Abri d'Araguina-Sennola et la Dame de Bonifacio

Bonifacio

Near Bonifacio, a rock shelter, Araguina-Sennola, yielded in 1972 one of the oldest known burials in Corsica. The archaeologists François de Lanfranchi and Michel-Claude Weiss found there the skeleton of a woman who died at 30 or 35, 1.54 m tall. She had been laid on her back and her body covered with red ochre. She suffered from several ailments: growth problems, arthrosis, a fractured left forearm, a tumour of the tibia, a paralysed left arm and a deformed left foot, which must have hampered her walking. She died of an infection from a broken tooth. She is called the Dame de Bonifacio. The age of the skeleton varies according to the sources: 9,100 to 9,900 years for Wikipedia (EN), around 6500 BC, i.e. nearly 8,500 years, for Corse Net Infos. The difference is not explained. The skeleton is now displayed at the Alta Rocca museum, at Levie. There is no legend here: it is a funerary rite attested by excavation, and no free photo was found.

Getting there: The shelter is within the built-up area of Bonifacio (avenue Sylver Bohn according to OpenStreetMap); the conditions of visit were not verified, and the remains are displayed at the musée de l'Alta Rocca at Levie. Coordinates: OpenStreetMap; the Wikipedia (EN) page gives another point, about 2 km to the east, not retained.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound