Archaeology in Finalese Area (Western Liguria) and Godliness in Human Prehistory (Author: Alfredo...

8/9/2019 Archaeology in Finalese Area (Western Liguria) and Godliness in Human Prehistory (Author: Alfredo Pirondini)

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Fieldnotes: Short Articles and Field ReportsArchaeological Findings of the Finalese Area (Western Liguria) and the Birth of

Religion in Human Prehistory

April 10, 2012 | by Alfredo Pirondini

A large number of archaeological sites and artifacts dating back to prehistoric times in Finale

Ligure area (Western Liguria), are due to the appearance of the first manifestations of human

religiosity.

As described in masterly way by the works of Luigi Giussani (14), (15), the religious factor is an

integral part of true nature of the man. Coincides, in other words, with "ineradicable and

irrepressible" questions as: "what is the meaning of life, pain and death?" and "why it is worth

living?".

These questions are the ontological foundation of life and men has always tried to relate their lives

of creatures destined to die, with the total meaning of life itself.

In archaeological research conducted in the zone of Finale Ligure by the Author of this work, the

encounter with the religious factor, has confirmed the view taken by Giussani: since the beginning

of its existence, the man had a relationship with the mystery of the Godhead.

The Author, in light of the finds, analyzes the primitive roots of the religious phenomenon.

archaeological_findings_of_the_finalese_area_western_liguria_and_the_birth_of_religion_in_human_prehistory

.pdf

Website:

http://ilfinalese.blogspot.com/


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Archaeological Findings of the Finalese Area (Western

Liguria) and the Birth of Religion in Human Prehistory(Author: Alfredo Pirondini)

In Memoriam of Luigi Giussani (10.15.1922 - 02.22.2005): the seventh year of the death.

...those !ho "ead the many to #usti$e sha"" %e "i&e the stars forever.('an. 12)

Summary

A large number of archaeological sites and artifacts dating back to prehistoric times in Finale

Ligure area (Western Liguria), are due to the appearance of the first manifestations of human

religiosity.

The Author, in light of the finds, analyes the primiti!e roots of the religious phenomenon.

"ntroduction

As described in masterly #ay by the #orks of Luigi $iussani (%&), (%'), the religious factor is an

integral part of true nature of the man. oincides, in other #ords, #ith ineradicable and

irrepressible *uestions as+ #hat is the meaning of life, pain and death and #hy it is #orth

li!ing.

These *uestions are the ontological foundation of life and men has al#ays tried to relate their li!es

of creatures destined to die, #ith the total meaning of life itself.

"n archaeological research conducted in the one of Finale Ligure by the Author of this #ork, the

encounter #ith the religious factor, has confirmed the !ie# taken by $iussani+ since the beginning

of its e-istence, the man had a relationship #ith the mystery of the $odhead.

escription

The Finale is a unicum. From geological point of !ie#, in fact, the high fre*uency of karst

features (#ith the formation of natural ca!ities), promoted, since ancient times (/'0,000 years ago),

the human presence.

The disco!ery of 1bifaces2 from 3lateau of 4anie and $rotta delle Fate settlements dates back, in

fact, to the presence of 5omo 6rectus. The $rotta delle Fate and the Arma (a Ligurian term to

indicate a ca!e) delle 4anie ha!e also returned the skeletal remains of 5omo 7eanderthalensis #ho

li!ed during the 4iddle 3aleolithic (%80,000 to /9,000 years ago). "t is #ith 7eanderthals that

appears the first documentation certainly related to the religious+ the burial of the dead that took

place in the ca!es themsel!es, #ere o!al in shape, co!ered #ith stone slabs. This ritual

demonstrates the respect of these primiti!e men for the deaths. The simultaneous presence in the

burial of ob:ects of daily life (food, stone tools, and :e#els #ith engra!ed decorations) and red

ocher (that recalls the blood, as a !ital element), could be related #ith the hope of ne# life, after the

death of the body.

About /9,000 years ago in the ;pper 3aleolithic, during the last great glaciation that marked the

e-tinction of 7eanderthals, 5omo sapiens sapiens appeared+ in the ca!e of Arene andide #ere

found se!eral gra!es, including the most famous of them is the


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"n the 7eolithic Age (#hich gre#, in Liguria, from ',900 to /,=00 >.) the man, nomadic hunter

and gatherer, became a farmer and rancher. The better control of natural resources, made man

sedentary, led an increase in population #ith the simultaneous change in social organiation and the

introduction of the concept of property. "n less than 8,000 years, man?s life changed more

significantly than during the pre!ious 8 million years+ a radical mutation kno#n as the 7eolithic

@e!olution.

