La necropolis of Santu Pedru is located on the slope of the homonymous hill, in a dominant position over the fertile plain below. It consists of about ten tombs of the type domus de janas (literally “houses of the fairies” or “witches’ houses”), carved into the reddish trachyte rock and tuff, featuring an uncovered access corridor (dromos) and multi-chamber floor plan, that is, with several rooms. Inside, they reproduce architectural and decorative elements of the dwellings of the living (steps, bases, moldings, lintels, semicircular ceilings) and are decorated with ritual elements such as false doors, symbolizing the impenetrability of the world of the dead, bull horns, symbolizing strength, fertility, and an apotropaic element, and traces of red ochre paint, the color of blood and regeneration. Tomb I, called the “tomb of tetrapod vases” – due to the discovery of two ceramic vases with four legs perfectly preserved – is the most important as it represents one of the best examples of large and refined domus de janas. Tomb VIII preserves traces of its transformation, in the Early Middle Ages (7th century), into a rock church dedicated to saints Peter and Lucia. Nearby is an arcosolium tomb (burial within a niche surmounted by an arch) from the Roman period. At the summit of the hill stands the Santu Pedru nuraghe, a single-tower built with roughly hewn trachyte blocks, around which traces of an ancient village are present. The area was frequented from the Late Neolithic (Ozieri Culture, 3300 BC) to the medieval age (6th-7th century AD) due to the favorable conditions of the territory, rich in water, which favored livestock farming and agriculture.
Information about Santu Pedru Archaeological Area
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Source: MIBACT
