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A new rock with “topographic compositions”discovered in Bedolina, Valcamonica, Italy

Alberto Marretta

The Bedolina area is today known mostly for one unique rock art panel, the big topograph-ic composition on rock n. 1 called the “Bedo-

lina Map” (Anati 1960, Beltràn Lloris 1972, Turconi 1997), and it has never been methodically inspected. However, beyond this well–known rock, the Bedolina area contains many other panels sur-rounding the “Map” which constitute a remarkable framework, yet poorly documented, for a system-atic approach to the analysis of the whole rock art site.

In general the imagery found in Bedolina links both with Seradina below (ploughing scenes) and the adjoining Dos Mirichì above, while at the same time it does display marked characteristics of its own, such as a noteworthy frequency of “camunian roses” and the rare presence of so–called buccinae (or cornua), representations of curved metal wind instruments probably used during the middle and final Iron Age and the Roman period. Very spo-radic, like anywhere else on the slope, are huts and footprints. As said, extraordinary and deservedly famous is the large engraved image belonging to the category of interconnected geometric elements, or “maps”, which here crop up mainly in the area of the small flats of lower Bedolina, that is in the sub-area included in 2005 into the current grounds of the Seradina–Bedolina Archaeological Park.

The uncommon density of engraved rocks and the rich context of overhanging rock shelters make this one of the most interesting places today for the study of the relationship between rock art and the archaeological–environmental context. Further, the present discovery throws new light on the so–

called “topographic compositions”, which become, perhaps unexpectedly, one of the trickiest subjects in camunian rock art. It is worth mentioning that in the last few years were discovered many ancient-

Fig. 1. View of the engraved rock during the grazing morning light. In the background stands the top of Pizzo Badile Camu-no (photo Alberto Marretta).

draft august 2007 - unpublished paper This document is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license, available at http://creativecommons.

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most “maps” (final Neolithic/Copper Age) and they almost entirely belong to the Paspardo areas (Arcà 1999). The discovery and study of a new big “topo-graphic composition”, along with other cases of less complex or sometimes single geometric elements, nevertheless make Bedolina currently the primary centre of these particular layouts.

The discoveryDuring the archaeological inspection and record-ing of decorated rock surfaces (directed by Lom-bardy’s Archaeological Superintendence and the City of Capo di Ponte) undertaken on occasion of the setting up of the Archaeological Park (March–September 2005), the Centro Camuno di Studi Pre-istorici thoroughly checked the engraved areas sub-jected to intervention.

Operations to fix the pathway around rock n. 1 involved the removal of debris from the biggest mound present in the area (boulders, rocks and pebbles heaped up by local residents in the course of land claims for farming purposes) with the aim of securing some stone walls near the established path. The heap was located some 15 metres west

of rock n. 1, on a spot where the underlying rock surface slopes down a few metres until it reaches a small basin ending onto the vertical wall of a large, natural rock shelter to the west. Already known were the nearby marked rocks and, in particular, rock n. 7 itself, mostly hidden beneath the mound, with several warrior figures and some horsemen showing on ground–level panels. The rock inspec-tion, in view of the physical removal of the debris, brought to light at once an extremely rich, decorat-ed ensemble consisting mainly in a broad geomet-ric composition similar to the Bedolina Map, here enriched with hundreds of human figures as well.

According to local memory this very surface and its “topographic” images has never been in open light during the XX century and was never previously recorded. The discovery, exceptional in itself and by itself for the quantity and the complex-ity of the subjects, throws off balance the ratio of the area’s “topographic” representations and their distribution in the zone under examination.

A brief description of the imageryHere is a limited account of the engravings appear-

Alberto Marretta

Fig. 2. A look on the thick assembling of pictures in the central part (photo Alberto Marretta).

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ing on this surface, in view of a full report on this and other rocks of the area. The very complexity of the representations and the unusually high number of figures and/or overlaps call for caution in pro-ceeding, at least in the present state of knowledge, with assessing chronology and more generally at-tempting interpretation.

