The Lunigiana stelae, as they are called, are interesting in that the also imply connections to the more ancient sculptural traditions of southern France, Corsica, and Sardinia. There are some female figures too, identified by disk-like breasts. These figures clearly preserve the same kind of concern for the depiction of native attributes of warrior-hood that we have seen in the Capestrano Warrior, the stele from Guardiagrele, and the Daunian warrior stelae, and perhaps, through important parallels with the menhir traditions of the Western Mediterranean, represent a tradition of monumental stonecarving as early as the beginning of the Bronze Age. Thus we see that the devotus theories of Silvio Ferri and Louise Holland must be rejected on the basis of the archaeological evidence. The Capestrano Warrior is part of a relatively common, well-attested tradition, that of the warrior stele with detailed native panoply, and cannot represent an item as uncommon as the surrogate of a failed devotus.
Some important problems remain unresolved, however.
These questions are difficult to answer. It seems clear that the Warrior was buried on its back before significant weathering occurred. This does not necessarily preclude the use of the figure as a marker, however. It would be possible that after use as a marker for a short period the figure was removed from over its grave, its helmet removed and the figure buried. Perhaps this was done when the cemetery went out of use, although this does not explain the placement of the helmet and female torso above ground.