In his description of Bellanda (Mantua), Chierici observes that the
bacino was a rectangle 96 mètres across, giving an area of about two
acres, to which he adds "ampiezza ordinaria delle terremare." (B.
372, p. 80.) On the other hand, the two whose measurements have been
accurately given by Parazzi, viz. Cogozzo and Casale Zaffanella,
show a superficial area of only half this size, a fact which induced
Parazzi to observe that the terremare in Viadana seemed to be smaller
than those of Emilia and that at Bellanda. (B. 451, p. 4.)
_Number._--The total number of terramara stations in the Po valley
is over 100, which are thus (approximately) distributed among the
provinces:--Parma, 30; Reggio, 25; Modena, 16; Bologna, 5 or 6;
Mantua, about 20; and Brescia, 8.
_Relics._--More trustworthy knowledge of the social conditions and
general culture of the terramaricoli is to be derived from a study
of the remains of their villages than if they had come within the
scope of the earliest written records. The ordinary _débris_ here
accumulated, such as the more imperishable portions of food refuse,
stray objects, etc., are arranged in chronological sequence like
geological strata, the more recent being on the surface, and the
oldest at the bottom. Wherever an object of human industry happened
to drop there it remained, marking in all time coming its relative
place in the duration of the community. The industrial remains show
that these people founded their dwellings in the early Bronze Age.
The existence of a few flint implements and other objects of the
Stone Age is quite in harmony with the usual overlap of the relics of
dying customs in the transition period. That the weaving of cloth was
largely practised by them is proved by the extraordinary variety and
abundance of spindle-whorls and loom-weights. They made ornamental
buttons of terra-cotta, horn, and bone; as well as pins, combs, and
other objects of the latter materials. Wood was also largely used in
the manufacture of a great variety of things, as handles, dishes,
spoons, floorings, etc. (B. 328e.) That they worked their implements
and ornaments of bronze is proved by the number of foundry objects
collected, as bronze slag, stone moulds, etc. (=Fig. 83=, Nos. 14 to
17).
We have already seen that the terramaricoli had an extensive knowledge
of the ceramic art. The vessels in daily use were no less varied
and elegant in shape than our modern jugs, teapots, cups, bowls,
basins, saucers, flower-vases, etc. Some had everted rims and the
majority flat bases. The ornamentation consisted of parallel and
wavy ridges, knobs (sometimes perforated), triangles, and crosses
of incised grooves, circular or semicircular impressions, etc. But
most characteristic are the appendages attached to the tops of the
handles (=Fig. 84=, Nos. 21 and 22), which were of the most varied
and fanciful forms. These remarkable handles are not found on
pottery beyond the area circumscribed by the terremare. Nor is the
fully-developed _ansa lunata_ found in the lake-dwellings within this
area, with the exception of the stations at Peschiera, Mincio and
Il Bor, in the south-east corner of Lake Garda. Rudimentary forms
of these handles, such as those from the lake-dwellings of Polada
(=Fig. 67=, Nos. 13 and 14), Arquà Petrarca and Fimon (=Fig. 66=), are
also found in the western district of the Po valley (=Fig. 48=, No.
16). The terremare would, therefore, appear to be somewhat posterior
to the earlier lake-dwellings. But, on the other hand, the later
lake-dwellings (Peschiera and Mincio) were posterior to the terremare.
Not only does the pottery of the palafitte at Peschiera include the
characteristic _anse lunate_ (=Fig. 65=, No. 26), but among its bronze
relics are examples of almost every object found in the terremare,
as razors, pins, sickles, knives, etc.--a fact which will be at once
seen from a comparison of their respective objects here illustrated.
(Compare =Figs. 63, 64=, and =65=, with =Figs. 83, 84=, and =85=.)
Moreover, from this comparison a further inference will be drawn, viz.
that the lake-dwelling remains contain various objects which are not
found in the terremare, as fibulæ (=Fig. 64=, Nos. 8 and 22 to 25),
bracelets (=Fig. 63=, Nos. 31 and 32), one-edged knives (=Fig. 64=,
No. 11), torques (=Fig. 63=, Nos. 13, 19), etc., all of which are
indisputably of later date than the relics of the terremare proper.
