Showcase 06

The Copper Age and the Early Bronze Age

1.

These magnificent daggers, discovered in the 19th century, were almost certainly part of male funerary assemblages. Made from fine Alpine flint, they were shaped by removing tiny flakes across the entire surface using a technique known as “flat retouch.” Male burials typically included, in varying combinations, flint arrowheads and/or daggers, a polished stone axe, and more rarely, copper daggers and/or axes. The consistent presence of weapons suggests that all adult males were trained in the art of combat.

2.

Near the Parma Airport, a shallow depression about 5 meters wide and 1 meter deep yielded numerous faunal remains—sheep, pigs, dogs, and two deer skulls with antlers—alongside ceramic fragments and flint tools, all datable to the 3rd millennium BCE. Among the pottery, a well-polished olla decorated with an incised cross-hatch pattern stands out. The latest object from the site is an elbow-shaped handle with a cylindrical button, already on the cusp of the Bronze Age.

3.

In a large area southwest of the city, a vast settlement was uncovered, featuring large rectangular buildings marked by deep postholes and complex foundation trenches. Averaging 4.5 to 6.5 meters in width, these buildings sometimes exceeded 50 meters in length and occasionally had apsidal ends. The largest ones were often internally divided into multiple spaces and featured hearths near the short walls. Most of the lithic tools were made from local stone, while the arrowheads and crescent-shaped points were crafted from Alpine flint. The pottery—characterized by rough surfaces, scales, dimples, applied strips, and rows of pierced holes—is datable to between the late 4th and the mid-3rd millennium BCE, showing connections not only with the Po Valley but also with peninsular Italy. A particularly rare find is a long copper dagger blade.

4.

This female burial included several personal ornaments: a necklace of calcite beads, numerous dentalium fragments—likely once sewn onto clothing—pendants made from teeth and shells, and a flint arrowhead.

5.

Two collective graves, dated between the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE, belong to the Bell Beaker Culture. Both are square in shape and contained various grave goods. Tomb 1 (on the left in the display case), measuring 2.20 meters per side, held a woman of about 30 and a man aged 30–40, placed in a crouched, opposing position. Two jugs—one with typical Bell Beaker decoration—a copper point, and a flint dagger were placed beside the man, while the remaining two vessels, a handled jug and a bell-shaped cup, were near the entrance of the tomb.
Tomb 2, measuring approximately 2.20 by 2.70 meters, contained three crouched individuals in a bipolar layout: two men (one over 60 and the other over 50) and, in the center, a young woman aged 15–18, oriented in the opposite direction. At the feet of the younger man was a footed bowl containing a bell-shaped cup and a handled jug. A second bell-shaped cup was placed between his face and the girl’s feet, while a large bowl—with another handled jug placed inside it—was located near the entrance of the tomb.

6.

A small copper point comes from a burial, found at Fraore, with a crouched individual. Flint arrowheads, a flat-edged copper axe, and an archer’s wrist guard were recovered in the 19th century from the terramara site of Castione Marchesi, though they date to the later stages of the Copper Age. The archer’s bracer in particular is typical of Bell Beaker contexts.

7.

Near the Taro River, in a quarry, an extensive burial ground was discovered, containing around forty graves grouped into seven distinct clusters and dating to the end of the Copper Age. The deceased were buried in simple pits or in graves placed at the center of circular structures. Only a small number of individuals were buried with grave goods: the three displayed vessels—two of which are Bell Beaker types—belong to this group and were found in as many different burials.