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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Callanchi's prehistoric site, also known as Filitosa, is a major archaeological complex located in Sollacaro, in the Taravo Valley in South Corsica. Occupied from ancient Neolithic to the Middle Ages, it reached its peak during the Bronze Age. The site consists of three Torrean (or torre) monuments, a castel (fortified enclosure with towers and habitats), and thirteen statues-menhirs characteristic of the Corsican group. These anthropomorphic sculptures, armed with swords or daggers, have stylized facial features (eyes, nose, relief mouth) and anatomical details such as scapulas or ribs. Some come from nearby sites (Barcajolo, Tappa) and have been grouped together in Filitosa for conservation.

The hill of Filitosa, 60 meters high, also houses a granite quarry and remains of partially destroyed menhirs, perhaps from the Iron Age or during the installation of monks in the Middle Ages. The excavations, carried out by Roger Grosjean between 1957 and 1972, revealed lithic tools (meules, mortars) re-used in the walls, as well as a castel of 6,000 m2 with two towers. The central building, surrounded by oblong houses with curvilinear walls, suggests a structured social organization. The Menhir statues, now arranged in artificial alignment for tourist reasons, may symbolize a cultural refusal at the age of the final bronze, their reuse as building materials marking a symbolic break.

The site is classified as a historic monument in two stages: on December 4, 1967 and December 10, 1980, before being listed among the "100 historic sites of common interest to the Mediterranean countries". Reported in 1946 by Charles-Antoine Cesari (owner of the land), he was then covered by the maquis and locally considered a former convent. The menhir statues, with unique characteristics (shells, weapons, dorsal representations of the shoulder blades), differ from better preserved alignments such as those of Cauria (I Stantari, Rinaghju). Their early destruction and re-use may reflect social or religious upheavals between the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages.

The rock habitats of Callanchi-Saparata Alta, discovered in 1982, complement this heritage with Chalcolithic tombs dug in rocky alveoli. These vestiges, combined with neolithic tools, reflect a continuous occupation over several millennia. The site thus illustrates the evolution of funeral, defensive and artistic practices in Corsica, from the first agro-pastoral communities to the Mediterranean influences of the Bronze Age. The excavations also revealed clay fireplaces and traces of roofs in the houses of the castellu, revealing construction techniques adapted to local resources (granite, moellons).

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