© Y.Brugière/Parc national de la Vanoise
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On the right bank of the Arc, high above Lanslevillard at an elevation of 2 750 metres, the Vanoise region of the High Maurienne harbours a fascinating mystery engraved in solid rock. The “Footprint Stone”, a listed monument, constitutes a daunting challenge for prehistorians – and an open-air enigma for visitors.
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In this giant rock, prehistoric man hollowed out “cupules” (i.e. little hemispheric cups), probably in the Neolithic Age, between 4 000 and 3 000 B.C. Their use and meaning are still an enigma.
The schist also bears the engraved footprints of 82 human feet, including 35 pairs in women’s or children’s sizes (about 25 cm), or perhaps they were just small men. By and large, they seem to date from the same era as Ötzi, the mummified “ iceman ”, found at an altitude of 3 000 metres in the Dolomites between Italy and Austria. He was 159 metres tall.
The footprints, as well as the glacier summits, are oriented towards the East, giving rise to the hypothesis, among countless other possibilities, of a cult dedicated to a “god of the mountain”. But their purpose may also have simply been to orient travellers. In the post-glacier era, it was probably safer to travel at high altitudes, where one is less likely to get lost. One thing is certain, however, Ötzi and his companions had many cousins in the future mountain pastures of Maurienne.
