Riparo di Grotti
Rock art paintings
Lazio – Cittaducale (Rieti)
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Riparo di Grotti rock art site
| Paintings | 17 in black colour |
| Engravings | none |
| Site dimensions | 15m lenght, 5m depth |
| Site orientation | South |
| Site altitude a.s.l. | 525m |
Riparo di Grotti is a limestone rock shelter adorned with black-colored paintings, discovered by archaeologist Tommaso Mattioli in March 2003. Accessible via the ‘Via dei Monti’ hiking path, it connects the village of Grotti to the sanctuary of the Madonna dei Balzi. In 1953, Italian archaeologist Antonio Maria Radmilli surveyed the area and collected pottery fragments described as ‘di fattura preistorica ma di datazione imprecisata’ (lit. prehistoric-like pottery sherds of uncertain dating) by the author. In 1972, local archaeologist L. 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.
In the underground sanctuary of Madonna dei Balzi there are artificial containers for collecting dripping water, votive offerings (ex-voto), and devotional objects. On the first Sunday of September, two processions converge, organized by the neighboring communities of Grotti and Casette
Riparo di Grottirock art figures
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 height) with a “T-shaped” head, standing front view, with the trunk depicted with ‘globules’ motifs, eventually holding a small animal in the right hand and a curved object (crook?) in his left hand. 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).
References
2019
In: Preistoria e protostoria in ambiente montano: scoperte e ricerca territoriale, tutela e valorizzazione, vol. 7, pp. 107-109, 2019.
2008
Landscape analysis of a sample of rock-Art sites in Central Italy Book Chapter
In: Posluschny, Axel G.; Lambers, K; Herzog, I (Ed.): Proceedings of the 35th International Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA), pp. 342-343, Rudolf Habelt, Bonn, 2008, ISBN: ISBN 978-3-7749-3556-3.
2007
L'arte rupestre in Italia centrale : Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo Book
Ali&no, Perugia, 2007, ISBN: 9788887594997.
2006
L'arte rupestre del riparo sottoroccia di Grotti (Cittaducale, Rieti) Journal Article
In: Quaderni di Protostoria, vol. 3, pp. 1-17, 2006.
1985
Panorama archeologico Sabino alla luce di recenti acquisizioni Journal Article
In: Atti del Convegno di Studio "Preistoria storia e civilta dei Sabini" (Rieti), pp. 99-124, 1985.
1955
Esplorazioni paletnologiche in alcune grotte nelle province di Rieti e Chieti Journal Article
In: Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche, vol. VII, iss. 1-2, pp. 1-6, 1955.