The new big decorated rock, which keeps n. 7 as part of the same outcrop, extends over some 25 me-tres of length and 10 of width, gently sloping to the west from a natural hollow in the upper part, where rainwater regularly gathers. The internal surface of the hollow itself is fully decorated, so that in wet periods most of the figures remain hidden under stagnating rainwater. Noticeably a man–made wa-–made wa-made wa-terway was grooved into the rock from this natural draining point, seemingly to aid the outflow. In the northern section the surface shows signs of weath-ering and the engravings (again “topographic” pat-

terns) aren’t easily spotted and can be recognized only in conditions of grazing light.

The broad, grey, glacier–polished surface is crowded also with hundreds of human figures, mostly warriors in complex relations with each other and often overlapping in the general setting of an extensive, detailed structure made of numer-ous geometrical frames filled with orderly lines of cupmarks. The quadrangles are sometimes con-nected by long, winding lines.

From among the “topographic” patterns, we can roughly single out the following elements:

— Square or quadrangular frames filled in with rows of cupmarks. Some of the frames contain a bigger cup from which a waving line departs to reach another square/rectangle of the same kind; uncommon but standing out are quadrangles with a “ringed” cup (more frequently found on rock n. 1) or exceptionally a “boxed” cup; the cupmarks gen-erally appear less orderly put than on the Bedolina Map;

— Rectangular shapes partly filled with cups (e.g., just one internal perimetrical line of cups);

— Rectangular shapes with cups as well as other geometrical subdivisions inside (more rectangles, etc.);

— Sub–oval or circular shapes with inner cups, sometimes arranged so as to follow the three–di-mensional rock surface (hollows, knobs, etc.), espe-cially with lines or other perimetral elements run-ning along the surfacing edges (south section);

— One big rectangular “grid” with cups in some squares;

— Two symmetrical motifs with circles/concen-

A new rock with “topographic compositions” discovered in Bedolina, Valcamonica, Italy

Fig. 3. Geometric shapes (squares, rectangles and small cup-marks) are overimposed by big and deep cups. In the upper part stands two unusual concentric–arcs shapes (photo Alber-to Marretta).

Fig. 4. Squared field of cup-marks that shows variations in the inside pattern. Quite clear is the use of different tools for the two shapes (chronological phase or many authors?). Photo Al-berto Marretta.

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tric rings positioned in the centre of the geometric composition;

— Numerous wavy lines joining the various above–defined geometric shapes;

— Big and deep cup–marks, clustered mostly in the central zone, a few circled by a ring. Rare cup–filled quadrangular shapes topped by a triangle (a comparable example occurs on the Rock of the Map).

The overall abstract design, apparently con-ceived as a whole (even though the different peck-ing tools and styles distinguishing some elements may suggest different authors or chronological phases) and obviously related to the figures of near-by Bedolina Map, extends itself over many square metres on the entire surface, sometimes following ostensibly the underlying three–dimensional mor-–dimensional mor-dimensional mor-phology. This “topographic composition” is to date the biggest and most complex design of this kind

known in Valcamonica. Considering both the anal-ogy with the Map, which was recently attributed to the middle Iron Age (Turconi 1997), and the preliminary stage of superimposition analysis, the making of this panel should also be placed in a time between the late Bronze and the middle Iron Age (ca. 1,000/500 b.c.).

Particularly interesting, not only for dating pur-poses but also in terms of the possible meaning of such designs, is certainly the thick crowding of hu-man figures — a unique characteristic here in the broader context of Bedolina’s rocks. The humans were carved in with markedly different tools and

“hands” and show all the sundry variations so far encountered on rock art sites of the western side of Middle Valley.

The main subject is the armed human figure, pretty much characterized as follows:

— Warriors with a linear body, generally armed with spear (held upright) and a small oval shield. The figures are standing and front–facing. In some cases, such humans acrobatically ride animals (most likely equids) sketched more schematically than anywhere on Valcamonica rocks.

— Duelling figures armed with a small shield (the limb holding it is represented with the well–known depiction device called by some archaolo-gists “turn of the arm”) and a sword wielded fron-tally. These figures are always small and clustered mainly in the southern section.

