Early Prehistory by Andrej Gaspari
In: TURK, Peter, Janka ISTENIČ, Timotej KNIFIC, Tomaž NABERGOJ (eds.) 2009, Ljubljanica – a River... more In: TURK, Peter, Janka ISTENIČ, Timotej KNIFIC, Tomaž NABERGOJ (eds.) 2009, Ljubljanica – a River and its Past. – Ljubljana : Narodni muzej Slovenije.
ZalOg near verd stone age hunters' camp at the western edge of the ljubljansko barje Uredil / Edi... more ZalOg near verd stone age hunters' camp at the western edge of the ljubljansko barje Uredil / Edited by Andrej Gaspari Recenzenti / Reviewed by Ivan Turk, Jana Horvat, Anton Velušček, Peter Turk Prevod / Translation Andreja Maver Jezikovni pregled / Proof-reader Jerica Kavur Likovno grafična zasnova zbirke / Graphic Art and Design Milojka Žalik Huzjan Oblikovalska zasnova platnic / Cover Design Janja Ošlaj Realizacija oblikovanja platnic / Realisation of cover design Tamara Korošec Računalniški prelom / DTP Iztok Sajko Risbe / Illustrations Miran Erič, Dragica Knific Lunder, Boris Kavur, Ida Murgelj, Janja Tratnik Izdal in založil / Published by Inštitut za arheologijo ZRC SAZU in Založba ZRC / Institute of Archaeology at ZRC SAZU and ZRC Publishing Zanj / Represented by Oto Luthar, Jana Horvat Glavni urednik / Editor-in-Chief Vojislav Likar Tisk / Printed by Tiskarna Ljubljana, d.d. Izid knjige so podprli / Agencija za raziskovalno dejavnost RS / Slovenian Research Agency; Published with the support of Zavod za varstvo kulturne dediščine Slovenije, OE Ljubljana; E & S SKUPInA, zavarovalniško zastopanje, d. o. o., Gorjupova ulica 1, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Franci Wieser); CPA, d. o. o.; Rokus, d. o. o.; Diagnostični center Bled; AFM Ažman, d. o. o. Fotografija na ovitku / Cover photo Ljubija pri Verdu (foto / photo Arne Hodalič) © 2006, ZRC SAZU, Inštitut za arheologijo, Založba ZRC Vse pravice pridržane. noben del te izdaje ne sme biti reproduciran, shranjen ali prepisan v kateri koli obliki oz. na kateri koli način, bodisi elektronsko, mehansko, s fotokopiranjem, snemanjem ali kako drugače, brez predhodnega pisnega dovoljenja lastnikov avtorskih pravic (copyrighta). / All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Bronze Age by Andrej Gaspari
Underwater survey of the bed of the Bistra stream on the
Ljubljansko barje, in the ar... more Underwater survey of the bed of the Bistra stream on the
Ljubljansko barje, in the area of the Mali Otavnik fallow, uncovered remains of a pile-dwelling settlement from the Early Bronze Age. The site revealed a layer of sand with organic detritus that had been deposited around wooden piles and contained remains of ceramic vessels, stone flakes and tools as well as unworked animal bone remains. Particularly noteworthy among the ceramic vessels are fragments of cups and a jug of fine grey pottery decorated with cord impressions as well as more numerously represented coarse belly-shaped vessels with funnel necks. The settlement is situated on the westernmost edge of the distribution area of the Litzen pottery and supplements the fragmentary knowledge of
the final phase of the pile-dwelling sites in the Ljubljansko barje. It is dated, through radiocarbon analysis, between the end of 21st and beginning of the 18th century BC. Also surveyed was the deeper lying part of the stream bed parallel to the remains of the pile-dwelling site. It revealed pottery comparable to that around the piles, but also an axe made of red deer antler, a harpoon of caprine horn and some fragments of vessels with analogies in the settlement and burial contexts from the area between central Slovenia, the Kras, Istria and Lika. These finds may represent traces of a later settlement phase from the final part of the Early Bronze Age or from the Middle Bronze Age.
