Sasso delle Fate rock art site

Sasso delle Fate is a gray sandstone boulder of approx. 4m height. The engravings were discovered in second half of the 1990s by the Gruppo Archeologico “G.F. Gamurrini”, a local volunteer association interested in cultural heritage and archaeology. In recent years, the site has been the subject of tourism enhancement projects by the local municipal administration. 

The boulder is located in a steeply sloping wooded area with difficult access. Sasso delle Fate boulder stands out from other rock outcrops and boulders of the valley for having been shaped by exogenous agents into a particular form, vaguely resembling a human face. Its name, furthermore, is significant, as in Tuscany, numerous locations are dedicated to ‘fairies’: places designated with this name are generally caves, pits, rocks, streams, waterfalls, lakes, and other sites related to water, which almost always prove to be of considerable archaeological and geological interest.

Sasso delle Fate boulder (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

Sasso delle Fate boulder (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

 

Sasso delle Fate rock art figures

Sasso delle Fate is an almost cubic boulder with four visible sides. The prehistoric petroglyphs are located on three of these sides: on the top side, on the southwest side (SW/200), and on the north side (N/10). In 1995, the engraved figure on the summit side was hidden by a clay layer about 3-4 centimeters thick, covering part of the rock surface. The layer lacked archaeological material but was dark and rich in charcoal, remnants of an ancient charcoal pit that, according to locals, was built until the 1940s on this part of the boulder.

The authors described cupels, micro-cupels and one engraved schematic anthropomorphic figure. The latter is clearly visibile on the top of the boulder. Currently, this figure is covered by white crustose lichens which. The anthropomorphic figure is schematic, standing, and it seems to hold an elongated object on the left.

Sasso delle Fate engraved figures (drawings by Tommaso Mattioli)

Sasso delle Fate anthropomorphic figures engraved on the top of the boulder (photo by Tommaso Mattioli)

 

Sasso delle Fate rock art bibliography

@misc{RN2,

title = {Rapporti tra arte rupestre e paesaggio, il Sasso delle Fate di Monte San Savino},

author = {Daniela Burroni and Antonella Colica},

url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273642331_Rapporti_tra_arte_rupestre_e_paesaggio_Il_Sasso_delle_Fate_di_Monte_San_Savino},

year  = {2009},

date = {2009-01-01},

urldate = {2009-01-01},

volume = {LXXXIX},

number = {3},

pages = {1-6},

publisher = {Ceccarelli editore},

address = {Grotte di Castro},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {misc}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Prehistoric Petroglyphs at Sasso delle Fate Monte San Savino - Tuscany (Italy)},

author = {Daniela Burroni},

url = {http://www.rupestre.net/tracce/?p=1497},

year  = {1997},

date = {1997-01-01},

urldate = {1997-01-01},

journal = {Tracce - Online Rock Art Bulletin },

volume = {8},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}