On a limestone bench bordering the road toward Porto Torres, the Su Crocifissu Mannu necropolis surprises visitors with its vast extent, shaping itself as a true underground urban agglomeration.
The site brings together twenty-two domus de janas, excavated and progressively expanded starting from the Recent Neolithic and used by local communities up to the early phases of the Bronze Age.
The articulation of these hypogea transcends the simple funerary function, developing through monumental atriums, access corridors, and multi-chambered halls that faithfully retrace the architecture of earthly dwellings. Within the internal chambers, rock-cut pillars, baseboards, relief doorposts, and sacred motifs such as bovine protomes follow one another, sculpted to protect the rest of the deceased.
Archaeological investigations have yielded an extraordinary wealth of artifacts, including ceramics from different cultural facies, greenstone necklace beads, and votive statuettes of the Mother Goddess. Su Crocifissu Mannu confirms itself as a document of exceptional value for deciphering the evolution of funerary rites, social organization, and the technical mastery of ancient Sardinian peoples.
