Megaliths in Corsica

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The megaliths on Corsica originated from around 3000 BC. BC and can be divided into a few groups, to which phases of the Corsican megalithic can be assigned. Neolithic monuments are an expression of the ideology of Neolithic societies. Their development and function depend on social development.

Sardinian-Corsican plant types

offre (bancali))

Premegalithicum

In the 2nd half of the 4th millennium BC The local group of the western Mediterranean cardial or imprint culture experienced an upswing in the form of a striking increase in population. Some villages now extend over several hectares. The obsidian industry was at its peak. At the same time, the megalithic phase of culture began. Whether the impulse came from France , Catalonia or the East and was connected with the arrival of foreign groups remains a much-discussed problem. There are arguments for and against both theses. The Copper Age , which did not break through on the island, begins with the Megalithic .

  • The Neolithic culture phases in Corsica before the start of the Torre culture

  • The rows of stones of Palaggiu also known as Campu dei Morti (cemetery)

  • Another view of the rows of stones in Palaggiu

Megalithic

The distribution of megalithic structures (dolmens and stone boxes) is very uneven in Corsica. In the northern half of the island there are only 7 sites, while the south has over 45. Statue menhirs are found only in the southern half.

Megalithic 1st century

The dead, previously buried in caves, are buried in stone boxes up to three meters long made of properly hewn and smoothed stone slabs, which are initially sunk up to two meters into the ground and are covered by a layer of earth. Later on, great depth is dispensed with and the ceiling panels of the stone boxes reach the level of the surface. The enclosures, always provided with additions, were mainly common in the south of Corsica, in the Sartenais and near Porto-Vecchio . There are two necropolises with 15 stone boxes each. At Levie's there is Caleca's large stone box . The prevalence was lower in the Balagne and Nebbio. Each stone box was accompanied by one or two menhirs . Initially, these were relatively low stone pillars (one to two meters) that stood inside the stone boxes and whose tips reached above the surface of the earth. Later menhirs stand next to the stone boxes. All Corsican menhirs are made of granite , which covers well over 50% of the island.

Megalithic 2nd c

In the second phase of the Corsican megalithic culture, the ground-level stone boxes are transformed into above-ground dolmens of comparatively moderate international size. Today there are still about a hundred (46 better preserved) in Corsica (Carupa, Isla de la Toja di o Turmentu, Paomia, Settiva ) of which the dolmen of Fontanaccia near Sartène is considered the most beautiful. It was around this time that the first traces of the bell beaker culture appeared on Corsica and Sardinia .

The menhirs increase in size (3–4 m) and are set up next to, but also further away from, the dolmen (de Malora). In the Sartenais, menhirs are arranged in north-south orientated alignments . These were undoubtedly associated with the cult of the dead , because megalithic structures are always to be found in their neighborhood . In Corsica, 20 alignments are at least largely preserved; others were likely used as building materials in the past. The double rows of 258 menhirs of the alignment by Palaggiu are particularly impressive .

Megalithic 3rd century

Towards the end of the 3rd millennium BC BC the unformed menhir becomes a statue menhir. Although it retains the basic shape of a stele with an oval floor plan, the upper half takes on anthropomorphic features. For now, these are the outlines of the shoulders and head. Between 1800 and 1500 BC A face with eyes, nose, mouth and chin is added, which looks like a mask and expressive. With the exception of five statue menhirs made from slate or limestone found in the north of the island, all statues are made from basalt . It is believed that they were originally painted red with hematite . In Taravo -Tal especially in the area of Filitosa they found the most so far. The characteristics of the Corsican culture of the end Neolithic also include groups of mortars (called "multiple querns" in Malta) that were found on Monte Lazzu a 100 m high hill on the Gulf of Sagone .

Dolmens or "stazzoni" and stone boxes

In France, dolmen is the generic term for megalithic systems of all kinds (see: French nomenclature ) to which only the continental French systems correspond, but not the systems on Corsica. The following applies here: Classification descriptive du Mégalithique corse. Classification typologique et morphologique des menhirs et statues-menhirs de l'île by Roger Grosjean.

  • Appiettu, statue menhir at Aiacciu
  • Dolmen d'Appazu
  • Arghjola dolmen (Sartène)
  • Bizzicu Rosu or Vaccil-Vecchiu (Grossa)
  • Dolmen de Bughja near Calcatoggio
  • Capu di Buono (Bisinchi)
  • Cardiccia (Sartène) - largest dolmen on the island with a length of 5.6 m
  • Casa di l'Orca on Monte Revincu
  • Casa di Lurcu on Monte Revincu
  • Ciutulaghia Dolmen (in Appietto)
  • Dolmen Cruci I and II
  • Figa la Sarra (Olmeto)
  • Fontanaccia dolmen ( Sartène )
  • Dolmen from Mont Revincu ( Santo-Pietro-di-Tenda )
  • Dolmen Monte Rotundu (Sotta)
  • Paddaghju (Sartène)
  • Dolmen of Pacciunituli
  • Dolmen de Piscia
  • Poghjaredda (Sotta)
  • Renaghju (Sartène)
  • Dolmen of Settiva or (Petreto-Bicchisano)
  • Taravu dolmen
  • Tivolaghju (Porto-Vecchio)
  • Dolmen Tola di u Turmentu ( Serra-di-Ferro )
  • Tremeca Dolmen (Casaglione)
  • Vasculaghju (Sotta)

Menhirs and statue menhirs

There are a large number of phallic specimens among the Corsican menhirs .

Monk and nun
  • Menhir of Pila-Canale
  • Statue Menhir Sagone 2 and 3

The Torrean culture

Already at the turn of the 2nd millennium BC, new elements such as serpentine rings and strange fruit pods appeared, which heralded a change. This phase is a preliminary stage in the construction of the Tappa tower. The Torrean phase begins around 1600 BC. BC and is associated with the construction of the classical Torren , which gave the Bronze Age culture its name. Despite the use of megaliths (especially for menhir statues), the megalithic phase has essentially ended.

literature

  • E. Bonifay (Ed.): Préhistoire de la Corse. Center Regional de la Documentation Pédagogique, Ajaccio 1990, ISBN 2-86620-50-3 .
  • Roger Grosjean : The Megalithic Culture of Corsica. In: Looking around in science and technology. Volume 64, Issue 13, 1964, ISSN  0041-6347 , pp. 403-407.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johannes Müller : Neolithic Monuments and Neolithic Societies. In: Hans-Jürgen Beier (Ed.); Working group Neolithic: Varia neolithica. Part VI: Neolithic Monuments and Neolithic Societies: Contributions from the meeting of the Neolithic Working Group during the annual conference of the North-West German Association for Antiquity Research in Schleswig, October 9-10, 2007 (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Volume 56). Beier & Beran, Langenweissbach 2009, ISBN 978-3-941171-28-2 , p. 15.

Web links