Riparo di Morra di Colecchia

Rock Art Site Description

Morra di Colecchia is a megalithic site located near Rocca Canterano in the Aniene Valley (RM). It consists of a large monolithic slab covering a space delimited by limestone blocks, likely resulting from a rockfall from the overlying Mount Cerasolo, although the possibility of partial artificial modification cannot be excluded. The site has been tentatively associated with prehistoric or Eneolithic use, based on non-diagnostic ceramic fragments and lithic artefacts. Archaeological evidence found in the rock shelter is currently preserved in the Pigorini Museum in Rome. Near the entrance, a small spring of water can be observed during the coldest and most humid periods of the year. The precise chronological attribution remains uncertain, and the structure’s classification as a dolmen is debated. According to the archaeologist Francesco di Gennaro (2009), Morra di Colecchia, with its dolmen-like features, fits into this broader pattern as an example of a monumental tomb where natural and artificial elements combine, reflecting the diverse architectural responses to funerary needs in the region during the Bronze Age.

View of the Salto River valley from the Riparo di Grotti, January 2022 (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

In 1972, archaeologist Lucio Valerio Mandarini reported the discovery of Early Neolithic impasto sherds from the nearby village of Calcariola. Additionally, Early Bronze Age pottery sherds have been identified in the vicinity of the Sanctuary of the Madonna dei Balzi. Finally, a Mousterian lithic industry, attributed to the Middle Paleolithic and associated with Neanderthal occupation, was recently discovered (2018) not far from the rock art site, providing key evidence for prehistoric human presence in the area.

Container collecting water seeping from the rock beside the statue of the Madonna dei Balzi (from lemiepasseggiate.it)

In 2018 archaeological investigations inside the Madonna dei Balzi grotto revealed no signs of human activity prior to the current Marian devotion, which remains actively practiced. Current findings included votive offerings, devotional objects, and containers used to collect dripping water from the cave walls, indicating a strong association with water symbolism. The site is still the destination of an annual pilgrimage held on the first Sunday of September, drawing two religious processions from the villages of Grotti (Cittaducale) and Casette (Rieti).

Figure gallery

Rock Art Figure Descriptions

Riparo di Grotti - one of the anthropomorph of the right niche in 2022
(photo by T. Mattioli)

- Original picture

- DStretch YBK filter

The rock art of Riparo di Grotti consists of 17 figures in black colour (anthropomorphs, tree-shaped figures, lines). The most interesting figure is a big masculine anthropomorph (approx. 12 cm in height) with a “T-shaped” head, shown frontally, the trunk decorated with ‘globules’ motifs. This figure, possibly holding a small animal in the right hand and a curved object (crook?) in the left, is located in the small niche on the right side of the shelter. This iconography is very similar to that of the anthropomorphs of Riparo di Caprara rock art site (Civitella Messer Raimondo, Chieti) (number 2 above) and the famous ‘sorcerer’ from the Fumane Cave (Verona) (number 3 above). In recent years, the local association Terre delle Grotte has installed information panels to enhance the site featuring the rock paintings.

Figure gallery

Riparo di Grotti References

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author = {Mario Federico, Rolfo and Katia Francesca, Achino and Maurizio Gatta and Letizia Silvestrini},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-01-01},

urldate = {2021-01-01},

pages = {10-11},

publisher = {Cambridge Scholars Publishing - Newcastle upon Tyne},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {inbook}

}

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title = {Le sepolture megalitiche dell’età del bronzo in Italia centrale tra falsi allarmi e nuove attestazioni},

author = {Francesco Di Gennaro},

editor = {C. Buccellato, S. Tusa (eds), Le Orme dei Giganti, Palermo, Regione Sicilia},

url = {https://www.academia.edu/1463104/Le_sepolture_megalitiche_dell_et%C3%A0_del_bronzo_in_Italia_centrale_tra_falsi_allarmi_e_nuove_attestazioni_in_Le_orme_dei_giganti_Palermo_2009_pp._83-93},

year  = {2009},

date = {2009-01-01},

urldate = {2009-01-01},

pages = {83-93},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {inbook}

}

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editor = {Axel G. Posluschny and K Lambers and I Herzog},

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booktitle = {Proceedings of the 35th International Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA)},

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publisher = {Rudolf Habelt},

address = {Bonn},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {inbook}

}

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journal = {Quaderni del Centro di Studio per l'Archeologia Etrusco -Italica, Centro di Studio per l’Archeologia Etrusco-Italica},

volume = {IV},

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keywords = {},

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journal = {Quaderni del Centro di Studio per l'Archeologia Etrusco -Italica, Centro di Studio per l’Archeologia Etrusco-Italica},

volume = {IV},

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keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}