Shortly after the middle of last century certain artificial deposits
of an earthy substance found scattered in the shape of large, flattish
mounds, over the provinces of Parma, Reggio, and Modena, became known
to agriculturists as possessing great fertilising power--a property
which they henceforth turned to advantage by using their contents as
manure. To such an extent has this practice been carried that many
of these deposits, notwithstanding their great extent, covering,
in most instances, many acres, have now entirely disappeared. This
substance looks like a mixture of clay, sand, ashes, etc., arranged
in differently-coloured strata--yellowish-brown, green or black--and
goes among the peasants under the name of _marna_ or _mèrne_; but in
scientific circles it is generally called terramara, more especially
since the meeting of the International Congress at Bologna. In the
course of these annual excavations various objects of antiquity were
noticed by the workmen, such as Roman coins and tiles; implements of
bone, horn, bronze, etc.; the bones of domestic and wild animals;
and even human bones, were occasionally turned up. But these popular
observations failed to lead to any scientific investigation, and when
these mysterious mounds happened to be noticed by the early writers
of this century each had a theory of his own to account for them.
Thus the celebrated naturalist Venturi, in his "Storia di Scandiano,"
published in 1822, assigns them partly to the Boii, a Celtic race who
here, according to him, cremated their dead warriors and ceremoniously
threw their weapons and animals taken in war into the burning pile;
and partly to the Romans, who subsequently inhabited the country, and
selected these heaps for their dwellings and burial-places. Others
supposed them to be the sacred or traditional cemeteries of successive
races, and hence their contents are called "terrecime-teriale"; and
it is a curious fact that many of these truncated mounds are to
this day crowned by a modern church or convent, around which the
Christians have been in the habit of burying their dead. Nor did the
opinion of Gastaldi, published in 1861 (B. 43), throw much light
on the matter. Seeing that the terremare were invariably situated
near running streams, he considered them heaps of the remains of
different, ages--Roman graves, cremations, and funeral feasts, which
had been washed down and re-arranged by floods. But these and similar
theories, based on the supposition that they were the abodes of the
dead, were not in harmony with the domestic character of the pottery
and implements turned up. The starting-point of a long series of
researches which have now cleared up the problem was the announcement
by Professor Strobel of Parma, in 1861 (B. 44), that the remains of a
palafitte, analogous to those found in lakes and marshes, were to be
seen below the true terramara deposits at Castione dei Marchesi.
This celebrated and best known of all these settlements is situated
about four miles north-west of Borgo San Donino, in the province of
Parma. It was discovered about seventy years ago, and continued to be
excavated solely for agricultural purposes till 1861, when Gastaldi's
publications directed attention to the prehistoric remains of North
Italy. Till then the numerous objects of human industry disinterred
by the workmen excited little or no curiosity. Things, however, were
very different after the northern wave of archæological inquiry, now
greatly quickened by the discovery of the Swiss lake-dwellings, had
reached the Parmensian antiquaries. Henceforth instructions went
forth from the proprietor, Sig. Ugolotti, that these objects were
to be carefully preserved, and now they constitute a special and
most interesting collection in the Archæological Museum at Parma.
On visiting Castione one sees a slight elevation rising about 10
feet above the plain and surmounted by a church and convent. These
buildings, which are both lofty and extensive, are approached on the
west side by a stone bridge, spanning a canal-like pool of stagnant
water, which lies along the margin of the mound and partly surrounds
it. Elsewhere the slope from this plateau to the level plain is
gradual, except where the more recent excavations have been made,
which present much the same appearance as a roadside sand-pit. Of the
original size and form of the mound it is now difficult to form a
correct estimate, owing to the amount of stuff yearly carted away, but
the portion still undisturbed or covered by buildings may be estimated
at two acres.
A perpendicular section, which can be readily obtained at various
points, presents the following succession of layers from above
downwards:--
1. Ordinary mould or disturbed soil for a depth of 6 feet, said to
contain Roman and more recent remains.
2. The terramara beds proper, arranged in thin, wavy laminations of
variously-coloured earths. Sometimes a thickish bed of clay or a black
band of charcoal catches the eye; in another place an overlapped bed
is seen to shelve out and disappear altogether. But, notwithstanding
a wavy or undulating appearance, the general horizontality of these
layers is maintained. Their average total thickness amounts to 8 feet.
