🌀 Funerary Tradition in the Prehistory of Sardinia – The domus de janas
Petroglyph Park-b
📋 Fast Facts
- UNESCO World Heritage Site (ID 1730-009) inscribed for exceptional prehistoric funerary architecture
- Rock-cut chamber tombs dating to the Neolithic and early Bronze Age (late 4th–early 3rd millennium BCE)
- Thousands of sites distributed across Sardinia, often clustered in necropolis groups
- Notable clusters include Anghelu Ruju near Alghero, Sant'Andrea Priu, Is Loccis Santus, and S'Adde 'e Asile
The domus de janas, meaning "houses of the fairies" in Sardinian tradition, constitute one of Europe's most distinctive prehistoric funerary architectures. Carved directly into rocky outcrops across Sardinia, these rock-cut chamber tombs represent a sophisticated ritual landscape created by Neolithic and Chalcolithic communities between the late 4th and early 3rd millennium BCE. The structures reflect complex beliefs about death, rebirth, community identity, and the relationship between the ...