The Monte Arci is an isolated

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

in the Uras plain in

Campidano Campidano () is a plain located in South-Western Sardinia (Italy), covering approximately 100 kilometres between Cagliari and Oristano. Geography Geologically, it is a graben, a tectonic structure formed in the mid-Pliocene/early Pleistocene ...

, south-western

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is composed by three volcanic

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

towers, the highest one reaching an elevation of 812 m. The inner part of the massif is composed of

trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava (or shallow intrus ...

. Monte Arci is located just west of the Giara di Gesturi, a basaltic plateau. Monte Arci had a relevant historical role in Sardinia due to the abundant presence of

obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

, which was used since prehistoric times for weapons and tools, and was later traded outside the island. There are also quarries of pearlite.

Archaeological significance

Monte Arci is renowned for its importance as one of the primary sources of

in the western

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. Beginning in the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable light scattering by particles, scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale ...

. Types SB1 and SB2 are found in smaller quantities at sites such as Bruncu Perda Crobina, Seddai and Cuccuru Is Abis on the western flanks of the volcanic complex; these types comprise smaller nodules encased within harder volcanic matrices. Types SC1 and SC2 are present at higher elevations on the eastern side, particularly around Perdas Urias; they are distinguished by a characteristic chemical signature. Analysis of more than 600 obsidian artefacts from roughly 50 archaeological sites across

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

and northern Italy—using electron microprobe analysis and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)—has demonstrated that Monte Arci was the predominant source of obsidian for stone tool production across the western Mediterranean. Monte Arci obsidian has been identified at sites in southern France, peninsular Italy,

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Archaeological significance

Monte Arci is renowned for its importance as one of the primary sources of

in the western

. Beginning in the

period (about 6,000–3,000 BCE), the distinctive volcanic glass from this region was extensively exploited and widely traded throughout the Mediterranean basin. Research has identified five major chemical types of obsidian in the Monte Arci complex through comprehensive field surveys and chemical characterisation. Type SA occurs primarily at Conca Cannas, where large nodules form within a soft perlitic matrix at the southwestern foot of Monte Arci; this variety is typically glassy, black and often translucent. Types SB1 and SB2 are found in smaller quantities at sites such as Bruncu Perda Crobina, Seddai and Cuccuru Is Abis on the western flanks of the volcanic complex; these types comprise smaller nodules encased within harder volcanic matrices. Types SC1 and SC2 are present at higher elevations on the eastern side, notably around Perdas Urias; they are distinguished by a characteristic chemical signature. Analysis of more than 600 obsidian artifacts from roughly 50 archaeological sites across

and northern Italy—using electron microprobe analysis and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)—has demonstrated that Monte Arci was the predominant source of obsidian for

stone tool Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...

production across the western Mediterranean. Monte Arci obsidian has been identified at sites in southern France, peninsular Italy,

and

. The application of minimally destructive provenance techniques has revealed both geographic and chronological variation in the exploitation of Monte Arci sources. These findings have deepened our understanding of prehistoric exchange networks, trade routes and cultural interactions throughout the western Mediterranean basin.

References

{{Authority control Arci Volcanoes of Italy Volcanic plugs of Italy