The Hypogeum of Sant'Iroxi (also known as the ''Tomb of the warriors'') is an archaeological site located near the town of

Decimoputzu Decimoputzu ( sc, Deximuputzu or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of about 4,000 inhabitants in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari. Decimoputzu borders the following municipalities: ...

in the

province of South Sardinia The Province of South Sardinia ( it, provincia del Sud Sardegna; sc, provìntzia de Sud Sardigna) is an Italian province of Sardinia instituted on 4 February 2016. It includes the suppressed provinces of Province of Carbonia-Iglesias, Carbonia- ...

Datation

The site (a '' domus de janas''), discovered in 1987, dates back to 3000 BC in the late

Neolithic Age The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

, and was used for about 1,500 years by the nearby village to which it belonged, from the

Ozieri culture The Ozieri culture (or San Michele culture) was a prehistoric pre-Nuragic culture that occupied Sardinia from c. 3200 to 2800 BCE. The Ozieri was the culmination of the island's Neolithic culture and takes its name from the locality where early ...

period until that of Bonnannaro.

Grave goods

It owes its name (''Tomb of the warriors'') to the large number of skeletons (more than 200), deposited in 13 chronological strata, and for the rich military kit, dated to c. 1650-1600 BC, which includes swords and daggers of arsenical copper (19 in all). The swords and triangular blades range in length from 27 up to 66 cm and show some similarities to the swords of the El Argar culture (southeastern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). The kit is kept at the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari.

Notes

Bibliography

* {{cite book , first=Giovanni , last=Ugas , title=La tomba dei guerrieri di Decimoputzu , location=

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

, publisher=Edizioni della Torre , year=1990 , isbn=6600001364 , language=it Archaeological sites in Sardinia