"n the Ligurian @i!iera, these changes are set out, according to recent obser!ations (/), ('), (=),(%8), (8%), (8/), (8) for the presumable migration of ne# peoples from south and central "taly.

The archaeological finds at Arene andide, Arma della 3ollera and, *uite recently, at 3ian del

iliegio @ock Shelter (4anie 3lateau) date from, mostly, the period of "mpressed Ware ulture

(6arly 7eolithic+ ',900 to ',000 >) and S*uareB4outhed 3ottery ulture (4iddle 7eolithic+

',000 to &,800 >). They are associated #ith cults and rituals that de!eloped in the 4editerranean

>asin, connected to the reproduction and gro#th of plants and animals. The disco!ery of female

figurines features #ould seem, in fact, tied to propitiate the fertility of the land and flocks (=).

From &thmillennium >, the man increased kno#ledge concerning the processing of metalliferous

minerals. Follo#ing the de!elopment of metallurgy, the communities #ere organied into

increasingly comple- structures, #ith true hierarchical structures. 5illforts (3hoto %), kno#n as

astellieri or astellari, #ere built in high places. "n Finalese ha!e been #ell studied+ 5illfort ofCerei, astelliere delle Anime on @occa di 3erti, SantDAntonino, 4onte SantD6lena abo!e

>ergeggi.

istinct ethnic identity #ere defined, linked to *uite distinct geographical areas. "n the 7orth

Western "taly and in Southern France, bet#een the 4iddle >rone Age (about %,=00 >) and early

"ron Age (about E00 >) appeared the characters of a ne# people+ the Ancient Ligurians, one of the

ethnic groups of preB@oman "taly.

Since the end of the fifth millennium, at the end of the third millennium > (a period co!ering the

7eolithic and >rone Age), de!eloped a ci!iliation related to the cult of the stone. 4egalithic

buildings #ere erected+ single andor aligned 4enhirs, olmens and romlechs (megalithic

fences). The presence of such structures is often related to areas of engra!ed rocks, belie!ed to be

contemporaneous #ith each other.

The significance of this pro-imity, could be e-plained as a sign of the presence of the sacral. "n

this regard, the engra!ing of prayers confirm this hypothesis. ups and gutters, may be, instead,

ha!e been used as containers and li*uid collectors (organic and or meteoric) for ritual purposes

(), (9), (E), (%0), (%%). The cruciforms, may be, on the other hand, signs of hristianiation and,

as such, be ascribed to more recent times. This #ould confirm the attendance of these sites e!en in

@oman, 4edie!al and, perhaps, e!en more recent Ages, #ith purposes (hunting, animal breeding,

agriculture) that differed from the originals.

With the "ron Age (that, in Liguria, de!eloped bet#een E00 and %90 >) the stele statues (or

anthropomorphic steles) made their appearance+ these standing stones #ith engra!ings are #ell

represented in the Lunigiana (6astern Liguria). urrently, the only e-ample, found in the Finalesearea, of this artifact is the rudimentary stele of 3ila delle 3enne (3hoto / and &).

The religiosity of the prehistoric man #as directed, according to the most current theories, to the

!eneration of the peaks of mountains, springs, ri!ers, trees, #eather phenomena (thunders and

lightnings) and from the celestial bodies, especially the sun and the moon.

"n Finalese astronomically oriented structures are present+ Gbser!atory of >ric 3ianarella, 4enhir

and olmen of Cerei, olmen of 4onticello, @ocks, and other Altar tables present on the highest

peaks of the area (Altars of 4onte ucco, @occa degli ;ccelli, >ric del Frate, Arma Strapatente,

>ric of Sant?Antonino).

All these megalithic structures, as pre!iously described, are in close pro-imity to engra!ed rocks

#idely kno#n+ iappu de unche (i.e. iappo delle onche. The term iappo, in the Finale,

sho#s a large slab of stone), the iappu de unchette (i.e. iappu dei e-i or iappo dei eci), theiappu du SH (i.e. iappo del Sale), iappo della Calle dei Frassini B to name only the largest B #ith

the presence of prayers, crosses, cups and gutters (3hoto 8).


