Specchia (stone grave)
Specchia (plur. Specchie ) is the Italian name for stone mounds (in the style of Nordic roes or the Western European cairns ) made of limestone , which are found in Apulia above all in the north and in Salento over prehistoric burials . In most cases, they form simple, smaller, round or oval piles of stones scattered across the country, reaching heights of four meters and diameters of ten to fifteen meters. In the Salento, some cairns reach a height of more than ten meters. The Specchia Miano (near Ceglie Messapica ) has a diameter of twenty meters and a height of eleven meters.
While it was previously assumed that they were leftovers from the Iron Age Messapier , today it is assumed that they may be older, but a date is still pending. Its name dates back to the Middle Ages and is likely derived from the Latin specula , and an assumed use as a lookout.
Specchia is also a municipality in the province of Lecce .
In the theses about their function, the archaeologists have put forward several theories. The majority take on a function as burial places similar to the Nordic roe or dolmen , with which they are often associated. Here, however, ramps led into the upper regions. The ramps are only partially preserved, as with the Specchie of Castelluzzo, Capece and Talene. Some studies show burials in stone boxes in larger hills . However, no grave goods were found, as the facilities had been robbed for a long time. There are currently around 40 specchie in good condition, the most notable of which are in Martano , Presicce , Ruffano and Zollino .
The material with which many specchie have been performed were obviously field stones, which interfered with the cultivation and therefore were piled up or used for other constructions (for example trulli and dry stone walls ). But this function may have only served a secondary purpose. Some scholars have suggested a function of the Specchie as a lookout in relation to the flat landscape of the Salento. One unsubstantiated hypothesis is that the Specchie served as capacitors in this arid region. The nighttime temperature drop would encourage water to accumulate.
literature
- Nadin Burkardt: Apulia - The archaeological guide. Von Zabern, Mainz 2012, ISBN 978-3-8053-4458-6 , p. 38.
- G. Neglia: Il fenomeno delle cinte di Specchie nella penisola salentina. Società di Storia Patria per la Puglia, documenti e monografie 35, Edizioni Adriatica, Bari 1970.
- L. Panico: Dolmen, menhir, specchie: viaggio fra le pietre ei megaliti del Salento. Edizioni del Grifo, Lecce 2004.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nadin Burkhardt: “A tumulus grave was mostly built over a single body burial. The deceased is bedded in a crouching pit surrounded by stone slabs, around which an outer stone ring is placed and covered with earth and dry stone slabs. They are free-standing burial mounds; only rarely were they put together. They can lie in the area individually or in groups. "