In the limestone walls of the Grutt'e Janas cave, in the municipal territory of Baunei, the rock preserves one of the rare and exemplary witnesses of rock art in the interior of Sardinia.
Far from the imposing stone architectures of the island, this natural shelter guards an articulated set of engraved incisions depicting geometric motifs and stylized human figures that have survived down to the present day here.
The grooves traced on the limestone wall exploit the natural protection of the rock cavity to resist the wear of time and weather. The working of the rock reveals an intentional and very precise gesture, where the raw surface of the cave is used as a direct support to imprint symbols linked to the sphere of the sacred and the deep relationship of the ancient community with its mountain territory.
Frequented during prehistory both as a temporary shelter and as a space dedicated to ceremonies and rituals, the Grutt'e Janas cave recounts a different dimension of ancient Ogliastra. In this site, human testimony renounces the bulk of large stone blocks to entrust itself to the durability of the engraved sign, leaving a direct imprint of the thought and memory of local populations over past centuries.
