Such was the general tenor of the opinions in regard to the terremare
up to 1877, when, owing to the interest then taken in these singular
remains and with the view of clearing up some of the contested points,
the Minister of Public Instruction ordered a fresh excavation to be
made at Castione under the superintendence of Professor Pigorini.
The portion selected was an oblong space at the north side of
the church, beginning at the margin and stretching inwards for a
considerable distance. The result of this was the disclosure of a
new and remarkable feature in its structural arrangement. At the
inside of the earthen dyke, and intervening between it and a forest
of piles which extended towards the interior, was a series of small
rectangular enclosures constructed of horizontal beams laid one
above the other. These enclosures, which extended side by side like
a string of log-houses, formed an abrupt facing to the dyke. The
beams were roughly hewn, and partially mortised into each other at
the points of crossing, from which their ends projected irregularly,
some even extending from one compartment to the next. Inside these
log-houses there was nothing but rubbish--clay, gravel, bits of wood,
etc.--packed firmly together. But it is needless to enter upon all the
details of this curious structure; suffice it to say that Pigorini
came to the conclusion that their purpose was to support the inside of
the earthen dyke (_contrafforte dell' argine_). The piles were in rows
about two feet apart, and each pile was separated from its neighbour
by an interval of one foot. When the space was cleared there was quite
a forest of these piles, and it is noteworthy that they were all
inclined in one direction, viz. north-east, a fact which is well shown
in the first of the two photographic illustrations here given (=Fig.
82=).
From an examination of the composition of the soil outside the
limits of the station Pigorini ascertained that the bluish clay bed
forming the subsoil of the terramara mound corresponded to what was
the surface of the surrounding plain when the terramaricoli founded
their settlement, and that the thick mass of alluvial yellowish clay
in which the mound is now partially buried has been subsequently
deposited.
[Illustration: =Fig. 82.=--Two Views of the Piles and Woodwork exposed
at CASTIONE during the special excavations conducted by Prof. Pigorini
in 1877.]
Other interesting details are given in Pigorini's exhaustive and
admirable report regarding the structure of the ditch, dyke,
platforms, hearths, etc., and the peculiarity and composition of the
strata. But these the limits at my disposal in this work compel me to
pass over, and I must be content with quoting the following summary of
his conclusions in regard to the origin of the station:--
"The terramaricoli having arrived at the place now called Castione dei
Marchesi did not select for their encampment a low-lying spot subject
to inundations, but the top of a slight elevation of bluish clay not
yet covered with the more recent alluvial deposits. The space measured
out for the station was of a rectangular shape and covered about a
couple of acres. This area they surrounded with a ditch, the excavated
soil being thrown to the inside and so they formed a dyke 6 feet in
height, which consequently enclosed a _bacino_ having its base on the
original soil of the plain. The area thus defined had an orientated
position with a deviation of 30° from east to north.
"Having completed the surrounding ditch and dyke, the next step was to
construct along the inner margin of the dyke a series of log-houses,
bound together and filled with _débris_, over which they finally laid
a gravel pavement. The main object of this elaborate structure was
to support the earthen dyke. Next they planted all over the _bacino_
rows of piles at regular intervals, whose tops reached to the level of
the surface of the _contrafforte_, and over them they laid horizontal
planks of wood which, in certain places, were covered with beds of
clay (_tavole coperte d'argilla_).
"On this platform were constructed the huts of the people. The
exact form of these huts has not been ascertained, but they were
certainly made of wood, straw and clay, no other material having
been used either at Castione or any other terramara. The village was
now complete, and the inhabitants, in the course of their domestic
avocations, threw the refuse of food and other _débris_ into the space
below, probably by means of holes, which gradually accumulated until
the space became completely filled up.
"When this stage was reached the people did not change their chosen
site, but proceeded to erect a new palafitte above the old one. They
elevated the dyke by extending its base, placed new _contrafforte_
along its inner side superimposed on the older ones, and thus
continued to convert the surface of the first platform into the base
of the new _bacino_. Here they repeated the operation of planting it
with piles, and over these a new platform and huts were erected, which
were occupied as before, until the accumulation of _débris_ again
drove the inhabitants to construct a third dwelling-place at a still
higher level." (B. 407, p. 44.)
[Illustration: =Fig. 83.=--CASTIONE and various other Terremare in the
vicinity of PARMA. Nos. 1 to 12 and 18 to 20 = ½, and the rest = ¼
real size.]
Illustrations of some of the industrial remains found at Castione, and
other places in the neighbourhood of Parma, are given on =Fig. 83=.