— Roughly shaped schematic figures, with hard-to–recognize weaponry. These latter types are very numerous, mostly crowding the upper central area.

— Better detailed and bigger figures, with sword, large hollow shield, and sometimes a helmet. They concentrate in the central–lower area.

Alberto Marretta

Fig. 5. Shape filled with cup–marks. One of the cup-marks has been inscribed into a smaller square, from which depart a waving line going to other similar elements (photo Alberto Marretta).

Fig. 6. Tracing of Fig. 5 (Alberto Marretta).

Fig. 7. Group of small and elegant armed figures. Probably Middle Iron Age (photo Alberto Marretta).

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— An exceptional series of four small figures (ca. 10 cm tall) but made with remarkable dynamism and sense of scale. These are positioned on the right–hand edge of the rock.

— Two very large figures (ca. 1 m tall, incom-plete in the higher part) situated in the upper limit of the centre of the rock. Hard to see when light is less than optimal, they seem to override the whole surrounding complex.

To all of this are added a few footprints (virtu-ally absent at Seradina and Bedolina, but increas-ingly present at Dos Mirichì and Pià d’Ort) and rare animals (a deer and other quadrupeds of dif-ficult recognition).

ConclusionsIn light of this and other significant discoveries, it is now clear that whatever study is to be made on the “topographic” theme or, more cautiously, on geometric compositions of Valcamonica rock art, must from now on take into account the Bedolina area in all its complexity, with special attention to rock n. 7.

The iconographic wealth of this surface will certainly bear new elements for dating purposes, but also new challenges for those who attempt to identify this territory as the grounds of the Map. The concealed position, not lending itself to broad views, is in sharp contrast with the factor that so far has been considered almost an essential condi-tion for reproducing the countryside. This very ar-gument has always been brought up to support the interpretative line of the Bedolina Map, as well as other compositions of the kind, e.g., Pià d’Ort rock n. 39 (Sansoni, Gavaldo 1995). Conversely, the imposing wall (a veritable abri) standing out a few metres behind this rock makes for a unique geo-morphological setting, which can’t but suggest the presence of an untouched archaeological site, yet to be put in relation with the neighbouring rock art.

These are obviously preliminary remarks, await-ing proper (and welcome) research projects. In the meanwhile, let us keep in mind that geometric

“topographic” elements do characterize, also and mostly in isolated forms, the entire Archaeologi-cal Park of Seradina–Bedolina and nearby zones of the western slope. This means that only a thor-ough analysis of all known cases will enable us to increase our knowledge about this complex, often puzzling iconographic body.

A new rock with “topographic compositions” discovered in Bedolina, Valcamonica, Italy

AcknowledgementsMy special thanks to Sara Rinetti, who aided me with price-less self-will on every phase of this work. I also acknowledge the city administration, starting with Capo di Ponte’s mayor, Francesco Manella, and Sergio Turetti for their continuing support; Ilaria Zonta, Francesco Ferrati and the entire Pro Loco Association for their generosity and unflagging enthu-siasm. I am grateful also to the Soprintendenza per i Beni Ar-cheologici della Lombardia and to dott.ssa Raffaella Poggiani Keller for the usual and kind support.My dearest thoughts go to Battista Maffessoli (†), who enjoyed this last discovery with us, and whose teaching I will always bear in mind.

References

Anati E. 1960, La Civilisation du Val Camonica, Paris, Arthaud.

Arcà A. 1999, Incisioni topografiche e paesaggi agricoli nell’arte rupestre della Valcamonica e del Monte Bego, Notizie Archeologiche Bergomensi, 7:207-234.

Beltran Lloris M. 1972, Los grabados rupestres de Bedolina (Valcamonica), BCSP (Bollettino del Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici), 8:121-158.

Sansoni U., Gavaldo S. 1995, L’arte rupestre del Pià d’Ort. La vicenda di un santuario preistorico alpino, Capo di Ponte, Edizioni del Centro.

Turconi C. 1997, La mappa di Bedolina nel quadro dell’arte rupestre della Valcamonica, Notizie Ar-cheologiche Bergomensi, 5:85-114.