_Organic Remains_.--The principal food of the terramaricoli consisted
of the produce derived from agricultural and pastoral farming. An
exhaustive analysis of their vegetable remains has not yet been made;
but, from the occasional stores of grain, chiefly in a carbonised
state, and other provisions met with, they are believed to have been
in the habit of eating the following seeds and fruits:--wheat (two
varieties), beans, millet, acorns, beech-nuts, apples, pears, sloes,
cornel-cherries, brambles, pistachio-nuts (_Staphylea pinnata_),
hazel-nuts, and grapes (_Vitis vinifera_). Flax was largely
cultivated, and its seeds were supposed to have been used as food,
while of course its fibres were converted into thread, ropes, and
cloth. Among the vegetal remains from Casale Zaffanella submitted to
Professor Oreste Mattirolo in Turin, wheat and both the seeds and wood
of the vine were recognised.
As regards the domestic and wild animals on which the terramaricoli
subsisted, we are in possession of more definite information, owing to
the persevering watchfulness of Professor Strobel. The following is
his corrected list down to the year 1883 (B. 410c):--
_Erinaceus europæus_, L. (hedgehog). Gorzano.
_Ursus arctos_ L. (bear). Castellaccio, Gorzano, Campeggine, etc.
_Vulpes vulg._, Brisson (fox). Castellaccio, Gorzano, Montecchio,
Ronchi di Viadana.
_Canis familiaris_, S. (domestic dog).
var. _Spalletti_, Strob. Montecchio, Castione(?),
Cogozzo(?), Casale Zaffanella.
" _palustris_, Rüt. Common.
sub. var. _matris optimæ_. Gorzano, Montale, Montecchio,
Demorta.
_Lupus vulgaris_ (wolf). Castellaccio, Redù.
_Meles vulgaris_ (badger). Montale.
_Martes foina_, L. (polecat). Gorzano.
_Felis catus_, L. (wild-cat). Gorzano(?), Montale(?).
_Sus scrofa_ (_ferus_), L. (wild boar). Widely spread,
but not common.
_Sus palustris_, Rüt. (domestic pig). Common.
_Asinus africanus_, Sans. (ass). Common.
_Equus caballus_ (horse). Widely spread and not rare. The remains
are of two races, one large and the
other small.
_Capreolus vulgaris_ (roe). Less common on the south side of the Po.
_Cervus elaphus_, L. (deer). Common.
_Dama platyceros_, Plinius (fallow deer). Gorzano. Very rare.
_Cervus tarandus_ (reindeer). Gorzano (Coppi).
_Hircus ægagrus_, L., _palustris_ (goat). Widely spread and common.
_Ovis aries_, L. (sheep). Emilia, Mantua, Brescia.
var. _palustris_, Rüt., _capricornis_, Can. Not rare.
" _O. musimom._ Castellaccio.
_Bos primigenius_, Boj., _domesticus_. Emilia, Mantua, and Brescia.
Not common.
_Bos brachyceros_, Rüt. Very common as domestic cattle.
_Lepus timidus_ (hare). Gorzano (Coppi).
_Mus sylvaticus_ (wood-mouse). Castione.
_Hystrix cristata_, L. (porcupine). Portion of a quill of this
animal was found in the socket
of an arrow-head of bronze from
Campeggine.
_Castor fiber_, L. (beaver). Castellaccio, Cogozzo.
_Frugilegus segetem_ (raven). Gorzano (Coppi).
_Gallus domesticus_, L. (domestic fowl). S. Ambrogio, Gorzano,
Bismantova, Castellazzo di
Fontanellato, Parma,
Bozzoletto.
_Ciconia alba_, W. (stork). Montale.
_Ardea cinerea_, L. (heron). S. Ambrogio.
_Anser segetum_ (wild-goose). S. Ambrogio, Possioncella near
Viadana.
_Anas boschas_, L. (duck). Montale, Parma, Cogozzo.
_Emys europæa_, Sch. (tortoise). Gorzano, Montale, S. Ambrogio
(Boni), Campeggine (Chierici),
Casale Zaffanella (Parazzi).
_Bufo_ (a species of toad).
_Esox lucius_, L. (pike). Parma, Casale Zaffanella (Parazzi).
