Rock art developed there from the end of the Upper Palaeolithic, around 13 thousand years ago, then in the Mesolithic, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. It continued to a lesser extent in Roman, medieval and modern times. The engraved figures, with the 180 recorded sites, thus span 8000 years for a large part and up to 12,000 years.
A group of eight main parks was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1979, as the first Italian site to be inscribed. Nearly 300,000 images are engraved on the rocks there, symbolic representations, of daily life, or of the spirituality of the Camuni<\/em>, as the Romans named the inhabitants of Val Camonica.
The largest concentration of rock art sites is around Capo di Ponte<\/strong> (Naquane, Cemmo, Seradina-Bedolina), not far from another important site with the reserve of Ceto, Cimbergo and Paspardo<\/strong> which also has the main medieval concentration, while the oldest engravings are found at Luine<\/strong> near Darfo Boario Terme.<\/p>\n
The Via dei Graffiti is a path of about 60 km that crosses the Alpine valley, linking the rock engraving parks, passing through paths, woods, villages, climbing up to about 950 m.<\/p>\n\n\n Sometimes superimposed without links between them or in relation, the motifs and figures can be linked to rituals, commemoration, deities, etc. One of the hypotheses on the origin of the first engravings dates them back to several millennia after the retreat of the Val Camonica glacier, in the Mesolithic<\/strong> (8th – 6th millennium BC approximately) by passing hunter-gatherers, which is found in the Luine Archaeological Park<\/strong> near Darfo Boario Terme. In the Copper Age<\/strong>, around the 3rd millennium BC, the wheel and the beginnings of metallurgy appear. This is the period to which menhirs are dated, such as those of Cemmo and Ossimo in particular, decorated with celestial symbols, weapons, ploughing scenes, animals (deer, chamois, ibex, dogs and pigs), some weapons (including daggers and axes), ploughing scenes with carts, rows of men, jewellery or solar discs. The shape of the blades of the axes and halberds made it possible to date the engravings here to the 3rd millennium BC. It is to the Iron Age<\/strong> from the 1st millennium BC that most of all the recorded engravings are attributed, with many warlike and duel representations, which highlight virility. Women are represented with a circular shape added to designate the sexual organ. While under the Roman period in the valley between the 1st and 5th centuries AD engravings were rare, in the Middle Ages there was a revival with Christian symbols such as crosses and keys.<\/p>\n From south to north<\/p>\n\t\t <\/p>\n The Luine archaeological site<\/strong> near Darfo is a very beautiful spot on the Luine hill, with its red rocks and probably ancient places of worship. There are found the oldest engravings of Val Camonica, probably dating back to the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Abandoned afterwards, the site regained a role as a place of worship at the end of the Neolithic, then later in the Bronze and Iron Ages. On the western slope of the Camonica valley, near the Annunciata convent, the Annunciation Archaeological Route of Piancogno<\/strong> has more than 60 engraved rocks, with in particular representations of weapons, human figures, inscriptions in pre-Roman alphabet. They are spread over 5 groups. Most date from the Celts and pre-Romans (2nd-1st century BC): weapons, great warriors, heroes, trees, nets, villages, daggers, wild animals, a sorcerer, etc<\/p>\n On the old road from Borno to the Annunciation convent, there is an ancient sacred site where the peoples gathered, Valzel de Undine<\/strong>. There are several megaliths from the Copper Age, with their engraved rocks.<\/p>\n In the Asinino-Anv\u00f2ia archaeological park of Ossimo<\/strong> there is a megalithic sanctuary from the Copper Age, of the 3rd millennium BC, with alignments of stelae and rocks, around which ceremonies took place. On the three main rocks stylised human faces and symbols or necklaces can be seen. A monolith has representations of daggers and crescent shapes (style datable to 2800-2400 BC). The original stelae have been replaced by reproductions.<\/p>\n The first Italian archaeological park created in 1955, the Naquane National Rock Engravings Park<\/strong> of Capo di Ponte is one of the major groups of engraved rocks in the valley, with the greatest density of inscriptions. The Ceto, Cimbergo and Paspardo Rock Engravings Nature Reserve<\/strong> is the largest archaeological area of the Valle Camonica, extending over 290 hectares on the eastern slope of the valley in the municipalities of Ceto, Cimbergo and Paspardo, with more than 400 rocks bearing engravings ranging from the 5th millennium BC to the Middle Ages. The archaeological area of Foppe di Nadro<\/strong> is accessible by an old pleasant mule track north of Nadro which forms a 2 km loop – linked by trails to the Naquane (Capo di Ponte) and Campanine (Cimbergo) areas. At the foot of Cimbergo, a path in a chestnut wood, with nearly 100 engraved rocks, from the end of the 4th millennium BC to the end of the Neolithic especially, half abandoned afterwards, then a revival in the 1st millennium BC, and also an important series from the Roman period to the modern era, including labyrinth, eagle, horseman, Solomon’s knot, keys, bucrania, etc The archaeological area around Paspardo<\/strong> is vast, divided into numerous small sites around the village, in a fairly mountainous and often unspoilt area, with sometimes unique engravings.