The nine statues of the Pontevecchio group were found in 1905 within the wood of
Bocciari di Pontevecchio, near Fivizzano. Eight statues are intact while the last
(Pontevecchio IX) was found partially broken.
(clickable map)
The discovery of the statues was certainly a rare and unusual event. In fact they are the
most ancient among the monuments of Lunigiana and were found IN SITU, i.e. in the same
position and place in which they were located. Furthermore all the stelae were discovered
aligned in a row, with the position as a function of the height.
They were covered by two meters thick ground layer, probably due to a landslip which
protected the monuments against the iconoclastic activity. The base ground
layer, over
which the monuments lay, had a black color and can be related to the agricultural activity
called debbio which consisted of firing woods in order to prepare fields for
agriculture.
Two statues represent male persons while three others represent females. The others
statues, with small dimensions, have no sexual distinction elements
The nine monuments are very suggestive and their rigid and severe shape perfectly
represents their holyness and importance.
Hypothetical
reconstruction of the Pontevecchio cult site
Drawing from the book :
La Preistoria in Liguria
by Enzo Bernardini, SAGEP Editor, Genova 1978.
