Museum of: Rome
    Name of the artefact: Enigmatic tablets from Polada 3
   
These tablets with impressions (tallies? tokens?) called “loaf-of-bread idols” or “enigmatic tablets” come from the lakeside dwellings of Polada, explored from the ninetenth century.
                                 
 
WHERE IS IT AND MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
  
STATE
Department:
-
Preservation:
 Good
Inventory number:
61245
Restauration:
 Restored
Name of the artefact:
Enigmatic tablets from Polada 3
Completeness:
 Almost Complete
Object type:
Other
  
Material:
Clay
Methof of manufacture:
Hand made
Decoration type:
No decoration
Distinctive mark:
-
DIMENSIONS
  
PERIOD OF USE
Length (mm):
-
Epoque:
Bronze Age
Heigth (mm):
66
Culture:
Polada
Diameter (mm):
-
Period:
Early Bronze Age
Width (mm):
24
Face:
-
Thickness (mm):
-
Absolute chronology:
2000-1800 BC
Weight (g):
-
DISCOVERY
Date:
End 1800s
Country:
Italy
District:
Lombardia
Town hall affiliation:
Brescia
Village:
Lonato
Discovery findspot:
Polada
Condition of discovery:
Chance Discovery
Discovery type:
Dwelling
 
ANALYSES – DETERMINATIONS
 
FILLED IN BY
Type:
-
Name:
Chiara Delpino
Laboratory:
-
Institution:
-
No./Code:
-
Date:
10-2005
 
DEEPENINGS

Morphology of the object:
Convex section rectangular shaped clay tablet with circular indentations symbol impressions. On the convex side are deep impressed six transversal rows of different size dots linked in colums by incised lines.

Decoration:
Convex section rectangular shaped clay tablet with circular indentations symbol impressions. On the convex side are deep impressed six transversal rows of different size dots linked in colums by incised lines.

Inscription:
-

Analogies:
The tablets found in Italy were recovered in Early and Middle Bronze Age settlements, mainly in the area of the Pianura Padana. Across central and eastern Europe similar tablets have been recovered in both settlements and necropolis dating back to the Early and Middle Bronze Age. The number of marks as well as the types of incision present on each tablets varies, but is however possible to notice a wider presence of tablets with lines during the Early Bronze Age, presence that decreses during the Middle Bronze Age. There is also a variety in the number of marks present on each line, from one to twenty: throughout the Early Bronze Age onto the Middle Bronze Age is attested a progressive decrease in the number of marks while there is an increase in the variety of symbols (cuppelle, rectangles, cuppelle and dots, cuppelle and crosses, triangles, crosses, dots, rhumbs, four-leaved clover, spirals). Only one symbol is present on most of the tablets, mostly cuppelle, and never more than three on the same tablet.

Interpretation:
The so called “enigmatic tablets” have attracted the attention of scholars since the end of the 1800s. Different interpretations have been suggested regarding the use and the meaning of these objects: for example, according to some scholars, the interpretation of the incisions as cyclic symbols, such as the phases of the moon, could suggest the use as a sort of calendar. Other scholars have linked the tablets to a way of communication across Europe attesting the circulation of exchanged gifts or trade activities especially linked to amber. The tablets are however interpreted by most scholars as part of a cult practice, linked to magical-religious rituals.
Bibliography: