Il Parco Comunale Archeologico e Minerario di Sellero

Evidence of mining activity dates back to the Iron Age, the first millennium B.C., and it marked the economy of the Camonica Valley throughout history, becoming predominant in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Carona mines, located north-west of the town of Sellero, at about 800 metres above sea level, are characterised by tunnels, galleries and the remains of housing for workers and tools and were exploited from the end of the 19th century until 1951. Rich in calcium carbonate, chalcopyrite and quartz, they also contain copper and iron. Of the four rock art sites, only one, that of Carpène, has been equipped with a visitor trail. Leaving the car in the village of Sellero, near the Re stream, it is possible to reach the Carpène rocks by following a path that climbs in altitude, alternating climbs with flat stretches. After a short walk (25-30 minutes), you arrive at the picnic area where it is possible to admire some of the approximately twenty surfaces that make up this site. The first systematic investigations in the area, already reported in the 1930s, date back to the 1980s when the municipal administration requested the intervention of the Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici. In 2008, at the instigation of the Valcamonica Lombardia Department of the Centro Camuno, the Sellero Archaeology and Mining Municipal Park was created, where the value of rock art is combined with the protection of the surrounding nature. The outcropping surfaces are characterised by a hard rock with metallic streaks that denote the presence of quartz within them, difficult to engrave, and have been chosen by prehistoric man since the Neolithic period (late 4th-early 3rd millennium B.C.). The figures present testify to a pause in engraving in the Copper and Bronze Ages (3rd-2nd millennium B.C.) and a significant resumption of production in the Iron Age (1st millennium B.C.). Among the rocks indicated by the route, the large rock 2-3 offers the possibility of observing some of the most important figures in the park, on this surface one can recognise the majestic set of geometric elements defined by some scholars as a 'female idol' by others as a 'topographic map'; the 'wayfarer', perhaps a representation of the Celtic god Esus, and the largest 'Rosa Camuna' engraving known to date. The remaining surfaces offer the opportunity to admire one of the peculiar themes of the Iron Age: warriors, represented individually or in choral scenes. Characterized by shields, swords or spears and helmets, the warriors mark rock 1 and the neighbouring rock 4. Alternating with paddles, gullets and cup-marks, they are almost always seated, except for a few fascinating scenes of horsemen, among which one appears to be intent on a test of skill standing on horseback.