One of the distinctive traits of human beings is certainly the need to bury their dead. Thus, burial sites yield precious evidence about the lives and practices of their creators. Over the course of human history, these signs and practices have changed; therefore it can be interesting to compare two different burial sites created in different periods but located in the same area. So let us compare the giants’ tomb of Li Longhi and the tomb circles of Li Muri.
The giants’ tomb is monumental. It has a large exedra, built according to the orthostatic technique, that is using stone slabs set vertically into the ground with a rounded stele at the centre. The structure was built around an earlier dolmen tomb, a chamber tomb made using vertical stone slabs covered by horizontal slabs forming the ceiling, dating back to the Bronze Age (1800 – 1600 BC). In nuraghic times the dolmen was extended to form a long corridor and completed with the exedra. The tomb was used for collective burial.
The circle tombs of Li Muri, on the other hand, date back to the Late Neolithic (3400 – 3200 BC). Here the dolmen stands at the centre of the five tombs, surrounded by circles of stones set into the earth. Different rituals and structures but an identical spiritual need: never to abandon our dear ones in death.