Terracotta Male Head Found in the Sea off the Coast of Nora, Sardinia
Abstract
The Archaeology News Network, an online open access, pro-community news site that brings together people in archaeological and related fields, has reported the underwater discovery of a terracotta head off the coast of Nora, Sardinia. Press release by the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for Cagliari.
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1During a search and clean up of a war relic from the seabed off the coast of Sardinia at the site of Nora, the S.D.A.I. Cagliari Unit of COMSUBIN (Demining and Defence of Insidious Devices), coordinated by Commander Gabriele Paparo, discovered a terracotta head north of the Coltellazzo islet, in the waters in front of the archaeological site of Nora in Pula. The artefact was lying on the seabed wrapped in a fishing net.
2In view of the proximity of the archaeological site of Nora, which, as is well known, preserves the remains of one of the most important Phoenician-Punic and later Roman centers in Sardinia, the divers of the COMSUBIN (Gruppo Operativo Subacquei - Underwater Operational Group) assessed that the artefact might be of archaeological interest and, in order to prevent it from being lost, damaged, or stolen, they recovered it and placed it in a safe place, immediately contacting the Cagliari Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape Department.
3It is a terracotta head (fig. 1), slightly smaller than life-size, depicting a young male figure. “The find is of great interest in the panorama of Nora research,” reports archaeologist Chiara Pilo, “as it is in addition to other terracotta artefacts found around the Coltellazzo promontory during underwater research carried out in the late 1970s and early 1980s that recovered five other heads. The artefacts were probably parts of large clay statues destined to be displayed in sanctuaries as cult statues, or votive offerings, according to a custom that is well attested in other Sardinian sites of the Roman Republican period.
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| Title | Fig. 1. Terracotta male head, Sardinia |
| Credits | Photo: © Marina Militare PULA (Cagliari) |
| URL | http://journals.openedition.org/acost/docannexe/image/4502/img-1.jpg |
| File | image/jpeg, 129k |
References
Electronic reference
Grazia Sclaverano, “Terracotta Male Head Found in the Sea off the Coast of Nora, Sardinia”, Les Carnets de l’ACoSt [Online], 25 | 2025, Online since 18 December 2025, connection on 15 May 2026. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/acost/4502; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/15efu
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