Riparo di Anticoli

Grotta di Anticoli (photo by Piero Ceruleo)

Riparo di Anticoli and Grotta di Anticoli (translated as Anticoli Shelter and Cave) are two adjacent rock art sites. The cave (grotta) opens along the slopes of Monte Licino and overlooks the Fosso di Casalromano on the left bank of the Aniene River, within the municipality of Anticoli Corrado, in the Province of Rome. It consists of a chamber measuring approximately 5 × 5 meters. Part of the entrance is obstructed by a large boulder. Facing the graffiti, this boulder has a broad smoothed surface at its base, which, according to Piero Ceruleo — the discoverer of the rock art figures — is difficult to interpret.

Riparo di Anticoli (photo by Piero Ceruleo)

It may have resulted from the continuous passage of people or animals, or from other causes, such as the magical-religious practice of incubatio — a Latin term referring to “sleeping in a sacred place for divine revelation” This practice has also been hypothesized for the decorated sites of Pastine and Parete Manzi (Civitaluparella, Chieti) in the Abruzzo region, within the broader corpus of Central Italian rock art. The shelter (riparo) is likewise located at the foot of Monte Licino, close to the cave mentioned above. During the initial survey, Ceruleo discovered a black anthropomorphic figure drawn in charcoal on the shelter’s rock wall. A subsequent survey conducted by Ceruleo revealed numerous additional graffiti and charcoal drawings

Rock art engravings of Grotta di Anticoli according to Rolfo (from Rolgo et al. 2021)

The walls of Grotta di Anticoli are rough and covered with concretions, making them generally unsuitable for rock art. However, near the entrance vault, opposite a large boulder, a small smooth area preserves graffiti formed by intersecting parallel lines creating a grid-like pattern. Similar engravings appear elsewhere near the cave entrance and have been previously studied. According to Mario Rolfo and colleagues, one figure possibly represents a headless and armless naked female with prominent buttocks and womb, interpreted as a prehistoric fertility figure comparable to the Venus figurines known from France, Spain, and Central Europe. This engraving may preliminarily date, according to Rolfo, to the Late Upper Palaeolithic or the Mesolithic.

Carved figure of a naked female figure - possibly a Venus Grotta di Anticoli (photo from Rolfo et al. 2021)

Within the Riparo di Anticoli, the graffiti are located at approximately the height of an average adult individual. They occupy a portion of the rocky wall measuring about 50 cm in height and 30 cm in width, situated approximately 100–120 cm above the current floor level. Recent analyses by Mario Rolfo and colleagues have also identified incisions that might represent a deer head and a bovid above a series of horizontal, vertical, and transverse lines that often seem to point toward the same direction. More charcoal drawings have also been recognised, partially covered by a carbonatic veil due to water percolation, thus supporting the hypothesis of an ancient dating for this art. The drawings appear to depict anthropomorphic figures and a smaller isolated figure further down the wall. Archaeological investigations have not yet been undertaken and stylistic comparisons remain limited. However, the typology of the incisions could possibly belong to the so-called “Mediterranean artistic province”, dating between the Late Upper Palaeolithic and the Mesolithic.