Giovanni Battista Traverso, born in Genoa on 26th September 1843, attended the Regia Scuola degli Ingegneri of Turin. In this period he discovered his passion for natural science, Mineralogy and prehistory.

In 1878 he started his prehistorical researches in the environment of Alba and he focused his attention on the diffusion of the green stone polished tools. He followed the exploitation of the clay pit conducted by the Forno Italiano society and he began the collection of stone tools. Traverso published his studies concerning these numerous finds from 1898 to 1909; the objects for which he did not find a local appropriate collocation were sent to the Prehistorical Museum of Rome. Since 1871, he has started his career as mineral engineer in Sardinia and, in this period, he has created his rich collection of Sardinian finds that his heirs offered later to the museum. He died on 1st June 1914.

  • The engineer Giovanni Battista TraversoL’ingegner Giova battista Traverso
  • Polished stone chisel Scalpello (Pigorini Museum, Rome)

 

In the showcase, some Sardinian artefacts dated back to the Bronze Age, from the Traverso collection: small pots (1-2), holy swords (3) and axes (4-5)