Il carro nel patrimonio figurativo protostorico camuno, fra realtà e rappresentazione

Despite their rarity in the overall rock art corpus, depictions of wagons and chariots are one of the most significant iconographic themes in the protohistoric rock art heritage of the Valle Camonica. Following a brief review of previous studies, this contribution provides an updated overview of all the attestations in the camunian area which, thanks to the aid of a distribution map, forms a clearly defined set of territorial data. The work then continues with an in-depth study of the four-wheeled wagons, introducing new evidence from ongoing research at the Dos dell’Arca site (Capo di Ponte, BS). The four-wheeled wagon, also known as a “parade cart” and mainly found in early Iron Age funerary contexts, is then analysed from an iconographic perspective. Multiple graphic and real-life examples from national and international contexts are compared to provide a contemporary and reasoned set of possible interpretations of the significance of this motif within the protohistoric figurative tradition of the Valle Camonica.