Italian archaeologists have found a series of huge human and animal figures carved on a rocky wall at Petralia Sottana, above the Vecchiuzzo cave, one of the most important Neolithic sites in Sicily. The archaeologist Emilia Sakharova said that  "The finding confirms in a way the ancient legend of 'giants' among the inhabitants of the Madonie, a mountainous region near Palermo."
     The ancient carvings, about 10.000 year old, have been discovered using very advanced photographic techniques and portraying the subjects under different light and humidity conditions. The only other Italian site similar to the one discovered at Petralia Sottana is the so-called "megalithic face" of Bozzone, located in Liguria.
     The Sicilian site features several canals to aid drainage, which has preserved the figures, although more recently damage was caused by the use of explosives in chalk quarries nearby. In the past, several standing stones (locally known as "funce") could be found around the site.

Sources: ANSA, DiarioHoy.net, La Tercera (5 March 2004)