  Barbarians, so named after the prototype of this class (234) Barbara, are a
rare class of asteroids exhibiting anomalous polarimetric properties. Their
very distinctive feature is that they show negative polarization at relatively
large phase-angles, where all 'normal' asteroids show positive polarization.
The origin of the Barbarian phenomenon is unclear, but it seems to be
correlated with the presence of anomalous abundances of spinel, a mineral
usually associated with the so-called Calcium Aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs)
on meteorites. Since CAIs are samples of the oldest solid matter identified in
our solar system, Barbarians are very interesting targets for investigations.
Inspired by the fact that some of the few known Barbarians are members of, or
very close to the dynamical family of Watsonia, we have checked whether this
family is a major repository of Barbarians, in order to obtain some hints about
their possible collisional origin. We have measured the linear polarization of
a sample of nine asteroids which are members of the Watsonia family within the
phase-angle range 17-21 DEG. We found that seven of them exhibit the peculiar
Barbarian polarization signature, and we conclude that the Watsonia family is a
repository of Barbarian asteroids. The new Barbarians identified in our
analysis will be important to confirm the possible link between the Barbarian
phenomenon and the presence of spinel on the surface.