As coming under the category of organic remains I may add that a great
variety of shells, both of living and fossil species, are found in the
terramara deposits. Many of them are perforated, especially the more
ornamental fossil varieties, and were undoubtedly used as ornaments.
Some of the flat shells of bivalves give a tingling noise when struck,
and are therefore supposed to have been used to produce some kind
of musical sound. Land and fresh-water species were also, no doubt,
used as food. Coppi in his monograph (vol. ii. p. 100) describes and
illustrates a variety of the more striking forms collected in Gorzano;
and, in summing up his list, he states that 479 were of marine origin
(either recent or fossil), 388 belonged to fresh-water species, and
31 were land shells.
From the existence of the horny cases of various kinds of insects,
some living in air and others in water, and their larvæ in various
stages of evolution, Pigorini adduces an argument against the
supposition that the bacino was kept constantly filled with water.
(Strobel, B. 88, p. 18, and 89, p. 36; Pigorini, B. 407, p. 38;
Parazzi, B. 451, p. 54.)
The protracted discussion as to whether or not amber has been found in
the terremare proper was finally settled by the statement of Pigorini
that, in his recent explorations (1877) at Castione, it was found in
the lowest stratum. "Ora siamo certi che l'ambra si trovò in Castione
sepolta nello strato infimo, e colla certezza che vi fosse penetrata
nei giorni in cui lo strato stesso si formava." (B. 407, p. 51.)
As early as 1863 Strobel and Pigorini announced the discovery at
Castione of a couple of amber beads, but as their position in the
_débris_ had not been determined, no inferences could be drawn from
this discovery. In 1871 Coppi found a large one (_fusaiuola_) at
Gorzano; and later, another of the same kind. One was also found at
Montale, and another at Casinalbo. As these are all the records of
amber up to the decided discovery of Pigorini, it is clear that it was
a very scarce object among the terramaricoli. The number from Montale,
however, now amounts to 16, the largest of which is 1¾ inches in
diameter. (B. 279b, 298b, 311a'.)
_Age._--In the spring of 1865 Pigorini explored and described a
station in the district of Parma called Fontanellato, which, at the
time, he considered to be a terramara containing a fascine structure
belonging to the Iron Age. (B. 112.) In the excavations which were
conducted here the following different strata were exposed from above
downwards:--(1) 2 feet of soil; (2) a bed of alluvial deposits 4
inches thick; (3) a bed of materials similar in colour and composition
to those of the ordinary terramara deposits, 1 foot 10 inches thick;
(4) a mass of mixed materials 2 feet 7 inches thick, containing roots,
branches, leaves, etc., mixed with clay, together with pottery, short
piles, charcoal, bones of animals, shells, fruits, seeds, etc.
The objects of special interest collected were fragments of coarse
pottery, made, however, on the wheel, and particularly some vessels
made of _potstone_; a large stone splinter, showing marks of usage; a
bronze ring, and some iron slag.
In 1883 Pigorini recurs to the remains at Fontanellato (B. 408) and
explains that, owing to the great progress made in the investigations
of the terramara deposits, and the additional light thrown on
the subject, he has come to the conclusion that the station at
Fontanellato was not a direct continuation of the terramara system
which prevailed in the Bronze Age, but a "palafitta barbarica," in
which he sees the practical evidence of the incursions, into the Po
valley many centuries later, of the northern hordes of barbarians
which gave the final _coup_ to the Roman empire. That these people
were conversant with such structures there is ample evidence in
the analogous remains of terpen in Holland, the burgwälle and
lake-dwellings of Germany, the Tószeg and other mounds in Hungary,
etc. (B. 410b.)
Nor does the station at Fontanellato stand as an isolated example
of these later structures. Chierici found one at Marmirolo, in the
district of Reggio.[42] Another is recorded by Cornalia,[43] and
Pigorini thinks that several other stations which have been more or
less described belong to the same class as those in the Thrasimene
district[44] and that at Offida, near Piceno. (B. 343.) With these
exceptions, there are no terramara mounds of the Iron Age, and the
system is supposed to have flourished in the early Bronze Age and to
have fallen completely into desuetude before the commencement of the
Iron Age.