Parco dei Petroglifi

On the limestone plateau of Nurighe near Cheremule, the Petroglyphs Park brings together three prehistoric necropoleis with 37 rock-cut tombs. Carved human figures and other designs decorate the entrances and walls of several tombs. Two of the necropoleis form part of Sardinia’s UNESCO-listed serial property of prehistoric domus de janas.

Why it matters

The park preserves evidence of funerary architecture and imagery associated with the Late Neolithic Ozieri culture. The tombs’ design and carved figures offer a rare record of prehistoric image-making in Sardinia.

What to notice

At the tomb known as Branca in the Tennero necropolis, about twenty figures were pecked into the entrance corridor. Their poses have been interpreted as a dance and as praying figures; some features have been compared with masks. One figure is inverted, an image whose meaning remains uncertain. At Museddu, Sa Presone has a relief hearth, banded walls and a decorated portico. The tomb known as della Cava bears twelve anthropomorphic carvings, while tombs at Mattarigotza include relief architraves and bucrania, or carved ox skulls with horns.

Context and history

The necropoleis were cut into Miocene limestone in the second half of the fourth millennium BC. Archaeological evidence records use from the Ozieri culture into the Eneolithic and later periods. In Roman times, the plateau was used for quarrying and wine production; burial resumed in the medieval period. The necropolis of Museddu was declared of cultural interest in 1966. The park’s prehistoric hypogea at Museddu and Tennero are among the components of the UNESCO serial property inscribed in 2025.