ITALY AND ITS ISLANDS 



disposition of the rest of the tomb is uncertain. 

 In one of the side uprights which supports this 

 slab is a circular hole, which, however, seems to 

 be the work of Nature, though its presence may 

 have led to the choice of the stone. The tomb 

 was carefully excavated, and the remains of 

 several skeletons were found, one of which lay 

 in the contracted position on the right side. 

 Three of the skulls were observed by an expert 

 to be dolichocephalic, but their fragile condition 

 prevented the taking of actual measurements. 

 Burnt bones of animals, fragments of pottery, a 

 terra-cotta bead, and a stone pendant were also 

 found, together with flint knives and a fragment 

 of obsidian. 



These discoveries show that the heel of Italy 

 fell under the influence which caused the spread 

 of the megalithic monuments, whatever that 

 influence mav have been. The same influence 



■j 



may also have been responsible for the bronze 

 age rock-hewn tombs of Matera in the Basilicata, 

 each of which is surrounded by a circle of fairly 

 large stones. 



Geographical considerations would lead one to 

 suppose that the same conditions existed in 

 Sicily, and it is possible that this was the case. 

 Yet it is an affirmation which must be made with 

 great reserve. Megalithic J monuments in the 

 ordinary sense of the term are unknown in Sicily. 

 There are, however, four tombs in the south-east 



77 