[Illustration: =Fig. 68=_a_--Pottery from the Terremare.]
3. Underneath these beds lies a blackish peaty substance, some 3 feet
thick, in which, as already mentioned, Strobel detected the remains of
a palafitte.
Below this peaty stratum there is a greenish clayey deposit, similar
in composition to that found at some depth in the surrounding plain,
into which the piles were driven.
[Illustration: =Fig. 68=_b_.--Anse Lunate or Cornute from the
Terremare.]
Strobel's discovery caused much speculative interest, especially
when correlated with the researches initiated by Gastaldi regarding
lake-and pile-dwellings, the existence of which in Italy had just been
demonstrated at Mercurago and Lake Garda.
[Illustration: =Fig. 69.=--Bone Comb (½) from VICO-FERTILE.]
[Illustration: =Fig. 70.=--Bone Wheels from CAMPEGGINE.]
Reflecting on these novel revelations and impelled, no doubt, by the
growing interest in such studies, Strobel and Pigorini, both then
residing at Parma, commenced a series of observations and inquiries
regarding the terremare in their vicinity, the outcome of which was a
joint report, first published in 1862 as part of Gastaldi's well-known
article, "Nuovi cenni sugli oggetti di alta antichità trovati nelle
torbiere e nelle mariniere dell' Italia." (B. 52.)
[Illustration: =Fig. 71.=--Horn implement.]
[Illustration: =Fig. 72.=--Bone (½). Both from CAMPEGGINE.]
[Illustration: =Fig. 73.=--Portion of a Bone Handle from CASTIONE
(½).]
[Illustration: =Fig. 74.=--Two Bone objects from CAMPEGGINE (1/1).]
[Illustration: =Fig. 75.=--Discoidal Stone from CAMPEGGINE (½).]
[Illustration: =Fig. 76.=--Bronze Sickle from CAMPEGGINE (½).]
[Illustration: =Fig. 77.=--Bronze Spear-head from BARGONE DI SALSO
(½).]
[Illustration: =Fig. 78.=--Bronze Celt from CASTELLAZZO.]
[Illustration: =Fig. 79.=--Bronze Awl with bone handle, from
CAMPEGGINE (½).]
In this report the authors discussed the works of man found in the
marl-beds under the following five heads--viz. habitations, vessels,
utensils, arms, and things of uncertain use. The pottery they
recognised as having degrees of quality according to the uses to
which the vessels were put. The larger vases were roughly kneaded,
the grains of sand were larger and more visible, and the colour of
the paste was ash-black inside and reddish outside. They had no
glaze. The smaller dishes were made of fine homogeneous paste, with
very thin walls, smooth surface, and a blackish surface approaching
to varnish. According to their form they might be divided into a
great many varieties, as plates, cups, basins, bottles, vases, etc.
(=Fig. 68=_a_). In the makers of this pottery the authors recognised
an inclination to vary their handiworks, and this was especially
manifested in the various forms and different embellishments of the
handles, called _appendiculati_, which turned up in large quantities.
These were ordinary handles with an addition on the top, either in
the form of an upright button-like process or transverse bar. To the
latter the greatest interest was attached, as the ends of the bars
were bent in a variety of ways so as to assume the form of ears or
horns as in =Fig. 68=_b_.
Among the utensils they distinguished a variety of industrial objects
such as needles, pins, ornamented combs, small wheels, handles, etc.,
made of bone or horn (=Figs. 69= to =74=). Of stone there were numbers
of rubbers, corn-grinders, and grooved spheroidal stones (=Fig. 75=),
but very few hatchets and chisels.
Of bronze they found sickles (=Fig. 76=), spear-heads (=Fig. 77=),
flat celts (=Fig. 78=), awls (=Fig. 79=), chisels, pins, etc.
Among the objects of uncertain use were classified a series of
spindle-whorls of different forms (=Fig. 80=).
[Illustration: =Fig. 80.=--Various forms of Spindle-whorls or Beads
(½) from CAMPEGGINE.]
From the existence of metal slag and stone moulds (=Fig. 81=) the
authors inferred that the terramaricoli knew the art of founding in
metals.
Professor Strobel gave also a minute description of the bones and
other organic remains, to which I shall afterwards refer when treating
of his subsequent investigations in this wide and important field of
research.
[Illustration: =Fig. 81.=--Stone Mould from CASTELNUOVO.]