Porto Torres, Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu

The necropolis opens in a limestone bank, in the town of Li Lioni, a few kilometers from the Gulf of Asinara, in northwestern Sardinia.
The necropolis includes at least 22 burials, some of which, found sealed, document unique burial practices. The hypogeums are accessed through a vertical cockpit entrance or through a descending corridor ('dromos'). The plans, rather articulated - typical of the hypogeic necropolises of the Sassari area - have numerous rooms arranged around a large main room.
Among the burials found so far, tombs VIII, XII and XXI stand out, due to the complexity of the planimetric structure and the presence of symbolic elements (bovine protomes) carved on the walls. Tomb VIII consists of a short “dromos” that introduces two small quadrangular rooms; from these we pass into a large rectangular cell around which there are ten secondary rooms. Quite interesting is the open door on the right sector of the back wall, surmounted by two inscribed, linear protomes.
Tomb XII consists of 15 rooms. A long “dromos” leads to a small antecell, on whose right wall there is a quadrangular compartment that leads to four other rooms. At the bottom of the antechamber is the entrance door - with a manhole still lying on the threshold - to the main cell; around this there are seven other rooms of different floor plan. Tomb XXI, unfortunately damaged by quarry work, lacks almost all of its original elevation. Of the burial, the entrance well, a tiny antechamber and eight connecting rooms are preserved in part.
In the first cell, on the right wall, there are two taurine protomes placed side by side, made in low relief. The figures are naturalistic, with lunate horns set on the bovine's snout: this is represented in one case by a trapezoidal relief and in the other by a vertical rectangular strip. In Roman times, several tombs were damaged by the construction of the road that connected Turris to Karales, as witnessed by the deep furrows of the carriageways.
The necropolis dates back to the final Neolithic, with phases of the Eneolithic and the Ancient Bronze Age (3200-1600 BC).

History of excavations
The complex was excavated in 1956 and 1972-80 by Maria Luisa Ferrarese Ceruti.

Bibliography
M. L. Ferrarese Ceruti, “Tomb XVI of Su Crucifissu Mannu and the culture of Bonnànaro”, in Bulletin of Italian Palethnology, 81, 1972-74, pp. 113-210, figg. 1-40;
M. L. Ferrarese Ceruti, “The necropolises of Su Crucifissu Mannu-Portotorres and Ponte Secco-Sassari”, in Proceedings of the first conference The Culture of Ozieri: Issues and New Acquisitions, (Ozieri, January 1986-April 1987) Zieri, 1989, pp. 37-47.

How to get there
Take the SS 131 in the direction of Porto Torres until Km 224.1; turn right into a small road with a natural background and follow it to the end (about 400 meters): the necropolis is located on the limestone plateau to the left of the path.