* Astronomy

Excavations at the new St Anna hospital in San Fermo della Battaglia, near Como (Italy), in July 2007 revealed a double concentric ancient stone circle.
The site is thought to date back to 3000 BCE.

"[It is a ] highly articulated prehistoric structure that could be either an ancient astronomical observatory or a sacred space" - Stefania Iorio, Archaeological Superintendent of the region.


The diameter of the two circles is about 70 metres, and they are crossed by a sort of pathway, paved with stones. A semicircle made of several layers of small stones and soil with a large stone (about 70cm wide) is at the centre was also found. Inside the circles there are traces of ritual ploughing.

"This site is truly important and very rare - there are no other sites like this in Northern Italy" - Mrs Stefania Iorio.

"It is surely a megalithic structure, even if it's not made of large standing stones. It could be an ancient tumulus, and the structure found may represents its base, but it covers an area of about 4,000 square metres, while other tumuluses found in the region have an average diameter of only 4-5 metres" - Giancarlo Frigerio, chairman of the Società Archeologica Comense.

There are plans to protect the whole area and to make an Archaeological Park, freely accessible from the nearby hospital, when it is completed.

Source: Corriere di Como
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