The Rose of Maloja, Historical Witnesses

Rock carving and hollow stone

If you follow the footpath from the cemetery to the bottom of the Aela ski lift, you come to a small meadow in which lie a stone with rock carvings and another hollowed-out stone. The latter, in the view of Urs Schwegler, a noted author on the subject, and of the Graubünden canton archaeologist Dr. Jürg Rageth, is probably a medieval implement used in farming or crafts – perhaps a mortar for cereals or linseed. The rock carving shows a stylised rose, referred to in specialist literature as the “Rose of Maloja”. The stone with the rock carving is often mistakenly referred to as the Celtic Stone – but there is no evidence of Celtic settlement of this area. The woven-band motif is, however, familiar in Irish art – hence, perhaps, the designation “Celtic rose”. A precise dating of the stones is difficult; the carving could be prehistoric, but may also be much more recent, according to Dr. Jürg Rageth.