Domus de Janas (Sardinian for 'House of the Fairies' or, alternatively, 'House of Witches') are a type of pre-Nuragic rock-cut chamber tomb found in Sardinia. They consist of several chambers quarried out by the people of the San Ciriaco through Ozieri cultures [1] and subsequent cultures, resembling houses in their layout.
Built mostly between 3400 and 2700 BC, they date to the late Neolithic, Chalcolithic and early Bronze Age, including the Bell Beaker period. A necropolis of them at the site of Anghelu Ruju, near Alghero, consists of 38 tombs. Other large sites are those of Montessu , near Villaperuccio, and of Sant'Andrea Priu at Bonorva. Many other domus de janas can be found throughout the island, with the exception of Gallura (where the deceased were usually buried in megalithic circles, such as that those of Li Muri).
The shape of the internal chambers can vary from that of a rounded hut with conical or triangular ceiling. The walls are often decorated with reliefs or etchings depicting magical and religious symbols such as spirals, zig-zag motifs and bull's horns. [2]
Carved or painted false doors appear in about 20 tombs mostly located in northwestern Sardinia, [3] : 137–9 an example being some of the tombs of the necropolis of Anghelu Ruju, which are variously datable from the Ozieri to the Bonnanaro cultures (c.3200 – 1600 BCE). [4] The earliest examples predate the appearance of false doors in Ancient Egyptian tombs. [5] These false doors usually appear on the back wall of the main chamber, and are represented by horizontal and vertical frames and a projecting lintel. Sometimes the door is topped with painted or carved U-shaped bull horns, inscribed inside each other in a variable number.
The corpses, painted with red ochre like the tomb's walls, were buried together with common life objects, jewels and tools. According to archaeologist Giovanni Lilliu, they were buried under shells of molluscs; according to other theories, they were left outside the tomb, being put inside only after they had reduced to a skeleton.
The nuraghe, or nurhag, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, Italy, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 BC. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture known as the Nuragic civilization. More than 7,000 nuraghes have been found, though archeologists believe that originally there were more than 10,000.
Su Nuraxi is a nuragic archaeological site in Barumini, Sardinia, Italy. Su Nuraxi simply means "The Nuraghe" in Campidanese, the southern variant of the Sardinian language.
A false door, or recessed niche, is an artistic representation of a door which does not function like a real door. They can be carved in a wall or painted on it. They are a common architectural element in the tombs of ancient Egypt, but appeared possibly earlier in some Pre-Nuragic Sardinian tombs known as Domus de Janas. Later they also occur in Etruscan tombs and in the time of ancient Rome they were used in the interiors of both houses and tombs.
The Nuragic civilization, also known as the Nuragic culture, was a civilization or culture on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy, which lasted from the 18th century BC, or from the 23rd century BC, up to the Roman colonization in 238 BC. Others date the culture as lasting at least until the 2nd century AD, and in some areas, namely the Barbagia, to the 6th century AD, or possibly even to the 11th century AD.
The Bonnanaro culture is a protohistoric culture that flourished in Sardinia during the 2nd millennium BC, considered to be the first stage of the Nuragic civilization. It takes its name from the comune of Bonnanaro in the province of Sassari where in 1889 the eponymous site was discovered.
The Ozieri culture was a prehistoric pre-Nuragic culture that occupied Sardinia from c. 3200 to 2800 BCE. The Ozieri was the culmination of the island's Neolithic culture and takes its name from the locality where early findings connected with it have been found, the cave of San Michele near Ozieri, in northern Sardinia. The Ozieri existed contemporaneously with the Arzachena culture, sharing some similarities, and its influence also extended to nearby Corsica.
The Giants of Mont'e Prama are ancient stone sculptures created by the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia, Italy. Fragmented into numerous pieces, they were discovered in March 1974 on farmland near Mont'e Prama, in the comune of Cabras, province of Oristano, in central-western Sardinia. The statues are carved in local sandstone and their height varies between 2 and 2.5 meters.
Giovanni Lilliu, was a renowned archeologist, academician, publicist and politician and public figure and an expert of the Nuragic civilization. Largely due to his scientific and archeologic work in the Su Nuraxi di Barumini in Sardinia, Italy, the site was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.
The Arzachena culture was a pre-Nuragic culture of the Late Neolithic Age occupying Gallura and part of southern Corsica from approximately the 4th to the 3rd millennium BC. It takes its name from the Sardinian town of Arzachena.
The Pre-Nuragic period refers to the prehistory of Sardinia from the Paleolithic until the middle Bronze Age, when the Nuragic civilization flourished on the island.
The Nuragic bronze statuettes are typical Nuragic Sardinian bronze sculptures of the final phase of the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age.
The nuragic holy well is a typical Sardinian hypogean Bronze Age structure for the worship of the waters. Scattered throughout the island, along with the Giants' grave and the megaron temples, they testify to the deep religiosity of the Nuragic populations. These temples were a place of pilgrimage and ceremonies: it is believed that at certain times of year the various nuragic populations of the area gathered together in their vicinity.
The necropolis of Anghelu Ruju is a pre-Nuragic archaeological site located north of the city of Alghero, Province of Sassari, Sardinia. It is the largest necropolis of pre-Nuragic Sardinia.
The necropolis of Sant'Andrea Priu is an archaeological site located on the south side of the fertile plain of Saint Lucia, in the municipality of Bonorva, Sardinia. The complex, one of the most important of the island, is composed of twenty domus de janas; one of them with its eighteen rooms appears to be one of the largest hypogean tombs of the Mediterranean basin.
The necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu is an archaeological site located in the municipality of Porto Torres, Sardinia.
The necropolis of Is Loccis-Santus is an archaeological site located in the municipality of San Giovanni Suergiu, Sardinia.
The necropolis of Pranu Muttedu is one of the most important funerary areas of pre-Nuragic Sardinia and is located near Goni, a small village in the province of South Sardinia. The complex has the highest known concentration of menhirs and megaliths in Sardinia, two megalithic tombs and a Domus de Janas surrounded by stone circles.
Antonio Taramelli was an Italian archaeologist.
The necropolis of Santu Pedru is an archaeological site of the municipality of Alghero, Sardinia.
Private tombs of the Third Dynasty [c. 2686 BC–2613 BC] broadly followed the pattern of those of the Second, in being brick mastabas. However, there were significant developments in the form of the offering place at the southern end of the eastern facade, which was in some cases lined with stone and projected into the heart of the mastaba. These linings could be decorated, while a niche at the northern end of the tomb might be dedicated to the cult of the wife of the tomb owner. The southern niche and its slab-stela evolved during the Third Dynasty into what by the following dynasty had become the classic false door.