Su Nuraxi simply means "The Nuraghe" in Campidanese, the southern variant of the Sardinian language.

They are considered by scholars the most impressive expression of the nuragic civilization and were included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997 as Su Nuraxi di Barumini.

The discoverer of Su Nuraxi, the archaeologist Giovanni Lilliu, confirmed the traditional interpretation of fortress-site.

The many phases of life in the village render it impossible to establish the number of huts in one phase, the number of huts varied from forty to two hundred, so the population ranged from 100 to 1000 inhabitants[1] and the settlement was built on a circular plan with large boulders covered with dry stone walls and conical roofs made of wood and branches.

The excavations allowed archaeologists to retrace the different stages of the construction of the towers and surrounding village, confirming that the entire complex was a vibrant, vital centre up to the first century BCE, during the Roman period.