About nine kilometres inland from the sea near Alghero, the necropolis of Anghelu Ruju occupies a fertile plain crossed by the Filibertu stream. The landscape is gentler than the dramatic cliffs often associated with Sardinia, but beneath its sandstone surface lies one of northern Sardinia’s largest prehistoric cemeteries. The site contains 38 domus de janas, literally “houses of the fairies,” a local name for artificial rock-cut tombs whose chambers were shaped to recall parts of a house.
The tombs are arranged in two groups, one of seven and another of 31. Their entrances differ: some descend through vertical shafts, while others are reached along sloping corridors, or dromoi, sometimes with steps leading to an entrance vestibule. Most tombs have complex plans; one, tomb 26, consists of a single chamber, while others contain as many as 11 rooms. That range makes the necropolis more than a set of similar openings: it records varied ways of building and using spaces for the dead.