Santu Pedru
The necropolis of Santu Pedru (Eng. Saint Peter) is located near Olmedo on the edge of a road and a trachy hill between the towns of Alghero and Uri in the province of Sassari in Sardinia . They are complex structures carved out of the rock from prehistoric times.
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Grave 1
Discovered in 1959, the tomb is a common shape in central and northern Sardinia, characterized by a large, rectangular main chamber. It is surrounded by a number of cells. There are nine, large or small, cells or side niches that are not intended for entry. Its square openings, 1–1.5 m above the floor, were inspired by the Trilithen architecture. The tomb is part of a necropolis that includes eight more Domus de Janas . At the time of discovery, a wall built by the people of the Bonnanaro culture protected the place they used for burials.
The anteroom
The anteroom is formed by a large semicircular room known as the Anticella. It measures 5.0 m on its straight side facing the main chamber. The maximum height of its vaulted ceiling is 3.1 m. Spoked wheel-like traces of a roof replica on the vault, a plinth and pilaster strips decorate the anteroom. The small opening to the main cell, which is reached via two steps, showed traces of red paint.
- Santu Pedru
Outline sketch
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The dromos
The Anticella can be reached via an open top, 16 m long south-facing dromos . The depression in the rock, which is narrow at the beginning, widens in front of the Anticella to a small forecourt. At the bottom of the drom there was a trapezoidal trachyte block 2.3 m in length. It is unclear whether it is part of the locking device or has another meaning.
The main chamber
The main cell is 3.5 m deep, 6.0 m wide and 2.0 m high and is irregularly square. Two rectangular pillars were left on the central axis to support a flat ceiling. In the center of the 6.0 m wide wall opposite the entrance, the raised relief of a false door has been carved out. The main chamber forms the access area to the cells in a kind of atrium .
The cells
The cell system, carved out of the rock, takes up an area of around 18 m². The opening of the side cell to the right of the main chamber has been decorated with double horns, which are similar to Minoan depictions, but are common and much older here. The cell has grooves on the walls. Horns also adorn the openings of cells on the opposite side. The lower edge of the portals of all cells always consists of a 3 to 5 cm high threshold.
The finds in grave 1
The interesting thing about the complex is not limited to the monument itself, as 447 larger artifacts were also recorded. These are primarily pottery of the cultures: Ozieri , cultures of Abealzu-Filigosa (also graffiti), Monte Claro , as well as the bell beaker and Bonnanaro cultures . In both the Dromos and the Anticella the relics were layered in the above order. This is a meaningful stratigraphy. The typical ceramics of the Nuragic culture were also found outside . The Ozieri culture, which built the complex and was the first to use it, is little represented, while the finds of Filigosa, Bonnanaro and the bell-cup culture are numerous. The vases of the Bonnanaro culture, which are often perfectly preserved, were mainly found in the Anticella. The pottery of the bell beaker culture consists of the typical chalice vases, two large cuencos and hemispherical tripods. They were found in situ at the bottom of the main chamber and in two of the cells.
The other graves
The other facilities, located higher up the mountain, did not reveal any further architectural differences, but widened the range of use. These places, as the finds clearly document, were also used in Nuragic, Punic , Roman and early medieval times. In Byzantine times, the grave, which had become the largest due to the reconstruction, was converted into a church. Excavations took place in 1959 and from 1989 to 1994.
context
A complex complex of the same shape is Sant 'Andria Priu near Bonorva . Here, behind the short dromos and the anticella, there are two main chambers, each with two columns, one behind the other, which provide access to 14 cells. The necropolis of S'Elighe Entosu in Usini is similarly complex. At Mesu 'e Montes near Ossi there are only eight cells that cannot always be reached separately. This system has no dromos and its antechamber is not semicircular, but roughly rectangular.
See also
literature
- Ercole Contu: La tomba dei Vasi Tetrapodi in località Santa Pedru (Alghero - Sassarl). In: Monumenti antichi. Vol. 47, 1964 (1966), ZDB -ID 206537-X , pp. 337-504, (special print. Accademia nazionale dei Lincei, Rome 1964. Digitized (PDF; 28.78 MB) ).
- Alberto Moravetti: La Tomba II della necropoli ipogeica di S. Pedru (Alghero-Sassari). In: Marcella Bonello Lai (ed.): Sardinia antiqua. Studi in onore di Piero Meloni in occasione del suo settantesimo compleanno. Edizioni della Torre, Cagliari 1992, ISBN 88-7343-233-6 , pp. 97-122.
Web links
Coordinates: 40 ° 37 '23.3 " N , 8 ° 24' 10.9" E