Riparo delle Mummie rock art site

Riparo delle Mummie rock art site

Riparo delle Mummie is a limestone rock shelter with little overhang and with two niches positioned at different levels, one above the other. The soil is rocky and sloping outwards. The wall is covered by considerable veils and flows of concretion. In the slope below the rock shelter, two fragments of impasto pottery were collected by the archaeologist Tommaso Mattioli. This rock art site is located in front of another rock art site, that of Mesa Rosa. 

The rocky surface, which is naturally dark orange, is covered by significant veils and flows of concretions that are superimposed to the original rock surface which seems to be artificially applied with a uniform layer of red pigment (ochre?) in ancient times. This red surface forms a strip of approximately 1m high, running at a height of about 50-75 cm from the ground along the entire back wall of the rock shelter.

Riparo delle Mummie seen from the other side of the gorge (photo by T. Mattioli)

Riparo delle Mummie seen from the other side of the gorge (photo by T. Mattioli)

Riparo delle Mummie (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

 

Riparo delle Mummie rock art figures

There are 7 paintings in black color and some figures engraved. The rock art was discovered by T.Mattioli in October 2003. The most interesting figures are a zoomorphic depiction of a quadruped seen in profile, likely belonging to the subfamily Caprinae, with short horns pointing backward, the body rendered in outline and the neck in solid color which is located few centimeters above one schematic anthropomorphic phi figure 

In this rock art shelter there are also some engravings:  a tree-like filiform motif – superimposed on the painted representation of a horse in black; two deep incisions with a sinuous pattern reminiscent of the so-called polissoir (a rock used for polishing metal or stone axe – a well-known finding in the Alpine region); a circular cupule with a diameter of 10 cm and a depth of 5 cm.” 

Riparo delle Mummie, zoomorphic figure (photo by T. Mattioli)

Riparo delle Mummie, zoomorphic figure (after DStretch by T. Mattioli)

Riparo delle Mummie, possible 'polissoire' (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

Riparo delle Mummie, anthropomorphic figure (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

Riparo delle Mummie, anthropomorphic figure (after DStretch)

Riparo delle Mummie, the zoomorphic (above) and the anthropomorphic figure (below) (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

Riparo delle Mummie, the zoomorphic (above) and the anthropomorphic figure (below) (after DStretch))

Riparo delle Mummie, possible horse (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

Riparo delle Mummie, possible horse (after DStretch))

 

Riparo delle Mummie rock art bibliography

@article{RN22,

title = {L'arte rupestre preistorica e protostorica dell'Umbria},

author = {Tommaso Mattioli},

url = {https://www2.muse.it/pubblicazioni/7/46/vol2/08%20Mattioli.pdf},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-01-01},

urldate = {2012-01-01},

journal = {Preistoria Alpina, Museo Tridentino Scienze Naturali},

volume = {46},

number = {II},

pages = {155-163},

abstract = {This paper presents four new prehistoric rock art sites recently discovered in Umbria (Cen- tral Italy). The chronology of these figures, based on iconographic comparison, is ranging from Neolithic to Copper age. The landscape analysis of sites provides other information about patterns in place selection.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@book{RN13,

title = {L'arte rupestre in Italia centrale : Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo},

author = {Tommaso Mattioli},

url = {http://www.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/cul/resolve?clio7293493},

isbn = {9788887594997},

year  = {2007},

date = {2007-01-01},

urldate = {2007-01-01},

pages = {230 p., 16 p. of plates},

publisher = {Ali&no},

address = {Perugia},

series = {Quaderni di protostoria},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {book}

}