Cupule engravings

Cupule rock art decorations are nowadays found to be a worldwide spread phenomenon and just as mysterious as menhir standing stones. A varied selection of such cupules consisting in different sized cup-shaped engravings, hand carved by man on stone and rock surfaces, have also been discovered on the sun mounatin slopes between Castelbello and Coldrano and in Val Martello. They are arranged in either isolated or group settings, alongside paths and road tracks, streams and waterways and are often located on the most exposed rock outcroppings. Proven archaeological evidence establishes that the beginnings of cupule engravings date back to the neolithic (with some dating even as far back as the mesolithic) era. The bronze age too provides records of cupule rock art, up towards the end of the iron age, where the production of cupules then slowly fades away. Even though christianity is evidently well established by the time, this form of rock art is apparently picked up again towards the end of the early middle ages, with a second bout flourishing around the high middle ages.

Approach
Along the state road up to Laces.

Opening times