Everybody who knows Carningli is struck by the serenity -- and even the sanctity -- of the place. But there is one corner on the mountain where I have never felt very comfortable -- a rocky hollow close to the summit, on the north side, where it is often damp and shady, and which hardly sees the sun at all during the winter months. I never settle down there for my picnics, even if it is the natural lee-side place to be.
Some years ago, when I was leading a walk for a largish group on the mountain, a lady suddenly became very agitated when we were passing this spot. She rushed on ahead of the group, and when we caught up with her she had calmed down again-- but she said that she had received a very strong message that "terrible things have happened there." When pressed, she said "People have been killed there!"
On thinking about it, that is actually not very surprising. During the Iron Age this was, after all, a hill fort settlement site. The Iron Age was a pretty brutal time -- there was a lot of tribal conflict. Prisoners were certainly taken during raids, and we know from Roman records that enemies were beheaded, and their heads stuck on poles on the palisades, to deter aggressors and to demonstrate prowess in battle. This site is a short distance away from the main "village" or living area -- so it may well be the place where prisoners were kept. It is also a sort of natural amphitheatre, and so it may be the place where public executions were carried out, and maybe even sacrificial murders..... with the inhabitants of the village perched on the rocks, looking on in horror.
That may well all have been 2,000 years ago, but there is clearly still something in the air that is deeply unsettling for those who have a certain sort of sensitivity......
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