Late Iron Age by Andrej Gaspari
The contribution presents three stray finds of iron spearheads with decorated blades; one from Br... more The contribution presents three stray finds of iron spearheads with decorated blades; one from Britof near Kranj and the other two from the riverbed of the Ljubljanica in the western part of the Ljubljansko barje (Slovenia). The spearhead from Britof has close parallels in Pomerania and the Scandinavian Baltic Isles, indicating its most probable origin in the area inhabited by the ‘East Germanic’ cultural groups of the late pre-Roman Iron Age. The two spearheads from the Ljubljanica also rank among rare forms, with parallels known across wide regions between the south-western edges of the Alps and the southern coast of
the Baltic Sea. Both are most likely local ‘Celtic’ products, with decoration again close to that on spearheads from the ‘Germanic’ milieu. These exceptional artefacts might perhaps be associated with the movements of Germanic peoples between the late 2nd and the mid-
1st century BC.
The exceptional Late La Tène style scabbard and its sword discussed in this contribution are toda... more The exceptional Late La Tène style scabbard and its sword discussed in this contribution are today kept in the Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins, but came there from the international antiquities market, more precisely from Christie’s auction house
in London, which reported its origin in an old private collection in Germany. The scabbard, made of silver and copper alloy, is in excellent condition, with a large part of the sword surviving in its interior. It is a representative example of the Late La Tène style scabbards with openwork mounts. These objects were in use roughly between 40/30 BC and the first few decades AD, mainly in the south-eastern Alps, the Moselle Basin and the middle reaches of the Rhine, but also between the southern Baltic coast and the Rivers Vistula and Odra. The technological features, particularly the probable use of brass, as well as individual decorative elements suggest that these items of prestige were produced in Roman workshops for the prominent members of the Celtic, Germanic and Thracian military elites. The condition of the scabbard indicates that the weapon most probably came from a watery context, possibly on the territory of the Taurisci between the Ljubljansko barje and the lower Krka valley, which is an area known for such finds of weaponry.
Arheološki vestnik, 2009
Prispevek predstavlja sledove prazgodovinske utrjene naselbine na hribu Tičnica na Vrhniki, ki so... more Prispevek predstavlja sledove prazgodovinske utrjene naselbine na hribu Tičnica na Vrhniki, ki so bili odkriti med terenskim pregledom aprila 2009. Gradišče sestavljajo nepravilno eliptično oblikovan osrednji del naselbine z več nivoji teras in vršnim platojem ter dva večja predprostora v skupni izmeri 4,5 ha. Ostanki obrambnih struktur obsegajo nasipe, ki so večinoma vidni kot oster prelom zunanjih teras v nižje ležeča pobočja. Posamične najdbe prostoročno izdelane keramike omogočajo okvirno datacijo gradišča v bronasto in starejšo železno dobo. Z naselbine, ki se dviga okoli 50 m nad okolico, je bilo mogoče nadzirati enega ključnih delov karavanske poti med severnim Jadranom in srednjo Evropo ter vodni promet po plovni Ljubljanici. Glede na lego in velikost gradišča, ki na vrhniškem koncu nima primerjave, gre skoraj brez dvoma za centralno naselbino na območju sporočenega prazgodovinskega predhodnika rimskega Navporta.
In: TURK, Peter, Janka ISTENIČ, Timotej KNIFIC, Tomaž NABERGOJ (eds.) 2009, Ljubljanica – a River... more In: TURK, Peter, Janka ISTENIČ, Timotej KNIFIC, Tomaž NABERGOJ (eds.) 2009, Ljubljanica – a River and its Past. – Ljubljana : Narodni muzej Slovenije.
Članek obravnava žgan grob 25 z ledine Repelc na Mostu na Soči, v katerem je bil pokopan bojevnik... more Članek obravnava žgan grob 25 z ledine Repelc na Mostu na Soči, v katerem je bil pokopan bojevnik z ukrivljenim enoreznim mečem in pilumu podobno ostjo. V zasutju močno poškodovane grobne jame je bila najdena še keramična črepinja z glavničenim okrasom, na njegovi površini pa bronasta fibula srednjelatenske sheme, ki verjetno prav tako pripada grobni celoti. Meč sodi v skupino najmlajših izvedb železnodobnih mahair, znanih izključno z območja osrednje in zahodne Slovenije, od katerih dve izvirata iz Ljubljanice oz. Ljubljanskega barja, dve pa nimata sporočenih najdiščnih okoliščin. Datacija mečev variante Ljubljanica ostaja odprta, ker sestava groba z Repelca ni povsem zanesljiva, ostalih mečev pa ni mogoče časovno opredeliti. Na podlagi podobnosti z inventarjem grobov latenske idrijske skupine, domnevanega tipološkega razvoja mahair, ki kaže tendenco k podaljševanju rezila ter drugih primerov uporabe halštatskih oblik orožja v mlajši železni dobi jugovzhodnoalpskega prostora se avtorja nagibata k opredelitvi groba v zadnji dve stoletji pr. n. št.
