Rock Engravings in Valle Camonica

A couple  of weeks ago we were staying near Lake Iseo in Italy and we visited some of the Rock Art in Valle Camonica. We saw those at the Naquane National Park in Capo di Ponte.

Some of these engravings are Neolithic (about 7 thousand years old) but most are Iron Age (about 3 thousand years old). There are human figures, animals, household objects, architectural and mechanical structures as well as hunting scenes.

Most were created by repeatedly hammering a spike into the rock and building up the picture with a series of small indentations but some are scratched.

They are well presented; with explanations on noticeboards in Italian and English as well as steps and platforms so that you can get close to the drawings. It is effectively an open air museum.

http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/lombardy/lake_iseo/valcamonica.html

I particularly like the chariot or cart (above) because the wheels and horses are drawn side on whilst the rest is an aerial view. I also like the running man (below)

However, there seemed to be tendency to represent a lot of the drawings as religious. I'd like to see the evidence for this. Why is the running man called a priest? I can see he's a man!

Why are these people supposedly praying? Aren't they dancing?

For what it's worth, this one reminds me of Scottish Crannogs.

However you look at it though, you really get a feeling of going back in time. Highly recommended.

For more try www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/lombardy/lake_iseo/valcamonica.html or whc.unesco.org/en/list/94