from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Nuraghe \Nu*ra"ghe\, n.; It. pl. {-ghi}. Also Nuragh \Nu"ragh\,
etc.[It. dial. (Sardinia) nuraghe).]
One of the prehistoric towerlike structures found in
Sardinia.
The so-called nuraghi, conical monuments with truncated
summits, 30-60 ft. in height, 35-100 ft. in diameter at
the base, constructed sometimes of hewn, and sometimes
of unhewn blocks of stone without mortar. They are
situated either on isolated eminences or on the slopes
of the mountains, seldom on the plains, and usually
occur in groups. They generally contain two (in some
rare instances three) conically vaulted chambers, one
above the other, and a spiral staircase constructed in
the thick walls ascends to the upper stories.
--Baedeker.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]