savoy in 1720 in exchange for the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. A light and prudent hand was applied at first, but the reforming spirit was soon at work. Improvements were made in agriculture and education. Then came the French Revolution and Sardinia was swept by a vast anti feudal movement. The end of Napoleons empire was followed by further modernisation when landholding was privatised in 1820 and the feudal system was abolished in 1836-39. (**) The discovery that the Sardinians had a vocation for war was made in the trenches of the Great War, to which they had come already toughened by their hard lives of peasants and shepherds. United by their common origin and able to talk their own language, regional formation such as the Sassari Brigade were involved in a host of heroic exploits, though very many never came home to tell their tale. These sacrifices lay behind the claims for a measure of independence put forward when the war was over and acknowledged many years later when Sardinia was made an autonomous region in 1948. In the second half of the 20th century Sardinia’s agriculture folded. It was devoid of capital and still using methods and implements left over from the Middle Ages. Luckily, pasturage, a much older activity and better suited to the geography of the island, took over the abandoned farmlands. In some places great areas of marshes were drained and populated mainly by settlers from the mainland, they now produce vegetables, fruit, milk and cheese.
To date there are still some 7,000 well preserved (in various stages) Nuraghi around the whole island. Clearly at the time there must have been a lot more built. The building of these nuraghi peaked between BC 1200 – 900. The area surrounding Macomer is where nuraghi are most densely found. The word nuraghi comes from the Sardinian word meaning ‘heap’ or ‘mound’. There are many different types but the simplest is a circular tower. Built without cement, only the weight and positioning of the stones keep the walls standing. Inside is formed a room covered with a dome shaped roof. More complex specimens were built later linking two or three nuraghi together with passages, in what looks like a village formation. Archaeologists still disagree on the exact reason why these structures were built. The theory that they were built as part of a territorial defence system is becoming more and more acceptable. However, pots and cooking utensils have been found in some of the complexes, suggesting habitations and in others there have been discoveries of bones, suggesting some types were used as burial chambers. Perhaps we will never know exactly the reasoning behind them but this does not distract from the fact that so many of these massive structures were constructed at a time when ‘modern’ techniques were not heard of and were obviously built so well that so many are still standing. Between 1840-1870 Bosa enjoyed an economic and cultural boom time; tanning and mining; palaces and monuments; politicians and writers; poets and farmers; agriculture, vineyards and olive groves were all developed. The port was used for the export of livestock, skins, wine and olive oil, mainly to France. In the city there was a proliferation of associations and societies; the workers society; the society of builders and farmers; reading circles; civic libraries and local bands and Bosa was one of the first places in Sardinia to have street lighting and an aqueduct. However, towards the end of the 1800’s Bosa descended into a period of long depression. The port was destroyed by a great storm in 1880 and the city suffered yet another epidemic of cholera in 1884. Disease (Phylloxers) destroyed the vines and a breakdown in business relations with France in 1887 definitively broke the economy. The mines, that had seen the first tentative beginnings of a local business sector, in the middle of the century, were closed. Bosa returned to its pastoral roots, which it still maintains with pride. |
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