<\/p>\n The Cemmo Rocks Archaeological Park<\/strong> is the first rock art site in the valley to be reported, in 1909, with the presence of two large rocks engraved in the 3rd millennium BC. They bear symbolic compositions with figures of animals (ibex, deer and dogs, pigs and cows), weapons (axes, halberds and daggers), humans, ploughing scenes and transport on ploughs. The Seradina-Bedolina Archaeological Park<\/strong>, also of natural and geological interest, includes rocks with engraved figures dating back to the Bronze and Iron Ages (2nd and 1st millennium BC). It is adjacent to the Cemmo park at Capo di Ponte, with five sectors, where combat scenes can be seen, majestic warriors or hunters, ploughing scenes, maps, Camunian rose, huts and inscriptions in pseudo-Etruscan characters. The Sellero Municipal Archaeological and Mining Park<\/strong> has four rock art sites, including that of Carp\u00e8ne<\/strong> which is the only one equipped with a laid-out route, near the Carona mining area. The Carona mines<\/strong> have galleries and remains of workers’ housing and tools, which were exploited from the end of the 19th century until 1951, for chalcopyrite, quartz, copper and iron.<\/p>\n Engraved rocks have a large concentration of inscriptions in Camunian\/Etruscan characters<\/p>\n Where ?<\/p>\n The Route of the Coren delle fate multi-thematic Park at Sonico is characterised by a grey and rough stone, harder than the others in the valley. It is a loop that takes nearly 1 hour, from the Town Hall of Sonico, crossing a chestnut forest. In the region, the engravings are mainly geometric, spread over nine places documented around 2013, with isolated rocks along the old Via Valeriana. Two of these places are worth visiting, in the hamlet of M\u00f9 at Edolo, with on the site of the medieval Fortress rocks engraved from prehistory to the Middle Ages, and the site of Plate di Icc on a terrace overlooking the valleys, with a small rock having topographic representations from the end of the Neolithic (comparable to the rock art sites of the Teglio hill complex in Valtellina). The site was frequented in the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, and again in the second half of the 1st millennium BC of the Iron Age.<\/p>\n\n Lombardy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Val Camonica<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Valcamonica Rock Art Val Camonica has one of the largest concentrations of prehistoric petroglyphs in the world.Rock art developed there from the end of the Upper Palaeolithic, around 13 thousand years ago, then in the Mesolithic, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. It continued to a lesser extent in Roman, medieval and modern times. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22910,"parent":32315,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[],"categorie_page":[],"region_italie":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"map-rock-art-sites-val-camonica\"](\"https:\/\/www.bellitalie.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/mappa-siti-incisi-rupestri-val-camonica.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\nPictorial evolution and historical periods<\/h2>\n
One of the symbols repeated in the valley is the Rosa Camuna<\/strong> (Camunian rose<\/em> in English) which was adopted as the official symbol of the Lombardy region.<\/p>\nMesolithic and Neolithic<\/h3>\n
It is from the Neolithic<\/strong> (5th – 4th millennium BC approximately) with sedentarisation and agriculture, that the first human figures are dated, and geometric images such as rectangles, circles, or dots.
Sacred areas and places of worship are created, notably with stelae as at Cemmo or Ossimo.<\/p>\nCopper Age and Bronze Age<\/h3>\n
With the Bronze Age<\/strong> in the 2nd millennium BC approximately, many engravings relate to weapons, reflecting a probably warlike society, as well as geometric forms. At Bedolina an exemplary rock can be seen with, in addition, a primitive form of cartography.<\/p>\nIron Age<\/h3>\n
Many hunting scenes, shapes, labyrinths, footprints, and various symbols can also be seen.<\/p>\nRoman Antiquity and the Middle Ages<\/h3>\n
Archaeological sites<\/h2>\n
Luine Municipal Archaeological Park
<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
It has 104 documented rocks along three signposted routes, with 20,000 images.
Rock 34 stands out, with a large and high inclined surface, where the silhouette of a large animal nearly 10,000 years old is engraved, and not far away the Iron Age warriors of the 1st millennium BC, duellists, a labyrinth, a Camunian rose, etc.
Weapons from the Iron Age can be seen, or halberds from the Bronze Age.
The area of the Corni Freschi<\/strong> rock, at the base of the Monticolo hill, is part of a Copper Age cult site of the 3rd millennium BC, and stands out with its 9 halberds.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\nPiancogno Archaeological Route<\/h3>\n
Vazel de Undine megalithic sanctuary at Borno<\/h3>\n
Asinino-Anv\u00f2ia Archaeological Park at Ossimo<\/h3>\n
Naquane National Rock Engravings Park
<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
The paths are divided into 5 routes totalling 3 km in length, easily walkable, which cross the beautiful wooded park passing by the 104 rocks \u2013 sandstone polished by glaciers – engraved with signs and symbols, emblematic of the rock art of the Valle Camonica. These engravings were made at different periods, from the Neolithic (5th-4th millennium BC) to the Iron Age (1st millennium BC) by the people designated as Camunians by the Romans, but also later (Middle Ages, modern era).
