Domus de Janas

There seems to be an issue in the use of Domus de Janas in this nomination as some components are strictly not rock-hewn tombs. What Italy seems to be gunning for in this nomination is to represent a larger picture of pre-Nuragic cultures of Sardegna, which includes a natural cave considered as "The Cradle of Sardinian Man", structural constructions like altars and dolmens, and even stone tool workshops. If anything, the Domus de Janas are only the most representative monuments from a vast period before the Nuraghes started appearing on the island. I managed to see the Necropoli a Domus de Janas di Brodu (ca. 3,200BC) in Oniferi. My friend and I drove from Barumini heading for Orgosolo, and the entrance to the necropolis was conveniently situated a few kilometers from the highway. I purposely chose to see this necropolis as it has been described as a site where artistic carvings can be seen blending with functional architectural features. In this case, the symbolic ox horns were decoratively placed above the doors, thus the doors became representations of the ox's head. The fusion of these two elements is considered as an artistic milestone, and is referred to in the draft dossier as Transitional Type XIX.

In visiting the site, we had to open three farm gates (these are private properties, but being with a charming local eased things out so we never had any problem with the cork farmers and shepherds we encountered), and walked some 20 minutes …

Yesterday and today I visited some sites of the "domus de Janas" sites.

1) Anghelu Ruju near Alghero. This site is rather big with some 40 graves. There is entrance fee, and good explanation. 

2) Su Crucifissu Mannu near Porto Torres. This site is near a farm. You can free visit. No entrance fee, no explanation. Not so many graves.

3) Altar of Monte d' Accoddi between Porto Torres and Sassari. This one is not similar at all to the other ones, but in my opinion most interesting site from the ones I saw. It is build in third millennium before Christ. 

4) Sennori: near the buildings of the commune; you need to get the key there and return to the same place.  

5) Su Murrone in Chiaramonte: in the middle of the fields, no entrance fee, no explanation. Not so many graves.

6) Elefant Domus de Janus in Castel Sordo: one or two domus de janas. Most interesting about this one is the shape of the rock. I think 99 % from the visitors comes for the shape and not for the grave.

7) Necropolis of Montalè in Sassari: not worth the detour. Behind a fence and very small (i think just one).

Conclusion: i am charmed by some of the parts of this "domus de janas"; for me definitely a yes; I would only keep 1) and 3) from this ones.

Sardinia boasts arguably the best beaches in Europe as well as countless prehistoric and protohistoric archaeological sites. This TWHS is only about necropoles though, not less than 35 in the description (out of more than 10,000 on Sardinia), and most of them situated in the northwest of the island. As I have not been to that part of the island yet, I have only seen two of the tentative sites: Li Muri near Arzachena and the mysterious Tomba del Labirinto. Both are unique and worth the visit, and the latter could definitely use a protection concept.

Li Muri is situated in the northeast, not far from the famous Costa Smeralda, in a geographic cluster with other interesting megalithic/nuraghic sites. It consists of a series of four concentric funerary circles with vertically placed stones, a central sepulchral compartment and menhirs in the outer circle. It forms part of the Arzachena Archaeological Park along with other interesting sites but the distances between them are a bit too long to walk (and walking along the road certainly is not enjoyable). From the closest to the farthest from Li Muri, the other sites of the archaeological park are: Li Lolghi and Coddu Vecchiu (giants' tombs), La Prisgiona (nuraghe) and Albucciu (protonuraghe). All are worth to visit when in the area.

Tomba del Labirinto (also known as Luzzanas rock tomb) was an adventure to visit more than a decade ago (and probably still is today). At 40°26'11.98"N 9°7'30.87"E, it is situated in the …

This is quite interesting serial nomination of 35 pre-historic, pre-Nuraghic sites of Sardinia. Nevertheless, I was thinking intensively how to evaluate it in comparison to other archeological sites in Europe. The killing feature is enormous number of sites and rather scientific description/justification provided by the state party of Italy: They are praising unique combination of hypogeism and megalithism typical for these structures dating to 5th-3rd Millennium BC. Well, maybe yes... However, I like and support megalithic TWHS sites like Carnac in Bretagne, Ceide Fildes and future-TWHSs around Sligo in Ireland. Thus, why not Domus de Janas of Sardinia? This is the reason I change my initial thumb-down to -up for this TWHS, but we will see...

I visited Sardinia in September/October 2017, and I enjoyed my stay very much. From the point of view of UNESCO material, Sardinia is a poor sister of Italian mainland. Besides already inscribed Nuraghe (only one site in this WHS, what about extended by other hundreds of Nuraghic sites...???), I can see a potential only in natural coastal reserves (La Maddalena Archipelago) and these pre-Nuraghic sites that are obviously much older than Nuraghes...

I visited only one site from this nomination: the component No.33 Pranu Mutteddu near Goni village, and it happened by coincidence, I would say. During my Sardinia vacations we explored almost all Eastern cost of the island.

Thus, we passed by the component No.31 "Corbeddu Cave in Oliena" without visiting the site. We could see the mountain range, where …