A preliminary archaeometric study of eneolithic anthropomorphic statues from Nurallao (central Sardinia, Italy)

A visual and instrumental multi-technique approach has been carried out on 10 geological samples collected from the fossiliferous limestone of the Villagreca Unit, in Nurallao (central Sardinia, Italy), in which the likely prehistoric quarry of Perda Tellada is located. Macroscopic examinations and chemical measurements by non destructive ED-XRF, ICP-OES and ICP-MS have been performed on the geological material. This study has allowed us to determine the geochemical intra-source variability of the lithic raw material. Furthermore, the mineralogical investigation by PXRD and the ICP-OES data on geological samples, have led us to define some technological properties of the local limestone. Conversely, on 13 eneolithic anthropomorphic limestone sculptures from the archaeological site of Aiodda-Nurallao (‘menhir statues’ of III millennium BC), nine without any scientific edition and five published, according to conservative requirements we have achieved only non destructive ED-XRF measurements and visual observations. Through the comparison between artifacts and lithological outcrop’s analytical data, we have been able to define the precise original source of the raw materials employed for the prehistoric megaliths, establishing spatial relationships between the stone sources and the sites where the sculptures had been found.