Some rocks are of considerable size, such as rock 1 which strikes by the number and diversity of the engraved figures, nearly a thousand, with representations of scenes or symbolic ones. There can thus be seen images of warriors, knights, animals, buildings, a labyrinth, symbolic figures and Camunian inscriptions, whose interpretation is the subject of theories.
Sometimes the figures are superimposed with engravings from different periods. Some figures are artistically striking, such as the running priest of rock 35. On rock 70 divine representations can be seen, including a large figure with deer antlers interpreted as the god Cernunnos.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\nCeto, Cimbergo and Paspardo Rock Engravings Reserve
<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
They are discovered via beautiful partly wooded paths, on routes a few kilometres from one another, at Nadro di Ceto<\/strong> (for the Foppe<\/em> route), at Cimbergo<\/strong> (for the Campanine<\/em> and Figna<\/em> routes), and at Paspardo<\/strong> (for the Plas<\/em>, Capitello<\/em>, In Vall<\/em> and Sottolaiolo<\/em> routes).
At Nadro there is the information centre and a museum.
You can spend a few hours discovering the most interesting sites, or even several days for the whole, with, beyond the archaeological remains, ethnographic and environmental aspects.<\/p>\nFoppe di Nadro<\/h4>\n
The engravings on the rocks date from the 5th millennium BC up to the Middle Ages, including Bronze Age weapons, boxing scenes, Camunian roses, or inscriptions in the Camunian alphabet of Etruscan type from the Iron Age.
The most important are the figurations of the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC) with many types of weapons and beautiful warriors.
At the entrance to the site there is the reconstruction of a Neolithic hut and a Rhaetian house from the Iron Age.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\nCampanine di Cimbergo<\/h4>\n
The site is linked by trails to the Naquane (Capo di Ponte) and Foppe di Nadro (Ceto) areas.
The route is fairly difficult, about 2 km.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\nPaspardo : Plas – Capitello, Sottolaiolo, and InVall, and ‘Al de Plaha<\/h4>\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\nMassi di Cemmo Archaeological Park<\/h3>\n
<\/a>The area was already frequented in the Mesolithic around the 9th millennium BC and in the early Neolithic in the 4th millennium BC. It was in the Copper Age that the site became a true megalithic sanctuary, when the two rocks were engraved and the area circumscribed by three furrows with stelae. Then in the Bronze Age, the sacred space was divided by a large wall, 2.50 metres wide. It remained in use for a long time and up to the Romans. At the beginning of Christianity, the stelae were pulled down, and the neighbouring church of San Siro was built.
The twenty or so stelae and others found are in the Museum of Capo di Ponte.<\/p>\nSeradina-Bedolina Municipal Archaeological Park<\/h3>\n
On the path from Seradina to Bedolina, engravings of horns probably represent musical instruments. At Bedolina<\/strong>, the Map Rock<\/em> which is on a natural terrace is remarkable with its Iron Age map. Rock 12 has about a hundred carefully made figures, with dynamic scenes, including deer hunts, ploughing, duellists, knights, deer and dogs, heroes or sorcerers.<\/p>\nSellero – Carp\u00e8ne Archaeological and Mining Park<\/h3>\n
The Carp\u00e8ne rock art site is accessible by a path that climbs for nearly 20 minutes, with 20 surfaces engraved on hard rocks in the Neolithic (end of the 4th millennium BC), very little in the Copper and Bronze Ages (3rd-2nd millennium BC) and again in the Iron Age (1st millennium BC).
The large rock 2-3 has important figures, with a beautiful set of geometric elements, so-called “female idol”, “topographic map”, “traveller”, perhaps the Celtic god Esus and a large “Rosa Camuna”. Among the Iron Age scenes can be seen warriors, gathered individuals, shields, swords, spears and helmets, on rocks 1 and 4 armies, knights, etc.<\/p>\nSonza Archaeological Site at Berzo Demo<\/h3>\n
Coren delle fate multi-thematic Park at Sonico<\/h3>\n
Most of the engravings are of two types: geometric lines or circular, and \u00ab shovels \u00bb. Some circular figures on rock 1 would have represented an “idol”, dated to the Neolithic (5th-4th millennium BC), but more recent research would identify it rather as a topographic map. Radiating wheels can also be seen, probably linked to the cycle of the sun.<\/p>\nRocca de M\u00f9 and Plate di Icc at Edolo<\/h3>\n
Map<\/h2>\n\t\t
Information<\/h2>\n
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