Giants' Grave of Su Mont'e s'Abe

A Nuragic-era collective tomb from around 1800 BC, within easy reach of Olbia

Su Mont'e s'Abe is a well-preserved example of the Nuragic tomba dei giganti — megalithic collective burial monuments characteristic of Bronze Age Sardinia. The tomb is located about 8km south of Olbia and is reachable by car in under 20 minutes. It is less visited than the more famous tombs near Arzachena, making for a quieter experience.

The monument consists of a long burial chamber formed by upright slabs roofed with horizontal stones, fronted by a carved stone exedra — a semicircular facade with a central stele that would have marked the entrance to the underworld. Nuragic tombs were communal, used over many generations; the same chamber might contain the remains of dozens of individuals accumulated across centuries. The surrounding landscape of macchia scrub and granite outcrops gives a good sense of the Bronze Age Sardinian environment.

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A story
The Giants' Graves (tombe dei giganti) are one of Sardinia's most distinctive prehistoric monument types — collective tombs used over generations, with a characteristic carved stone facade and a central standing slab. Su Mont'e s'Abe is among the closest of these tombs to Olbia, dating from the Middle Bronze Age around 1800–1400 BC. The name 'Giants' Grave' is a folk description; the actual giants were the standing stones that rise several metres above the entrance.

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