Archaeologists unearth 5,000-year-old 'fairy houses' hidden on scenic Italian island

Three ancient "fairy houses" have been uncovered on the Italian island of Sardinia, according to local officials.

The discovery was announced by the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Provinces of Sassari and Nuoro on July 29.

Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean just south of France's Corsica, is famed for its beaches and ancient ruins.

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The fairy houses - known as domus de janas in Sardinian - date back over 5,000 years to the late Neolithic and Copper Age. 

The name comes from local folklore, which imagined the chambers as dwellings for magical beings. Despite the fanciful name, though, the structures are actually tombs. 

Before the most recent excavation, archaeologists had found 17 of these tombs. 

Officials said that certain geographic features helped archaeologists identify the new structures, which brings the number of known domus de janas to 20.

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"The characteristics of the ground between [two tombs] … suggested the presence of a new, as yet unexplored tomb," the statement noted.

"The excavations indeed brought to light three new domus de janas … arranged like a fan starting from the Tomb of the Hearth."

Pictures show archaeologists crouched down in the rock-cut tombs, carefully unearthing features and artifacts.

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The Sassari and Nuoro Superintendency reported that "numerous and significant finds" were uncovered, including pickaxes, a spindle whorl and a small greenstone axe.

The archaeologists also came across obsidian fragments and pottery shards. The most complex house - dubbed Tomb of the Roman Vases - contained a painted wall band, officials said.

It also held over 30 Roman-era ceramic pieces, including plates, oil lamps and jugs. The statement described all the artifacts as being "in excellent condition."

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"This new discovery enriches knowledge of the domus de janas - tombs carved into rock that often reproduce, in relief, details of the houses of the living and symbolic decorations linked to magical-religious rituals," the officials' statement added.

Together, the tombs form part of a wider area called the Sant'Andrea Priu archaeological complex, which was recently recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In another recent Italian discovery, archaeologists found an Etruscan tomb around 30 miles north of Rome - an unusual find that hadn't been looted.

In Rome, excavators found an ancient apartment building built decades before the birth of Christ.