A Sacred Area from the Copper Age and 5000-years-old A Stele Decorated Discovered in Italy

The remains of a sacred area that dates back at least four thousand years have been discovered during excavations for the new gymnasium at the primary school in Berbenno di Valtellina in the northern Lombardy region of Italy.

The excavations for constructing the gymnasium of the primary school, carried out with PNNR funds, brought to light several archaeological structures, including a lithic cist tomb (i.e. a chest made of stone slabs, arranged in a cut-out pattern). The burial, which contained the remains of at least two individuals, was surrounded by a circle of stones and was likely covered by a mound.

Although the exact dating of this tomb is unknown, it may be from the end of the Copper Age or the start of the Bronze Age, some four thousand years ago.

In northern Italy, the Bronze Age spanned approximately 2300/1150 cal BC, during which prehistoric communities underwent a gradual yet significant transformation. Funerary evidence and sacred or ritual sites, where adornment objects played a different but significant role, are the main sources of information about this period.

This is an exceptional find, the first of its kind in Valtellina, and made all the more remarkable by the fact that one of the walls of the tomb was constructed using an ornate stele from 5,000 years ago, similar to those found in the Teglio area and currently on display in Palazzo Besta.

This stele greatly extends the distribution area of these artifacts, which until now had never been found west of Chiuro.  The stele, which by the nature of the engraved objects is male, and may have originally been part of an alignment, located in a sort of prehistoric sanctuary.

“It can certainly be said that what is emerging from the excavations represents one of the most important archaeological discoveries ever made in Valtellina”, says Stefano Rossi, Inspectorate archaeologist official.

“Several artifacts recovered since the nineteenth century had already indicated that human presence in Berbenno dated back at least to the Bronze Age, but these new findings move the frequentation of the area back at least a thousand years. In particular, the stele statue constitutes the most western testimony of this important cultural phenomenon, dating back to over five thousand years ago.”

The excavation operations were carried out with the archaeological assistance of the specialized archaeological company Sap, which allowed these important structures to be recognized.

Since archeological research is still being done, more details may soon be added to the already intriguing picture that has so far come to light. As things stand, it appears feasible to assume that the remains could be removed for enhancement somewhere once the excavations are finished, enabling the project to move forward.

3,000-Year-Old Iron Age Statuette Discovered in Italian Lake, With Fingerprints of Maker

During work in Lake Bolsena, a volcanic lake in central Italy, at the submerged archaeological site of Gran Carro, a  3,000-year-old terracotta female figure has been discovered. Remarkably, after 3000 years of submersion, the figure still bears the fingerprints of its maker.

This discovery was made as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), which includes the creation of an underwater path for visitors to explore the site in a unique way.

The unfinished clay figure of a woman, dating from between the 10th and 9th centuries BC, looks more like a first draft than a ready-made piece of art. However, the fact that the clay worker did not fully finish the figure does not prevent the discovery from being considered exceptional and unique, and from shedding light on little-known aspects of daily life in the early Iron Age in southern Etruria.

The statuette subtle feminine features, was made of poorly fired clay. A surprising detail is that it still bears the fingerprints of its creator, as well as the impression of a fabric pattern under the chest, implying that the figure was “dressed” in some sort of garment. Measuring six inches tall, the figurine was likely used in prayer rituals.

Researchers believe that the sculpture was likely a votive figure used in domestic rituals. This idea has been supported by researchers’ discovery of other examples of similar figurines from subsequent periods, pointing to a long-held tradition of votive figurine creation in the area.

“This important archaeological context that is giving us aspects of daily life from the first Iron Age (late 10th-century B.C.E – early 9th-century B.C.E), [of which] still little is known in southern Etruria,” researchers said.

The underwater restorers of CSR Restauro Beni Culturali made the discovery, and then the staff of the Underwater Archaeology Service handled the recovery and initial conservation treatment. These experts’ painstaking work has been essential in keeping the piece in its original condition and enabling a thorough analysis of it.

The area’s rich history, which is still little known, has been enhanced by the discovery of thousands of Iron Age artifacts since the 1960s. The archaeological site of Gran Carro di Bolsena is famous for the Aiola complex, a partially explored monumental structure that archaeologists still don’t understand. This stony heap, devoid of any structural connectors, has an elliptical base and a truncated conical shape. Beneath its stony exterior is a heap of earth.

There have been recent suggestions that Aiola is not the only structure of its kind in the lake, as it is intimately associated with the presence of thermal springs that have temperatures between thirty and forty degrees Celsius.

The region’s rich Iron Age past was unknown to researchers until 1991 when they uncovered a group of buried stones that they now think are the remains of a sizable building that was erected close to a hot spring. 2020: When archaeologists examined the soil beneath these stones, they discovered early Iron Age ceramics and other artifacts.

During this period, the city of Aiola was home to a village that left behind thousands of artifacts, such as pottery, jewelry, and this goddess figurine. Although these artifacts have been discovered by researchers since the 1960s, it has only been recently that Aiola’s rich Iron Age past has been thoroughly investigated and studied.

The discovery of coins from the fourth-century CE Roman emperor Constantine the Great attests to the area’s continued habitation until the final days of the Roman Empire. The village was then submerged by seismic activity from the Vulsini volcano.