The protohistoric research in Sardinia (Italy) between 1935 and 1950. The birth of the modern archaeology in the Sardinian island

Abstract

In this paper we analyse the birth and development of modern archeology, with particular reference to protohistoric research, on the island of Sardinia (Italy), at the center of the Western Mediterranean. In Sardinia, indeed, studies about protohistoric age have largely monopolized archaeological research until now, because on the island there is the well-known phenomenon of Nuragic civilization, which developed from the Middle Bronze Age to the first phases of the Iron Age. The analysis focuses on the period 1935-1950, years in which the most important Sardinian archaeologist, Giovanni Lilliu, of the University of Cagliari, began to operate. In these years we see the beginnings of a new scientific and cultural season that, from the 1950s onwards, will outline and demonstrate to the world the extraordinary importance of Nuragic civilization.