Necropoli di Santu Pedru

About the museum

The Santu Pedru necropolis lies on the eastern slope of a trachyte hill in the Nurra, about ten kilometres from Alghero. It consists of ten domus de Janas, collective tombs cut into the rock during the 4th millennium BC, with several rooms preceded by an entrance corridor called a dromos. The burials imitate the homes of the living, to maintain a symbolic bond with the ancestors, and they remained in use, sometimes for different purposes, until the early Middle Ages.

The most complex and monumental is tomb I, known as the tomb of the tetrapod vases because two four-footed ceramic vases were found in it in perfect condition. From the entrance, which opens onto the edge of the road, a long dromos leads to the semicircular antechamber, with traces of red-ochre painting; from here you pass into the main cell, with a false door, two pillars and a small doorway with bull-head protomes, and from this nine further rooms branch off. Tomb III is similar but has more cells, while tomb IV, in the upper part of the slope, was converted around the 6th century AD into a rock church, dedicated by tradition to Saints Peter and Lucy.

The necropolis was excavated by Ercole Contu, who brought tomb I to light in 1959, and later by Alberto Moravetti (1989–1994) and Paolo Melis (2004–2005). On the summit of the hill there are a nuraghe and a large village of huts; on the opposite side of the road is tomb X. The finds relate to the Ozieri, Filigosa, Abealzu, Monte Claro, Bell Beaker and Bonnanaro cultures.

Highlights

• Tomb I, known as the tomb of the tetrapod vases, with false door and bull-head protomes
• Ten domus de Janas from the 4th millennium BC
• Tomb IV converted into a rock church
• Nuraghe with a village of huts on the hilltop
• Traces of red-ochre painting in the cells

Permanent exhibition

• Necropoli di Santu Pedru – Visit to the domus de Janas, including the tomb of the tetrapod vases, and to the nuraghe on the hill.

Visitors per year

approx. 615

Admission & discounts

Rates taken from an Italian museum portal, to be confirmed with the operator when booking.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

From Alghero take the state road 127 bis towards Uri and Ittiri; past the junction for Olmedo continue for 2.4 km and, at km 24.5, just after a bend to the right, the entrance to tomb I is on the left.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit