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Name      
Italia    Valsusa - Roccia degli Arcieri, sect. A EuroPreArt - European Prehistoric Art

Italy map
Keywords: warrior, archer, rider, calcite,
Institution: Cooperativa Archeologica Le Orme dell'Uomo (Footsteps of Man)  http://rupestre.net/orme
Record
proposed
by
Orme dell'Uomo - Footsteps of Man, Valcamonica - Italy
 
Location
Specific feedbackSpecific feedback

Country:

Italia

Locality:

Mompantero - see original record (ask compiler - institution)

Region:

Piemonte

Area:

Valsusa

 

click to enlarge
Mompantero, Roccia degli Arcieri paintings, general view (photo A. Arcà - Footsteps of Man 1992)
click to enlarge
Copyright. No commercial use of EuroPreArt content is allowed. Specific © for pictures and drawings is mentioned in the captions or owned by each Author or Institution.
Disclaim. The EuroPreArt project fully endorses the most recent documentation policies. It must be outlined the absolute forbidding of any disruptive method and the necessity of a total respect for archaeological sites. It is also to be noticed that no substances shall be applied to rock art for recording purposes. Some pictures of the EuroPreArt records are related to past recording techniques and may not fully match these policies. They are an historical documentation. Please refer to local archaeological official authorities for any recording purpose. Please take a look also over EuroPreArt guidelines.
 
Environment & Surface

Altitude:

1025 m
Open-air   Shelter   Cave Portable   Megalithic

Geography:
Rocky slope, southward exposed, panoramic site, abandoned sheep pasture, xerophilous vegetation (Juniperus, little pine-tree), stone walls, arid and windy area, lateral morainic pudding-stone deposits.

Proximity:

Path, dry waterfall (originating from an abandoned artificial channel).

Geology:

Filladic calcschist (metamorphic rock composed by calcite and mica), vertical wall, calcite and weddellite from the analysis of the painting material.

Surface:

Rough, steps, vertical half-sheltered wall south-east exposed, 90° of inclination, encrusted white lichens, patina, calcareous (calcite) encrustation.

Dimensions:
Length 0.90 m.  Width 6.00 m.

 

click to enlarge
click to enlarge
 
Art        

Description:

Engravings   Paintings   Painted engravings   High or low-relief   Sculpture
The paintings cover a 6x0.9 m surface along the rocky wall. The sector A is the left part. The painting material is thick and encrusted, of a white-yellow colour. The extreme left part shows a worst preservation as it is less naturally sheltered. In the main scene it is possible to recognise three warriors: the one on top-right corner has a bi-triangular body, like the engraved warriors of the not far Aussois site (Haute Maurienne French valley), and face with a quite completely erased spear an archer. The rider on the bottom holds a bow with arrow and a rectangular shield. Also the archer on the left (quite completely cancelled) has a bi-triangular body.

Figures:
total number 14
2 archers, 1 riding archer, 1 warrior with bi-triangular body and spear, 1 crossed circle (rouelle), 9 unreadable eroded figures.

Chronology:

Palaeolithic   Epipalaeolithic - Mesolithic   Neolithic   Copper Age   Bronze Age   Iron Age   Roman   Middle Age   Modern   Unknown
It is possible to compare these painted figures to the warriors with bi-triangular body of Aussois (Haute Maurienne). These warriors overlap Middle Iron Age topographic compositions and are very similar to the figures painted over the decorated italic pottery (VII-VI cent. BC) or the south France pottery (La Pègue, V-IV cent. BC). In this range (VII-IV cent. BC) it is possible to date also the Mompantero paintings.

Notes:

The paintings have been discovered by Angelo Fossati and Andrea Arcà in 1991. The sample for chemical analysis have been taken form figure A10 (horse) and B12 (right arm). Similar composition has been found in the natural calcite deposits. The entire area was terraced and cultivated (vines, potatoes) till the '50-'60s. No water available if not through artificial channels. It's one of the possible ways to reach the top of the Rocciamelone mountain (more than 3500 m), the highest mountain in the Susa valley, where traditional pilgrimage is still practised (the Holy Mary of the Rocciamelone, http://www.rupestre.net/archiv/nat3.htm).
 
Bibliography        





European total bibliography, by EuroPreArt partnersTotal (Europe)
Italia EuroPreArt general bibliography, by Cooperativa Archeologica Le Orme dell'Uomo (Footsteps of Man)General (country)
Specific Valsusa - Roccia degli Arcieri, sect. A bibliography, by Cooperativa Archeologica Le Orme dell'Uomo (Footsteps of Man)Specific (site)
Rock Art Studies: A Bibliographic worldwide Database (external link). Compiled by Leigh Marymor. Copyright (C) 2001-2002 by the Library, University of California, Berkeley Bibliographic
Rock Art
Database

 

 
Conservation        

Status:

Public   Private   Park   Classified site

Risk:

The site is poorly attended, thus some people is passing with motorbikes along the mountain path. The surface is half-sheltered and protected from direct rain and snow.

Conservation:

Good   Quite good   Mediocre   Bad

Intervention:

The rock has been completely recorded (International western Alps rock art record), traced (contact tracing and digital vectorial rendition), photographed (normal light and grazing light colour slides) under enchargement of the Archaeological Superintendence of Piedmont. More info (Italian version) at http://rupestre.net/archiv and http://rupestre.net/alps.

 

By          

Compiler:

Andrea Arcà

Institution:

Cooperativa Archeologica Le Orme dell'Uomo (Footsteps of Man)  http://rupestre.net/orme
 
         Record n. 497 / 807
No commercial use is allowed. Specific © is mentioned in the captions or owned by each Author or Institution  
 
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NEW: Alpine rock paintings
enter the Balma dei Cervi Virtual Museum and surf the Virtual Tour: spherical pano-views,
hi-def flat photos and tracings


EuroPreArt, European Prehistoric Art, is a web-based archaeological project funded by the European Union which aims to establish a lasting data-base of European prehistoric art documentation, to launch the base of an European institutional network and to contribute to the awareness of the diversity and richness of European Prehistoric Art.
It is proposed by: Instituto Politécnico de Tomar (IPT, Portugal), CUEBC - European University Centre for Cultural Heritage (Italy - Europe), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España), Asociación Cultural Colectivo Barbaón (España), Université de Liège (Belgique), Gotland University College (Sverige), University College Dublin (Eire), Cooperativa Archeologica Le Orme dell'Uomo (Italia), Study Centre and Museum of Prehistoric Art of Pinerolo (Italia), The European Centre for Prehistoric Research in the Alto Ribatejo (Portugal), ArqueoJovem - a youth NGO (Portugal).
Instituto Politécnico de Tomar - Portugal CUEBC - European University Centre for Cultural Heritage, Ravello - Italy CSIC - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid - Spain Orme dell'Uomo - Footsteps of Man, Valcamonica - Italy Asociación Cultural Colectivo Barbaón, Extremadura -Spain Liège University - Belgium Gotland University - Sweden University College Dublin - Ireland CeSMAP - Centro Studi e Museo d'Arte Preistorica. Pinerolo, Italy Arqueo Jovem

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