The Menhirs of Lagundo by sandra46
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Description
In Lagundo, a village near Meran, in South Tyrol, in 1932 and 1942 four mehirs were found in the property of a villager. They are named male and female menhirs or statue-stelae because they represent female and male people. Archaeologists, however, can't say whether they represent real people, mythical ancestors/heroes or real chiefs. In my modest opinion they are real people which became tribal heroes.
These are copies of the original menhirs which are in Oetzi's Museum in Bozen/Bolzano. The bigger menhir sports fourteen copper axes and ten copper daggers, typical of the Copper age. A triangular dagger very similar to these ones was carved on a menhir in Stonehenge. The male menhir also shows a striped mantle and a belt made of strings with copper tube beads. Under the belt there is the drawing of a chariot and two daggers. It looks as if the menhir shows the man's possessions and trophies, such as the weapons he got killing important chiefs.
Oetzi's axe was more or less identical to those carved on the menhir, hence confrimg that these axes were mostly a prestige item denoting status.
The female menhir shows a kind of crown and earrings a mantle and what has been interpreted as a kind of dremm or a necklace covering the shoulders and the breasts. I saw a gold cape that may look like this in stone at the Archaeological Museum of Cardiff, Wales. Women of leading lineages had rich graves here, especially if they belonged to mining communities.
For those who want to know more on the Menhirs of Lagundo:
http://www.iceman.it/en/themenhir
About Oetzi's axe: http://www.iceman.it/en/node/277
Many may be interested in Oetzi's health and his DNA here: http://www.nature.com/news/iceman-s-dna-reveals-health-risks-and-relations-1.10130
Comments (38)
durleybeachbum
Absolutely fascinating, Sandra!
bobrgallegos
Wonderful very detailed capture and narrative!
Radar_rad-dude
A most fascinating read and marvelous photo today, Sandra! Bravo!
Chipka
Wonderful! Archaeology (among many other things) captures my attention; I love these sorts of glimpses into the past, into the minds and lives of people who cannot speak for themselves, since they're long, long gone! It's quite poignant that the artifacts a culture leaves behind become the things that speak for those cultures! It makes me wonder what our stuff says about us! This photograph is amazing. I love the details and the shapes. The sense of color is brilliant and vivid. I love the combination of natural and human-made shapes. I especially like the warm, ruddy wood-color adding a nice contrast to the paler colors. Perfectly seen and captured.
jayfar
A very nice shot and very interesting reading Sandra.
lyron
Excellent image!!
Faemike55
Very cool! thanks for sharing all of this
Jean_C
Superb and interesting image and infos!
Umbetro38
marvelous to behold and I like it very well
eekdog Online Now!
love the info and great shot Sandra.
magnus073
What a fascinating discovery Sandra, and I'm so glad you share it with us. You're gallery is always such a delightful, and educational journey
bazza
Very interesting Info Sandra, nice capture also!!
jeroni
Very nice shot and colour contrast
brycek
Wonderful capture and information!!
blinkings
Very interesting.
claude19
strange story, and very good capture !
renecyberdoc
alwasy so fine information,the one also feels that you have deep connections and feelings towards history in general.
Hendesse
Great shot and interesting historical informations.
wysiwig
I always look forward to your history lessons, Sandra. Always fascinating and well researched. So now we have a new mystery. We know that Ötzi was killed after a fight with others. But your commentary mentions that the axe he carried was a status symbol. So, did he steal it? Was he attacked by his own people or men from a rival clan. The story gets more and more interesting.
A_Sunbeam Online Now!
Fascinating histories
dakotabluemoon
It looks like big fingerprints on the stone a very cool capture.
drifterlee
This is very interesting, Sandra!!!!!!!!
Leije
Interesting infos about male and female menhirs, and superb shot !
cricke49
truly fascinating finds and captures you've shared! excellent commentary and history of the artifacts!:)*5
bakapo
thanks for the info, the photo is wonderful.
JuliSonne
Super history, class capture, Sandra!
UteBigSmile
Tolle Info liebe Sandra, schon irritierend, wo es die so überall gibt!
ragouc
Good shot
anmes
Wonderful shaped and markings. Again, thanks for details
blondeblurr
Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group - it's always so fascinating to learn from our past, definitely mysterious ... awesome info, BB