114 
THE ROCK FIGURES OF THE MARITIME ALPS. 
Up to the time of the publication of the second edition of the 
" Rock Engravings," Mr. Bicknell and his assistant, Luigi Pollini, 
have copied 10,600 figures. 
Mr. Bicknell says that one rock in the Vallone delle Meraviglie 
deserves especial mention : " On it is one of the largest and most 
intricate figures and curved lines. The southern slope is yellow 
and polished, with numerous figures which are clearly visible ; but 
on the northern side, where the colouring has been worn away and 
the surface is grey and much weathered, it is indeed a ' Wonder.' 
Although most people would pass it unnoticed, it is completely 
covered with figures, many of which have not been visible for 
centuries until we ourselves brought them to light by clearing 
away the coarse grass sods at its base." 
Although a large number of the figures clearly shew what they 
were intended to represent, many others are difficult to assign to 
any known animal or implement, and it is interesting to read what 
former writers have thought of them. 
M. Riviere finds heads of oxen, goats, and deer, but has only 
seen one with ears ; Signor Navello, figures of sheep, chamois, 
ibex, dogs, and birds ; Mons. Blanc, stags, aurocks, eland, ibex, 
mouflon, roebuck, chamois, heads of the ram, goat, and ox, and 
skins of deer and lynx ; Prof. Celesia, snails and serpents. Mr. 
Bicknell says, " to them we might ourselves add beetles, scorpions 
or lobsters, centipedes and bats, which some of the Fontanalba 
figures strangely resemble, were it not that we do not think that 
the sculptors intended to make drawings of all these creatures." 
The size of the figures is from five to eight inches, but some of 
them have horns which are greatly exaggerated in length, and so 
the entire figure is of much larger dimensions. 
Besides representations of animals, there are numerous figures of 
weapons and implements in the Meraviglie : swords, daggers, 
javelins, picks, and hammers. One of these is seven inches long, 
with a handle nearly six feet long-. Some of the geometrical figures 
have been compared to nets and hurdles. M. Clugnet suggests 
that a number of them are like the nets of twisted straw used for 
carrying hay down from the mountains. 
In Val Casterino there are a few houses and a ruined chapel. 
One of the houses was built by Mr. Bicknell, in a beautiful 
situation, close to the Fontanalba torrent which here comes 
rushing- down the steep hill-side. 
In the wild garden on the banks of the stream, amongst the 
rocks and in the boggy places, hundreds of the plants which in- 
habit the neighbouring valleys and mountains flourish, some 
planted, but a great many native. Here Mr. Bicknell spends 
several months in each summer studying the rich flora of the 
district, and making excursions to the region of the rock engrav- 
ings, which is easily accessible from this point. 
After spending a few days at the beginning- of August botanizing 
in this delightful valley, we were, early one morning, conducted 
by Mr. Bicknell and his assistant Luigi Pollini to the Fontanalba 
rocks. A stiff climb of twenty minutes led us to a nearly level 
