Miguel Carrasquer wrote:
> Allegedly from "Pelasgian" (pre-Greek) *dhm.bhos, like púrgos "tower" from
> *bhr.ghos.
The latter makes me recollect an article by I.Dyakonoff and S.Sstarostin
"Hurrian-Urartian and East-Caucasian Languages" where they wrote:
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HU *borg-: Urart. b/pu/org-ana "fortress, tower" < P-NEC *porqwV (possibly
*b-, *w-, *-G-): Tses. beR "cattle-shed", Akhv. borRo, Kar. berwa "shed" (it
must be taken into account that the Caucasians kept livestock on the
ground-flor of towers); cf. Abkh. a-ba /<baRa/ "fortress", Kabard. baq
"shed"
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Indeed, the towers played a very special role in life and culture of the
North East Caucasian people (both Nakh and Dagestanian) - actually it was
the general and universal type of house which was used as a home, a
cattle-shed, a fortress, a watch tower.
Other cultures where towers played an iportant and special role are:
- Urartu
- Etruria
- some West Mediterranean cultures of the Middle / Late Bronze Age
('nuraghe' in Sardinia, 'torre' in Corsica, 'talayot' in Balear Isl.) which
belong to the megalithic tradition.
Alexander