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Home > Museum > Halls > Hall 2: Prenuragic Era > The Partulesi necropolis
The Partulesi necropolis
The necropolis is spread over a kilometre along the tufaceous limestone bank and consists of at least thirty Domus de Janas, but the original number was higher, because many tombs have been destroyed or only leave some strips. In some cases, for the characteristic structure of the site, short dromoi or corridors were dug into the rock.
It preserves various tombs characterised by different plans: simple plans, with one or two chambers, sometimes with four successive chambers arranged in longitudinal rows; but there are also "canonical" examples of "T"-shaped plans (Tombs XVIII, XIX) characterised by three rooms preceded by dromos, or more articulated chambers characterised by a varied "T"-shaped plan (Tombs IX, XII) by the addition of other two lateral chambers. Sometimes these were examples of refined architecture: doors with frame and lintel (tombs XVIII, XXIV and XXVI), in a case with a hole dug into the floor to support the inclusion of the closure slab, and ritual elements such as cups (tomb XVIII) small cavities which were probably used to contain food offerings, likely related to funeral food.
These are grouped along the eastern walls of the tufaceous bank, a choice can be explained by the habit of positioning the access doors towards the sundials (overwhelmingly oriented in S, SE, SW throughout the island) for reasons probably ascribable to the religious sphere.
It is worth mentioning the tombs XIV-XV-XVI, originally three separate hypogea, and then joined by breaking down the side walls of each hypogeum, in an indefinite period. It hosts 12 chambers: it is worth mentioning the tomb XIV for the outside where, during the Nuragic Age, a stele was carved, with the characteristic curved profile and a small door in the lower part, a kind of porta inferi (the door to the underworld), which characterises the Tombs of Giants, for which this tomb can be included among the so-called "ipoei a prospetto architettonico” (hypogea with new architectonic elements on the façade).