The research undertaken at Carona between 2007 and 2009 identified a vast area between 2100 and 2450 m a.s.l., where incised boulders were present. These were boulders of clay sandstone (pelite) which had come away from the mountain face and were of varying dimensions characterised by a flat smooth surface. The flat surfaces had been incised with a metal instrument to produce linear drawings and, very rarely, the figures were obtained using a stippling technique. The incisions formed symbolic motifs (Solomon’s knots, crosses, stars, hearts, scales, grids etc), animals, male and female anthropomorphic figures, warriors and weapons, long inscriptions and medieval and modern dates.

The areas with the rock incisions were divided into three sectors. The highest, denominated Le Torbiere (LTB) and Aga (AGA) are situated on the slopes of Mount Aga. The third area, the Val Camisana (CMS) is the valley where the river Brembo runs from its source down to the locality of Armentarga. The incised boulders were numbered and georeferenced, rubbings were made of the incisions and digital photographs taken.

In 2009 a small trench was opened by the boulder CMS 1, with the aim of finding traces of occupation, however, to date it has not produced the desired results. The most interesting boulder was in fact the no. 1 of Val Camisana (CMS 1) on which a number of figures comparable to those on 5th century B.C. situlae were recognised, together with a series of inscriptions in the Leponzian alphabet of the 2nd-3rd century B.C. The inscriptions are names, some with patronymic, that were probably, in analogy with the dedications found at the Gran San Bernard pass, ex-votos left by travellers affronting difficult mountain crossings. In fact, the name of the deity Penninus, the Celtic god of mountain peaks and passes, is repeated twice (in the nominative and dative case). The reading of the inscriptions and figures was made difficult by the many cuts that have been made through time on the rock’s surface. However, by using raking light, to date it has been possible to read eleven certain inscriptions. The continuation of research aims to decipher the remaining inscriptions, to record the other boulders and open another small trench close to boulder CMS 1.