nuraghe

Nu*ra"ghe, n.; It. pl. -ghi. Also Nu"ragh, etc. [It. dial. (Sardinia) nuraghe).] Defn: One of the prehistoric towerlike structures found in Sardinia. The so-called nuraghi, conical monuments with truncated summits, 30- 60 ft. in height, 35-100 ft. in diameter at the base, constructed sometimes of hewn, and sometimes of unhewn blocks of stone without mortar. They are situated either on isolated eminences or on the slopes of the mountains, seldom on the plains, and usually occur in groups. They generally contain two (in some rare instances three) conically vaulted chambers, one above the other, and a spiral staircase constructed in the thick walls ascends to the upper stories. Baedeker.

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