SHARRYLAND
Necropolis of Montessu
An exciting archaeological site in southern Sardinia
Where is
What it is and where it is
On the hill of Montessu several openings stand side by side. They are the entrances to about forty tombs of a Copper Age necropolis: a complex of decorated Domus de Janas, among the best preserved in Sardinia. The structures of the tombs are reminiscent of those of the dwellings then in use: a long, narrow corridor penetrates the mound, and several niches or burial chambers open onto it. Numerous artifacts have been found inside them , everyday objects that accompanied the deceased into the afterlife.
Why it is special
When you enter the tombs, you find yourself immersed in the tuffaceous stone, which, excavated millennia ago, still exudes ancient history and spirituality. The walls still bear the marks of votive decorations, such as traces of red ochre, the color of regeneration, and carvings of spirals and concentric shapes, which symbolized the eyes or breasts of the mother goddess. Everything hints at that ancient spirituality so tenaciously that we forget how long it has been since these marks were left in the rock.
Not to be missed
Two domus stand out over the others: "sa Cresiedda" and "sa Grutta de is procus." Located at either end of the burial series, these cavities are called sanctuary tombs because they stand out from the others in various ways. On the outside, they boast structures made of huge boulders arranged in a semicircle, a kind of monumental entrance. Inside, a first room is separated from a second one further in by an open wall in three places, two larger and one smaller. If their arrangement reminds you of the hollows of a skull, congratulations: you have given the correct reading to the structure, deliberately made thematically by its craftsmen.
A bit of history
The Montessu necropolis was in use from the Final Neolithic (3200-2800 BC) to the Early Bronze Age (1800-1600 BC), and throughout the Copper Age. The studies that have been done at the site have also taken a long time: several archaeological campaigns were conducted between 1971 and 2007, and since the area in question has proved to be very rich in remains, it is not surprising that some areas still need to be thoroughly investigated.
Curiosities
As you can learn more about during a guided tour, the site has numerous symbolisms related to the mother goddess. One of these gives an almost gentle tinge to the burial ritual practiced here: the burial chambers are often semicircular, like a mother's womb, and the bodies of the deceased were deposited there in the fetal position. The end of life was probably simply a return to the mother.
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