Maarten van Hoek The Geography of Cup-and-Ring ... - StoneWatch

in direct sight of the most elaborately decorated Rock 1 at Sprons but
strangely there is no rock art near any of the other lakes.
Yet it is at Sprons that we find the biggest concentration of glyphs
and the most elaborate designs of the whole of Trentino. On Rock 1
(Fig. 86 and detail at inset 1 in Fig. 84) we find a small cup-and-onering
and a long wavy groove reminiscent of similar engravings in the
Savoie Alps of France (21). At Rock 3 there are two sets of three
concentric rings each (Fig. 87) that are so much weathered that it is
almost impossible to say whether the rings or the cups are
superimposed. However, according to Priuli (1991: 131) the cupmarks
have been cut across the ringmarks, and one set is regarded by him to
be a spiral.
The views from Sprons are impressive but rather limited and also for
that reason there does not exist intervisibility with any other rock art
site in the neighbourhood, as most of the more than 60 other
petroglyph sites in the area are concentrated just below the 1000 m
contour on the other side of the ridge (on south and east facing slopes
(Fig. 85). Apart from later (Christian) additions only cupmarks and
grooves appear on those rocks
in the Etschtal: there are no
other cup-and-rings anywhere
else in this area. To the
south of the Spronser sites
one instantly faces a steep
slope full with scree material,
chaotically strewn with large
undecorated boulders and
slabs. To the west one
overlooks the lake and the
mountain peaks beyond. The
view to the north is
completely blocked by a large
knoll (2181 m). It provides
excellent outcrop surfaces to
be carved and far better
views but strikingly no
petroglyphs are found there.
The best vista is from Rock 3
across the deep Spronser
valley to the SE. It also
takes in the towering peaks
of the impressive Dolomites,
60 km to the SE and just
visible on the right horizon in
FIG. 86: SPRONS 1, SE-VIEW.
Fig. 86.
M. van HOEK: 109
GEOGRAPHY