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Statue-menhir de Patrimonio (U Nativu)

Statue-menhir de Patrimonio, also known as U Nativu, stands beneath a protective roof in a park in the village of Patrimonio in Haute-Corse, on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica. Discovered in nearby Barbaggio in 1964, it is about 2.3 metres high and one of the few Corsican menhirs made of limestone. It is dated to the 1st millennium BC and belongs to the unarmed northern group of Megalithic III. The figure has pronounced shoulders, a mask-like face with ears and chin, and a carved groove in place of the breastbone.

U Nativu stone bust against a dry-stone wall
U Nativu, a weathered stone bust in Patrimonio.
August 2014 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
U Nativu, a pale stone figure with an elongated head and simple facial features stands against a dry-stone wall.
U Nativu, a statue menhir with an elongated head and narrow torso, standing beside a rustic stone wall.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
U Nativu stone menhir standing against a light stone wall
U Nativu stands upright beside a stacked-stone wall under a wooden overhang.
June 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
U Nativu stone monument under an open-air pavilion with a seated person at its base
U Nativu stands beneath an open-air shelter, with a person seated at its base and a stepped stone platform in front.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
Stone amphitheater seating on a grassy slope with the U Nativu monument and arched gateway in the background.
U Nativu stands beyond the tiered stone seating in this open-air amphitheater in Patrimonio.
January 2019 © · CC BY 3.0

Identification

NameU Nativu
TitleStatue-menhir de Patrimonio (Haute-Corse, France)
TypeStatue-menhir
Alternative nameNativu

Historical context

Dating1st millennium BC
Cultural classificationWeaponless northern group of Megalithic III

Creator

ArtistUnknown

Discovery and provenance

Discovery date1964 or 1965
Discovery contextDiscovered during agricultural work
Discovery locationNear Barbaggio, in immediate proximity to the U Nativu stream
Condition at discoveryFound broken
Naming originNamed after the U Nativu stream, meaning "the native"

Physical characteristics

WorkmanshipVery carefully detailed
FeaturesPronounced shoulders; mask-like face with ears and chin; nose and brow ridge in a T-shape; eyes shown by small cupules; open mouth shown by a recessed rectangle; engraved groove replacing the breastbone; two adjoining raised rectangles in the chest; two irregular recesses for the breasts; schematic back showing the spine and shoulder blades
FormVery slender
HeadA head surmounting a massive neck
Heightabout 2.3 m

Materials

MaterialLimestone slab
Material noteOne of the few Corsican menhirs made of limestone; considered a unique case in Corsica

Technique

CarvingEngraved and relief-carved details

Iconography and meaning

Pectoral interpretationThe two adjoining raised rectangles may represent armor
Stylistic comparisonThe T-shaped nose and brow ridge recalls the Provençal group of statue-menhirs

Location and ownership

Current locationPatrimonio, Haute-Corse, Corsica, France
Display statusExposed on display under a protective shelter in a park in Patrimonio

History and restoration

Restoration year1985
Restoration excavatorsJean-Claude Ottaviani and Jacques Magdeleine
Associated excavation findsA salvage excavation in 1985 uncovered three limestone blocks that may have belonged to one or more now-destroyed statues of the same type