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Thus in Sardinia the round type was mostly kept for the huts and nuraghi, while the rectangular was reserved for the dolmens and Giants' Graves. Even here the confusion between the two types is shown by the fact that near Birori there are two dolmens with a round plan. Again, in Pantelleria the huts of the Mursia are rectangular, while the sesi, which are tombs, are roughly circular.
The vitality of the volcano is therefore due, not to the presence of water, but to the welling up of matter from the internal reservoir through the throat of the volcano. Pantelleria. This island, lying between the coast of Sicily and Cape Bon in Africa, is wholly volcanic. It has a circumference of thirty miles, and from its centre rises an extinct crater-cone to a height of about 3000 feet.
However, on the north side of the island there are megalithic huts in a very fair state of preservation. They are oval in form and have in many cases a base course of orthostatic slabs. Some miles to the north of Linosa lies the much larger volcanic island of Pantelleria, also a possession of Italy. Here megalithic remains both of dwellings and of tombs have been found.
On the plateau of the Mursia are the remains of rectangular huts made of rough blocks of stone. These huts seemed to have formed a village, which was surrounded by a wall for purposes of defence. In the huts were found implements of obsidian and flat stones used for grinding. Plan of the Sese Grande, Pantelleria.
The islands, however, which lie around and to the south of Italy afford many examples: Corsica, Sardinia, Malta, Gozo, Pantelleria, and Lampedusa are strongholds of the megalithic civilization, and it is possible that Sicily should be included in the list. Moving westward we find innumerable examples in the Spanish Peninsula and in France.
The Isle of Pantelleria is apparently just on the line, which, continued eastward, probably follows the north coast of Cyprus, parallel to the strike of the strata and of the central axis of that island. See "Carte Géologique de l'île de Chypre, par MM. Albert Gaudry et Amedée Damour" .
If we draw a line from the shores of the Levant to the Straits of Gibraltar, by Candia, Malta, and to the south of Pantelleria and Sardinia, we shall find that the volcanic islands and districts of the mainland lie to the north of it. This has doubtless some connection with the internal geological structure.
The bird's-eye view is taken from this latter work by kind permission of the publisher, Mr. The volcanic area lying to the north of this line will include Sardinia, Sicily, Pantelleria, the Grecian Archipelago, Asia Minor, and Syria; the non-volcanic area lying to the south of this line will include the African coast, Malta, Isles of Crete and Cyprus.
In the Mediterranean obsidian, a volcanic rock, occasionally took the place of flint, especially in Sardinia and Pantelleria. Axes or celts were often made of flint in Scandinavia and North Germany, but elsewhere other stones, such as jade, jadeite, and diorite were commonly used. We can only guess at the way in which the megalithic people were clothed.
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