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The dating of these archaeological remains is not uni*ue. The e-istence of other similar structures

in the 6uropean area, is #ell kno#n.

We remember, in fact, #hat has reported in numerous studies that refer to the sanctuary of 3anoias,

(7orthern 3ortugal). 5ere, beside a large rock #ith ponds, canals and cups, there is the follo#ing

Latin inscription dating from the third century A (%%)+

5;";S 5GST"A6 I;A6 A;7T 5" "44(ol)A7T;@ 6JT@A "7T@A I;A@ATA

G7T@A @64A7T;@ B SA7(gu)"S LA(i);L"S (iu-ta) S;36@F;(ndi)T;@.(i.e. 15ere the slaughtered !ictims are consecrated to the $ods+ their entrails are burnt in the s*uare pondsand their blood is diffused along the surrounding small ponds2).

Large rocky outcrops, #ith characteristics similar to those described for the sanctuary of 3anoias, in

the Finale, could, at least for a certain period, ha!e had a similar function.

The fact, moreo!er, that the altarBstones are built on high ground indicates, probably, the desire to

choose an appropriate site for ha!e a sort of !isual inspection of the land belo#, also in relation to

the sacredness of the hill stations and mountain peaks, typical of the LigurianBeltic populations.

olmens and 4enhirs are not, therefore, unrelated to the Finalese and subBalpine cultural area, as it

#as thought until a fe# decades ago (3hoto ', =, ).

"t belie!ed, in fact, that the megalithic culture had been arrested in the Alps region, #ithout crossing

the Alps only e-ception #as the 3ugliese area (Southern "taly), #here dolmens, menhirs, specchie(i.e. mounds of stones) #ere attributed instead to the influence of people from the >alkan 3eninsula,

across the Adriatic Sea, #hile in the rest of the 4editerranean basin, the megalithic is #ell

represented.

3uglisi?s #ork+ La ci!iltK appenninica. Grigine delle comunitK pastorali in "talia (8') in %E'E and

the disco!ery, a fe# years later, of the 7eolithic necropolis of Aosta, pro!ed the unfoundedness of

this thesis (&), (), (9), (E), (%0).

@egarding the Liguria, in the second half of the eighties of last century, in the northern Sanremo

hinterland ("mperia 3ro!ince), #ere identified t#o circular burial mounds. Gne of them, studied

#ith stratigraphic methods from the local section of the "nternational "nstitute of Ligurian Studies,

has been attributed to the final phase of the >rone Age (%).

The penetration of megalithism in this @egion #as thus demonstrated, presumably from the nearby3ro!ence.

onse*uently, other artifacts found in Liguria, especially in the area of Finale (:ust mention the

4enhir and olmen of Cerei), until then attributed, though #ith reser!ations, to the recent rural

culture, took on a different meaning and scarcity of megalithic remains in "taly, differently from the

transalpine regions (especially the 7orthBWestern and the islands), could be e-plained by the

increased turno!er of ci!iliations o!er time, that #ould ha!e radically transformed the appearance

of the area, resulting in the loss of many of these artifacts (), (9), (E), (%0).

onclusions

The @eligious Sense is born, therefore, from the remotest anti*uity and the man has asked to

identify rituals (#orship of the dead) and to recognie the sacral presence in certain geological

formations (e.g. mountain peaks) or the construction of megalithic structures, like 4enhirs and

olmens.

These artifacts can be dated to a amount of time bet#een the end of the fifth millennium to the late

third millennium >+ corresponding, roughly, to a period ranging from the 7eolithic and the

>rone Age (80), (8=).

This length of time could be corresponding #ith that of other megaliths that ha!e already been

described by Scientists and by the Author.

The dating of the petroglyphs and megaliths described is a difficult problem to the present, becauseare placed outdoors and can easily modified by atmospheric and human factors.


