Exhibition
Mont’e Prama Giants:
Stories of ancient stone
28 November 2026 – 28 February 2027
The Mediterranean’s most remarkable archaeological discoveries travel from Sardinia to Aotearoa New Zealand for the first time
The Mediterranean’s most remarkable archaeological discoveries travel from Sardinia to Aotearoa New Zealand for the first time
Mont’e Prama Giants offers Aotearoa audiences a rare opportunity to encounter a remarkable archaeological discovery: stone statues from the ancient Nuragic culture of Sardinia from around 900–750 BCE. Following presentations in Berlin, St Petersburg, Thessaloniki, Naples, New York, Madrid and Barcelona, the exhibition marks the first time replicas of the statues have been toured to and shown in the Southern Hemisphere.
Unearthed in Sardinia in the 1970s, and meticulously reassembled from thousands of fragments, the giants of Mont’e Prama are the only known stone statues of their kind from the Nuragic civilisation – which dates from the transition between the final Bronze Age and the Iron Age – and are among the oldest anthropomorphic statues from the Mediterranean.
Standing as symbols of identity and heroic status, Mont’e Prama Giants offers a unique insight into the Bronze Age of Sardinia and its distinctive place in the ancient world.
The exhibition has been developed and toured by the Monte Prama Foundation in partnership with the School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington
Based in Sardinia, the Mont’e Prama Foundation is responsible for the island’s archaeological and artistic heritage. It shares the legacy of Mont’e Prama and its ancient civilization with wider audiences throughout the world.
Image: Nicola Castangia, Mont'e Prama Foundation Archive
