Petroglyphs and Megaliths at the Bric Le Pile

7/21/2019 Petroglyphs and Megaliths at the Bric Le Pile

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PETROGLYPHS AND MEGALITHS AT THE BRIC LE PILE

(FINALESE WESTERN LIGURIA)

Author! A"#r$%o P&ro'%&'& G&*' P*o"o Bo++* F&"&,,o P&ro'%&'& C$+&"&* P&ro'%&'& C$*r&'* -&""*.

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Summary

The Authors describe the site, its location, description of the remains of possible

archaeological and archaeoastronomical interest, together with hypotheses about their

dating and function.

Description

The Bric Le Pile is a rocky tower, in almost ertical walls, oerlooking a group of old

houses called !del Sanguineto", on the orographic right of the A#uila $alley, in

%inale Ligure &'estern Liguria(.

The rocky terrace that is placed on the top is cared by numerous tanks, some of

which hae artifact characteristics.

The most significant, in this sense, is a rectangular tank with sharp edges and a gutter

in the most sloping portion.

The artifact &Photo)(, cared in the %inale Stone, measuring )*+ cm -+ cm with a

maimum depth of + cm, follows typical patterns of other places of %inalese, i.e.

/iappu de /unche, de /ei and Pila delle Penne &0)(, characteri1ed by more or less

etensie rocky outcrops with the presence of petroglyphs, tanks of different si1es and

cups.

2t is located 3- masl, at a latitude of 00.+445 6 and longitude of 7.*0)35 8,

roughly rectangular, with ma9or ais oriented towards 8ast:'est and presents

collector and drainage gutters &Photo (.

;n the possible functions of such a basin or 7++:*4++ B/(.

The homonymous /ae, called Le Pile, &+(, not to mention the other natural caities

therein, far a few do1en meters from these findings, might suggest that the whole area

was already inhabited in prehistoric times and that can go back to this period.
http://ilfinalese.blogspot.it/http://ilfinalese.blogspot.it/


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Photo )

Photo


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Particularly, the mentioned /ae &+(, returned materials of the ?iddle 6eolithic

&>+++:0++ B/, the period of the S#uare:?outhed Pottery /ulture( &-(, &**(, of the

@pper 6eolithic &0++:*4++ B/( and /opper Age &*4++ : ++ B/(.

During the ?iddle 6eolithic, also had to eist on site a small settlement, of which

there are many eamples, in addition to those already described.

2n a little higher position &**- masl, Lat . 00.+)-)5 6 Long 7.**)5 8(, in fact,

there are stone fences and stone walls that resemble those of Cillforts of $ere11i, ofthe Anime and of Pila delle Penne &0)(.

2n a similar way to the latter, in the contet of a drywall, oriented towards 8ast : 'est,

delimiting the summit of the Bric Le Pile, we found likely an artifact in %inale Stone,

that could be referred to an anthropomorphic stele &Photo *(.

Photo *

The finding shows, howeer, a well presered cephalic etreme, but separated from

the rest of the body, due to a fracture of the monolith of %inale Stone &3( from which

it was obtained.

The ma9or ais of the stele is superimposed and parallel to the ma9or ais of thedrywall, with an inclination forming an acute angle, opened dorsally of about 0>5 to

the plane of the surrounding terrain.

2t has well defined orbital caities and, among them, a coarse nasal relief.

2n this find, the described anatomical details appear less rudimentary, compared to the

stele in Pila delle Penne &Photo 0( &0)(.


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Photo 0

?oing a little further upstream &Lat. 00.+)->5 6 Long 7.*4*5 8, at **- masl(,

there is a large boulder, resting on a base of stone and soil &Photo >(.

Photo >

There are two steps, upstream, on the west side &-(, &*+(, &*)(, &*(. The megalith

has at its center a clear cupmark of + cm in diameter with a gutter oriented to the

8ast. The surface is occupied by a number of other petroglyphs &Photo 4(.


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Photo 4

About >+ meters to the 6orth, staying at the same altitude, there is a ?enhir:like

ertical lithic formation, &Lat. 00.+>>5 Long. 7.*045 8(, about )*+ cm high

aboe the surrounding ground &Photo 3(, crowned by a more flattened stone.

Photo 3


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6ear this finding, there is also a stone table, further downstream &Photo 7(.

Photo 7

Discussion

The dating of the described finds, all obtained by %inale Stone &a ?iocenic bioclastic

limestone rock formation, rich in fossils, originated in the ?iocene, i.e. from + to )+

million years ago(, is a difficult problem, because the artifacts are located in an

,7++ and *,4++ B/( and the Bron1e Age &,++:-++ B/(, the

terraces to the Bron1e Age, while the fortifications of the high places, as Cillforts, of

the %inalese and 'estern Liguria, are mostly dated now to the 2ron Age &-++:)7+

B/(.

2n particular, the summit walls, built with ery oluminous stones, following the lay

of the soil, proided protection, such as those already mentioned and known of the

2ron Age Cillforts. The construction techni#ue of the walls also recalls the megalithic

model the large boulders of local stone &0*(, are combined and oerlaid. The freespaces, between a rock and the other, are filled, sometimes with smaller stones and

topsoil. 'e can not, howeer, eclude the possibility that they were part of the

megalithic enclosures of(.

The engraed boulder, at the top of the relief, may hae been used for the collection

of the blood of animals killed, with goals similar to those assumed for the basin

cared into the stone, found at an altitude of 3- meters aboe sea leel &*0(, &*>(,

&*4 (, &*3(, &*7(, &*-(, &0+(.


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These findings may remember as reported in numerous studies that refer to the

sanctuary of Panoias &6orthern Portugal( where, net to a large rock with tanks,

channels and cups, there is the following Latin inscription dating from the third

century. A.D. &)0(


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peculiarities(, could represent a kind of crossroads for trades and cultural echanges,

already widely documented for later prehistoric and protohistoric ages &07(.

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Petroglyphs and Megaliths at the Bric Le Pile