Francesco Fiumalbi
In a beautiful Saturday morning, we find ourselves at the base, at Moriolo. We are four: Luciano Marrucci, Francesco Fison, Leonardo and Francesco Serrini Fiumalbi. With almost mocking tone, commenting on the clothing over the top of Luciano, who defends himself: let the adventure!
Armed with comfortable shoes, camera and lots of fun going up to the edge of the powerful off-road Leonardo. A quick check to map: ready, go!
Destination: "top secret".
The sun is almost up and the main road rushing beneath us. We leave the high road and we enter a road that begins, sweet, to rise. The asphalt from us and a good path opens up before, and soon the jeep will prove crucial. We turn to a secondary path and immediately welcomed us a deep hole that makes us jump. Proceed slowly, even though the four-wheel drive make it easy gait: a normal car would have balked, just like an old mule that has no intention of moving. Finally we come to a clearing: it is better to park.
continue walk, aided by a pair of sticks that we brought back. The temperature is ideal. No mechanical sound, only our feet and a few gusts of wind that, from time to time, moves the surrounding vegetation. We are invaded by ancient odors, and some insects too. Armed with our desire for adventure, let's proceed. The road begins to descend after a turn and the valley opens our eyes. On the left you begin to see an old "peasant" partially hidden by trees.
Hilly San Miniato
We welcome your landlord, a man in his fifties, not very high, but the physical robust. Abandons the work he was doing and we introduce ourselves. Already know the reason for our visit and, without creating unnecessary pleasantries, there way through a small path. Soon we come to a sunny meadow. We begin to look around. Slowly our eyes focus on a few rocky outcrops. These sedimentary rocks, very sandy, yellow in color, almost ocher. They have a special feature: square appear. Picking up some small fragments are very brittle. It falls to a ground breaking along a fault line states that we had not noticed. Begin to occur the first questions: is the work of man? Or Mother Nature has been working there?
The best is yet to come. Not far away, here is check the ground at least three large boulders. They are definitely different. The rock is much harder, brown and appear to be randomly arranged. He approached us a goat and it amuses us. We are here because of his "grandmother" that night, he had chosen as his bed a cavity between the large blocks of stone. This predilection was raised some doubts as to his master, shared time with Luciano Marrucci. The time had passed and it had been "in the cavalry." The two old friends over the years had not forgotten all about that and so, in this beautiful morning awaiting the opinion of the youngest.
With Leonardo and Francis looked puzzled. Possible?
A square rock that rises
begin to test the rocks with tact, as if to caress her. These also seem to square, though in a more coarse. They are willing to "U": two almost parallel, the other above and sideways. We sit on them, we begin to speculate. Luciano Marrucci, with a solemn tone, explains his theory on: it could be a tomb, you see, this is the entrance! These boulders, bigger and different than other stones, are not here by accident. Perhaps it is a burial, probably dating back to Etruscan, whose coverage has plummeted, dropping to its many internal debris.
The owner is more cautious: perhaps these boulders are the result of a landslide are so great that carry them far would be very difficult! Perhaps the cavities that form could be used as a cellar or cool storage.
discuss.
The three large rocks
Luciano focuses on the stones, while the rest of the company's ventures in the grass. Occurs, the male goat: a fascinating animal that seems to come from a distant world. Unlike the female, not be approached. We went a little further down and Fison Frank gets involved with a pair of donkeys. Amused you portray them.
The goat and rocks
Let us return to housing, where it waits for the supply of water and grape juice. Luciano again exposes his theory, it seems like a biblical prophet: not taken seriously. In fact Francis, Leonard and I have yet to settle what we saw for the first time. His master's wife emerges from the house showing a small fragment of a vase. This is a part of the bit. At first glance it seems an archaic mixture consisting of clay. Has greyish fragments reminiscent of pumice stone, often used as a material reduction of amalgam. Luciano decided to stop conversing with the woman while we are continuing on a short tour around the house. We climb a little and find ourselves for the ailing path from which we came. At one point the owner stops and shows fragments of roof tiles set into the ground of a ridge. Then he points out some bricks placed along the roadway. Distinct, it is the base of an old wall, about a foot thick. Alongside some bricks arranged for the knife. Possible that there was a wall right on site road and has dropped over time?
It's getting late and we return to housing assailed by doubts. We greet the host and we thank him for the warm welcome that we have reserved. We reach the cars and we return to base.
Surely the whole territory of the municipality of San Miniato has been permanently inhabited since ancient times, there are many finds evidence scattered here and there. Possible that those three blocks are the remains of an ancient Etruscan burial? Why he would have lost her memory? Yet there is clearly visible.
We are unable to deliver answers, only questions. We leave with a desire to consult a geologist to see if the shape of the stones is compatible with the work of man or is it the result of erosion, and a good archaeologist. Among many questions, officially starting the search.
(more ...)
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