Forbidden Archeology_ The Full Unabridged Edition - Michael A. Cremo [306]
Arthur Issel communicated details of the Savona find to the members of the International Congress of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archeology at Paris in 1867. In favor of the authenticity of the discovery, Issel (1868) declared that “the man of Colle de Vento was contemporary with the strata in which he was found” (de Mortillet 1883, p. 70). Issel said it was unfortunate that a trained geologist was not present to confirm that the strata were undisturbed and that the human bones had been buried at the same time as the animals bones found at the same level.
De Mortillet (1883, pp. 70 –71), after mentioning that most of the skeleton was later lost, stated: “The bones that remain show that the individual was of small stature, much smaller than the present Ligurians. At first glance, the lower jaw appears to have a special primitive character, but the more one examines it the more one sees that the effects are those of breaking or wear rather than actual features. One sees that its features are analogous to those of modern jaws. The Pliocene strata are characterized by many marine shells, but they also contain terrestrial fossils including bones of rhinoceros as well as remains of plants. But the mammalian bones are scattered and separated, while the human bones preserve their natural connections. Does this not prove that instead of the remains of a human cadaver tossing in the waves of a Pliocene sea, we are simply in the presence of a later burial of undetermined date? Much desiring to clarify this question, Issel in 1874 began an excavation 1 meter [3 feet] distant from the foundation of the church, almost at the spot where the human bones were uncovered. He observed that at this point the Tertiary beds were completely intact, without a trace of disturbance. Unfortunately, those members of the religious order owning the land stopped him from continuing the excavation, which had then reached the 2-meter [7-foot] level.”
In his report, Issel catalogued the remaining bones of the Savona skeleton: a fragment of the right parietal, some pieces of the jaw, a fragment of humerus, a clavicle, the head of a femur, and some finger bones. Issel (1868, p. 77) pointed out that “the material embedded in the fractures of the bones is the same as that in the Pliocene strata.” To Issel (1868, p. 78) the bones seemed “slightly different and smaller than those of modern man.”
At the International Congress of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archeology at Bologna in 1871, Father Deo Gratias (D. Perrando), a priest who had been present at the time of the discovery of the human skeleton at Savona, gave a report indicating that it was not an intrusive burial. Deo Gratias, a student of paleontology, explained that in 1851 the sisters of the Misericorde of Savona had wanted to build a church next to their convent. G. B. Mogliolo undertook the work, under the direction of Giuseppe Cortese. Antonio Brilla, a sculptor and artist, assisted in the excavations. So, in addition to the workers, these three educated gentlemen regularly monitored the excavations. Brilla, in particular, was specifically looking for fossils.
At a depth of 3 meters (10 feet), the excavators discovered an object that Brilla thought might be a piece of ancient pottery, but it turned out to be part of a skull. Despite their astonishment, the gentlemen present did not report the find to professional scientists and allowed the workers to continue. They later uncovered a skeleton. The fragmentary remains were taken to Brilla’s studio. Deo Gratias wanted them, but Brilla kept them to use as models for some of his works. Brilla did, however, eventually give Deo Gratias some