I have written a few previous columns on high altitude rock art (see ‘highest elevation’ in the cloud index at bottom). Now we have learned of the discovery of petroglyphs in Lombardy, Italy that are acclaimed as the highest in Europe.
“The discovery of a series of petroglyphs over 3,000 meters high in the Valtellina Orobie mountain range in Lombardy has made them the highest petroglyphs found in Europe and provided new clues to human presence in mountainous areas since ancient times. Tommaso Malinverno, a Como hiker, informed the Soprintendenza in the summer of 2017 that he had noticed odd carvings on a rock at the base of the Pizzo Tresero glacier. After receiving this report, scientists and archaeologists conducted thorough research and determined that the petroglyphs dated to between 3,600 and 3,200 years ago (1600 -1200 BCE), during the Middle Bronze Age.” (arkeonews 2025) Now 3,000 meters is 9,842 feet so this is not up in rarified air. It does, however, prove that some people of the Middle Bronze Age traveled in the high mountains for some reason, shades of Otzi.
The location of the newly found rock art is not all that isolated archeologically. “The petroglyphs are located near the Gavia Pass, a region already renowned for its rich archaeological heritage. The site connects with other significant tock art locations in Lombardy, including Val Camonica, recognized as Italy’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, and the Valtellina region, home to the famed Rupe Magna in Grosio and the stele statues of Teglio.” (Radley 2024)
As you will
see below they have suffered damage from a source that we usually do not
consider to be a threat to rock art – glacial activity. This threat would seem
to be reducing, however, given climate change and global warming. What new
threats will show up now? “Stefano Rossi,
and archaeologist from the Superintendence, remarked, ‘The Tresero petroglyphs
are an exceptional research opportunity. They raise crucial questions about the
complex relationship between humans and mountains over millennia. High-altitude
exploration is often associated with modern mountaineering, but these
engravings demonstrate long-term human presence starting in prehistory.’
However, glacial activity over thousands of years has eroded many of the
carvings, leaving striations on the rocks and potentially obliterating many
portions of a once larger rock art complex.” (Radley 2024) The fact that
their rock face shows glacial erosion means that the petroglyphs would have
been obscured by ice for part of their history. The news stories do not state
how far from glacial ice they are now but they have obviously been covered at
some point suggesting climatic changes over history.
NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Arkeonews, 2025, The Highest Prehistoric Petroglyphs in Europe Discovered at 3000 Meters in the Italian Alps, https://arkeonews.net. Accessed online 5 January 2025.
Radley, Dario, 2024, Europe’s highest petroglyphs unearthed in Lombardy’s mountains, 21 November 2024, https://archaeologymag.com. Accessed online 21 November 2024.
No comments:
Post a Comment