Rock carvings in the upper Valle Camonica

 

High-Mountain Graffiti

When speaking about rock carvings in Valle Camonica, it’s easy to picture those in the Capo di Ponte area and their Unesco site. Few instead know those of the upper Valle Camonica, located in an alpine area near the Gavia Pass.
There an archeological expedition found, together with pottery remains, some rock-carved cupules, hemispheric hollows sculpted by prehistoric dwellers of the area, perhaps for some ritual purposes.
A legacy of an ancient past, one unknowingly carried out by the local shepherds that still during the XIX century carved animal figures on the rocks near a lake in Val di Viso.
For more info on this subject (available in local book stores and libraries, in Italian):
Ausilio Priuli, “Etnoarcheologia in alta Valle Camonica e il mistero dei villaggi scomparsi”, Tipografia Camuna, 2010.