The statue-menhirs

The statues-menhirs appear to be morphologically related to the “dense stones”, the menhirs in fact. In fact, these are elongated monoliths which, however, unlike simple menhirs, have figurative elements in relief on one side (the front one). Hence the appellation of 'statue-menhir'. The statues-menhirs attested in Sardinia essentially have two types of figurative patterns.

A first type, classified as masculine, has at the top a schematic representation (called a “T”) of the human face; below (and this is a peculiarity of the Sardinian statue-menhirs) we find a trident figure that seems to symbolically represent an inverted human figure; finally, approximately at half height, the representation of a double-bladed dagger appears. From this element, the conviction is drawn that this type of statue-menhir represents a male figure.

The second type has a simpler pattern, still characterized at the top by the face in a “T” shape but, below, we find two drafts in relief, interpreted as schematic representations of the breasts and, consequently, this type of statue-menhir is interpreted as a female representation.

The most famous and most numerous statues-menhirs in Sardinia come from the territory of Laconi.
Chronologically, these artifacts are framed in the Copper Age.

Update

9/9/2023 - 14:30