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The Ratoira's Lake Menhir.
A menhir in a lovely scenery. The Alps mountains and a small pretty alpine lake. A very special atmosphere...a big Thank to Mr. Sergio Piazzo who guide me to it !
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Found by Professor Janigro D'Acquino. It was re-utilized by Romans as tombstone. They wrote "SEX MAIORI M:f:CAM" on it.
Nowadays it's kept as an ornament... in a private garden.
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Mindino "Chief-Wizard's Stone"
When I held in my hands the picture of this stone, for the first time, I couldn't believe my eyes. My friend Vanni Penone who found it years ago told me that because of the making of a new road the stone was destroyed and no more there. Happily he was wrong about it.
This kind of engravings are very rare to find (at least in Italy). I've seen another one only once in a book. I choose this name for it because the stylised figure reminds me of a very important person as a chief or a wizard in a tribe. It stands next to a spring. It can be found following the same muletrack that leads to Deversi Pietra delle Masche.
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Deversi, Li Cunni. Pietra delle Masche
An interesting engraved stone. I found it thanks to Professor Renzo Amedeo.
A sacred area, in the neighbourhood there are other engraved stones. Ligurian tribes were living here too (so not only in Liguria but also Piemonte, Lombardia and other places in north Italy).
It's called Pietra delle Masche (Witches' or Hags' Stone) because legends tell of witches dancing on the stone on certain nights.
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This stone is standing next to a spring. The engravings are spindle-shaped carvings ending in small cups, and others are just small cups.
This stone is very close to the menhirs of Ceresa 1 and Ceresa 2 (to the west of them).
I found this stone thanks to Mr Italo Pucci of Istituno Internazionale di Studi Liguri.
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Monte Beigua. Dolmen, Hill, lake and river "Della Biscia"
On the northern slopes of Monte Beigua another sacred area, the other one is in Ceresa 1, Ceresa 2 and Strada Megalitica on the southern slopes.
This area is called "Della Biscia" (of the Water Snake) because there are a lake an hill and a river all named the same "Della Biscia". It has all to do with the cult of the waters (very plentiful here as on the southern side of the mountain) and with the cult of the "fairy-eel". Water Snake and Eel are the same thing. But on the hill some engravings are showing also a fertility cult.
The area is not so far from Pietra Scritta, sited on the north-west of Monte Beigua. All around there are many engraved stones and a dolmen that has lost his roof-stone, which can be found next to it.
My big thanks again to Mr Italo Pucci and Mr Fenoglio. Their information has led me to the site.
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Always grateful to Mr Italo Pucci and Mr M Fenoglio from the Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri, to the memory of whom I want to dedicate my little work in this site. Because of them I found this great engraved Sacred Stone. It stands on the northern slopes of Monte Beigua on a bank of the river Traversa and it has to do with a water cult.
It appears as a big blackboard where people wrote through the centuries. So engraved there you'll find prehistoric sacred images together with christian crosses (specially made to exorcise the stone...) together with much more modern engravings, such as people's names. Anyway the oldest engravings are recognisable and still remarkable.
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Ceresa is a place where several prehistoric sites are located and a little bit farther starts the Sacred Path Strada Megalitica Del Monte Beigua.
So it has to be said that all this area was a special sacred place for ancient Ligurians, adorers of elements like water (this area is particularly rich in water) or fire.
In front of this menhir, another menhir higher up than this one that has been thrown down, even in front of the final cromlech at the end of Strada Megalitica stands the Bric Greppino, an hill that attracts lightning in stormy weather. The religion of the ancient Ligurian was animism.
And more evidence the Ligurians were part of Celtic World are some houses that still can be found in the village of Alpicella in the neighbourhood of Ceresa. Those houses, the oldest in the village, are built in a typical celtic way (the walls of the front and the back of the house contain the roof in the central part of the house where the roof stands lower than the front and back walls as holding to protect the roof).
Again I have to thank Mr Italo Pucci and Mr Fenoglio of Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri for the information.
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Altar Rock of Sotto di S.Lorenzo.
Very close to the menir of Passo di Mezzaluna, at a lower level, there's a small valley, once site of a small lake. In the valley stands this Altar Rock with engraved cup and small drainage canal. It was probably used during ceremonies to receive liquids such as water, milk or blood from sacrifices.
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On the western slopes of Monte Beigua there's a hill called Bric Aliberti. On the western slopes of the hill at 820 metres above sea level there's this engraved rock. This kind of engraving, made by repeated scratching, have the meaning of a ritual: repeating a prayer while scratching the stone. I have to thank Mister Italo Pucci from Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri as I found this sacred rock because of his book, written with Mr Ausilio Priuli. The name of the book is:"Incisioni rupestri e megalitismo in Liguria" edited by Priuli & Verlucca.
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On the southern slopes of Monte Beigua, in front of Bric Greppino. There's this Sacred path, a hundred meters long, called "Strada Megalitica". At his beginning there are two big rocks as threshold, the distance between the two rocks is 1,65 meters. The threshold is close to a fountain. Where the path ends, at an highest level, are the remains of a wide cromlech. Not so far from this site there's a small village called Faie that means Faires in Ligurian. Next to a hill called Priafaia. In Ligurian Pria means stone and faia means fairy. So the name of that hill is "the stone of the fairy"...
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The menhir of "Cian da Munega" (Nun's Field) standing on top of a hill dominating the Ligurian Sea, could be a good introduction to the sacred mountain Beigua, on the north of the menhir. This mountain was a very important sacred mountain for the ancient Ligurians. It stands right in the center of Ligurian Gulf.
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Previous 20 | Showing 21-32 of 32 fieldnotes. Most recent first |
Spencer the Rover
In Yorkshire near Rotherham, he had been on his rambles
Being weary of traveling, he sat down to rest
At the foot of yonder mountain there runs a clear fountain
With bread and cold water he himself did refresh
It tasted more sweeter than the gold he had wasted
More sweeter than honey and gave more content
(traditional)
_________________
it's One World.
it's a labour of Love .
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Swan was the totemic animal of ancient Ligurians.
In memory of Mr.Mario Fenoglio
Ispettore onorario di Archeologia.
I am a member of The International Institute of Ligurian Studies.
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