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Archaeologists working in Sardinia have uncovered three previously unknown prehistoric rock-cut tombs, known locally as domus de janas or fairy houses, adding fresh depth to a site that had already been studied for decades.
The discovery took place at the Sant'Andrea Priu archaeological complex in the town of Bonorva, where officials say the new tombs bring the total number of known underground burial chambers at the site to twenty. According to an official statement from the Regional Secretariat of Italy's Ministry of Culture for Sardinia, the newly found structures date back thousands of years and were identified after archaeologists noticed unusual features in the ground between two tombs that had already been excavated.
How archaeologists discovered three hidden prehistoric tombs in Sardinia
The find took shape as part of a wider excavation, restoration and conservation project covering the Sant'Andrea Priu complex along with two nearby nuraghe sites, Nuraghe Oes and Nuraghe Santu Antine. According to the official statement from the Regional Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture for Sardinia, the project is funded with around two million euros and carried out in collaboration with the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Provinces of Sassari and Nuoro. The three newly identified tombs are arranged in a fan-shaped pattern radiating outward from an already known chamber called the Tomb of the Hearth, suggesting the burial ground expanded outward from this central point over time.
What the name fairy houses actually means
The term domus de janas translates to houses of the fairies, a name rooted in old Sardinian folklore that imagined these rock cut chambers as dwellings for mythical beings believed to protect children and guard hidden treasures. Despite the whimsical name, the structures served a far more grounded purpose. According to the ministry statement, these tombs were carved directly into rock and often reproduce architectural details found in the homes of the living, along with symbolic decorations linked to religious and ritual practices, offering researchers a rare physical record of how prehistoric communities thought about death and the afterlife.
Artefacts spanning thousands of years of use
Excavation of the new chambers turned up a wide range of objects, including ceramic vessels, obsidian fragments and metal tools, pointing to activity across several distinct historical periods rather than a single burial event. Patrizia Luciana Tomassetti, who leads the project for the Regional Secretariat, noted that the pottery, obsidian and metal finds recovered from inside the tombs help demonstrate the complex layering of the site, spanning from the Neolithic period through to the Roman era and into the early medieval period.
One of the three newly discovered chambers was named the Tomb of the Roman Vases due to the significant number of Roman-era pottery pieces recovered from inside it, suggesting the tomb may have been revisited or reused long after its original construction.
A site now recognised on the UNESCO World Heritage list
This latest discovery arrives shortly after the broader network of domus de janas sites across Sardinia received UNESCO World Heritage recognition, a designation confirmed on July 12, 2025.
Bonorva itself holds a notable place within that wider listing, home to two of the seventeen necropolises included in the UNESCO inscription, Sant'Andrea Priu and Sa Pala Larga. Officials involved in the project have said that this new discovery adds meaningfully to existing knowledge of the domus de janas tradition, reinforcing the significance of Bonorva within the broader UNESCO-designated network of prehistoric burial sites across the island.
Why this discovery matters for understanding prehistoric Sardinia
Local officials present at the announcement, including Bonorva mayor Massimo D'Agostino and regional Ministry of Culture representatives, described the find as an important addition to the historical record of the region. With the newly discovered tombs already made accessible to visitors, the project underscores a broader effort to balance ongoing scientific excavation with public access to the site. As restoration and excavation work continues across the wider Sant'Andrea Priu complex, researchers expect further study of these newly opened chambers to deepen understanding of funerary customs and social organisation across the different communities that used this landscape over thousands of years of continuous, layered history.