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The Stone Altar abo!e the Strapatente a!e, the other Altars or Stone Tables on the tops of rocky

outcrops of Finalese, the soBcalled olmen of 4onticello (near Finale Ligure), the rudimentary

anthropomorphic Stele of 3ila delle 3enne, the findings of the 3lateau of San >ernardino (among

#hich the >ric 3ianarella Gbser!atory and the Archaeoastronomical omple- of 4arcello

albuono), but also other neighboring megaliths (8), (/), ('), (=), (%8), (%/), (%), (80), (8%), (8/),

(8&), (8), (89), (8E), represent only some e-amples of findings that #ould deser!e a more detailed

study in the light of modern scientific kno#ledge (e.g. archaeometry, and archaeoastronomy,stratigrapy, geology, etc.) that could lead to important inno!ations in the area of Western Liguria

and, especiall, in the Finalese.

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ArchNoSciences.8009M /8+%%'B%8&.http+archeosciences.re!ues.orginde-%08/.html

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Liguria). Archeomedia B @i!ista di Archeologia GnBline. (80%0).

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megaliticasoprastanteBlarmaBstrapatenteBorcoBfeglinoBfinaleseB.html

8%) 3irondini A. "l @iparo Sotto @occia di 3ian del iliegio+ un Sito 7eolitico del Finalese.

T@A6 B The Gnline @ock Art >ullettin (80%%).

http+###.rupestre.nettraccephpmodules.phpname7e#sPfilearticlePsid'=88) 3irondini A. astelliere di Cerei+ "ndustrie Litiche. Archeomedia B @i!ista di Archeologia

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diB!ereiindustrieBlitiche.html

8/) 3irondini A. 3ian del iliegio @ock Shelter. The 4egalithic 3ortal, Andy >urnham 6d. 80%%M

http+###.megalithic.co.ukarticle.phpsid89&8=

8&) 3irondini A. The olmen at 4onticello near Finale Ligure (Western Liguria, "taly). Fieldnotes

of Archaeological "nstitute of America.http+###.archaeological.orgfieldnotesreports'9'0U80

8') 3uglisi S. 4., La ci!iltK appenninica. Grigine delle comunitK pastorali in "talia. 6d. Sansoni,

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Ackno#ledgements+

r. $ian 3aolo >occa, #ho pro!ided me #ith many important suggestions.

4y Family for the company during this @esearch.

Alfredo 3irondini, 80%8
http://www.archeomedia.net/studi-e-ricerche/36951-alfredo-pirondini-struttura-megaliticasoprastante-larma-strapatente-orco-feglino-finalese-.htmlhttp://www.archeomedia.net/studi-e-ricerche/36951-alfredo-pirondini-struttura-megaliticasoprastante-larma-strapatente-orco-feglino-finalese-.htmlhttp://www.rupestre.net/tracce_php/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=56http://www.archeomedia.net/studi-e-ricerche/37188-alfredo-pirondini-castelliere-di-verezziindustrie-litiche.htmlhttp://www.archeomedia.net/studi-e-ricerche/37188-alfredo-pirondini-castelliere-di-verezziindustrie-litiche.htmlhttp://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=28426http://www.archaeological.org/fieldnotes/reports/5850http://www.archaeological.org/fieldnotes/reports/5850http://www.archaeological.org/fieldnotes/reports/5850http://www.archeomedia.net/studi-e-ricerche/36951-alfredo-pirondini-struttura-megaliticasoprastante-larma-strapatente-orco-feglino-finalese-.htmlhttp://www.archeomedia.net/studi-e-ricerche/36951-alfredo-pirondini-struttura-megaliticasoprastante-larma-strapatente-orco-feglino-finalese-.htmlhttp://www.rupestre.net/tracce_php/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=56http://www.archeomedia.net/studi-e-ricerche/37188-alfredo-pirondini-castelliere-di-verezziindustrie-litiche.htmlhttp://www.archeomedia.net/studi-e-ricerche/37188-alfredo-pirondini-castelliere-di-verezziindustrie-litiche.htmlhttp://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=28426http://www.archaeological.org/fieldnotes/reports/5850


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3hoto %+ 5illfort of Cerei

3hoto 8+ 6ngra!ed rocks at iappu de unche


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3hoto /+ Stele at 3ila delle 3enne

3hoto &+ The #all and Stele of 3ila delle 3enne


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3hoto '+ 1Gbser!atory2 of >ric 3ianarella

3hoto =+ The olmen of 4onticello


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3hoto + The Altar abo!e Arma Strapatente

Alfredo 3irondini, 80%8

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