The article discusses 14 iron objects, kept by a local collector in Velenje, which are supposed t... more The article discusses 14 iron objects, kept by a local collector in Velenje, which are supposed to have come from an as yet unknown Celtic warrior grave at Slatina v Rožni dolini near Celje. A sword with a scabbard, a belt set, a shorter spear head, a shield umbo, scissors, a razor, and fibulae form a characteristic inventory of a male burial from the late phase of the middle La Tène period (LT C2), and corresponds well both with the chronology and the forms of the other material from Slatina. Among the objects, which display a similar degree of patina and preservation, stand out an slashing knife (Hiebmesser) with a rivet, the first such find in the territory of the Mokronog Group, a decorated curved knife, and a forked tool, which primarily have analogies in the late La Tène graves from the region of the Scordisci, as well as a longer spear head. The possibility cannot be excluded that some of the objects could have been excavated from later burials, but they could also come from illegal excavations in the Danubian basin.
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Early Prehistory by Andrej Gaspari
Bronze Age by Andrej Gaspari
Ljubljansko barje, in the area of the Mali Otavnik fallow, uncovered remains of a pile-dwelling settlement from the Early Bronze Age. The site revealed a layer of sand with organic detritus that had been deposited around wooden piles and contained remains of ceramic vessels, stone flakes and tools as well as unworked animal bone remains. Particularly noteworthy among the ceramic vessels are fragments of cups and a jug of fine grey pottery decorated with cord impressions as well as more numerously represented coarse belly-shaped vessels with funnel necks. The settlement is situated on the westernmost edge of the distribution area of the Litzen pottery and supplements the fragmentary knowledge of
the final phase of the pile-dwelling sites in the Ljubljansko barje. It is dated, through radiocarbon analysis, between the end of 21st and beginning of the 18th century BC. Also surveyed was the deeper lying part of the stream bed parallel to the remains of the pile-dwelling site. It revealed pottery comparable to that around the piles, but also an axe made of red deer antler, a harpoon of caprine horn and some fragments of vessels with analogies in the settlement and burial contexts from the area between central Slovenia, the Kras, Istria and Lika. These finds may represent traces of a later settlement phase from the final part of the Early Bronze Age or from the Middle Bronze Age.
Late Iron Age by Andrej Gaspari
the Baltic Sea. Both are most likely local ‘Celtic’ products, with decoration again close to that on spearheads from the ‘Germanic’ milieu. These exceptional artefacts might perhaps be associated with the movements of Germanic peoples between the late 2nd and the mid-
1st century BC.
in London, which reported its origin in an old private collection in Germany. The scabbard, made of silver and copper alloy, is in excellent condition, with a large part of the sword surviving in its interior. It is a representative example of the Late La Tène style scabbards with openwork mounts. These objects were in use roughly between 40/30 BC and the first few decades AD, mainly in the south-eastern Alps, the Moselle Basin and the middle reaches of the Rhine, but also between the southern Baltic coast and the Rivers Vistula and Odra. The technological features, particularly the probable use of brass, as well as individual decorative elements suggest that these items of prestige were produced in Roman workshops for the prominent members of the Celtic, Germanic and Thracian military elites. The condition of the scabbard indicates that the weapon most probably came from a watery context, possibly on the territory of the Taurisci between the Ljubljansko barje and the lower Krka valley, which is an area known for such finds of weaponry.
Ljubljansko barje, in the area of the Mali Otavnik fallow, uncovered remains of a pile-dwelling settlement from the Early Bronze Age. The site revealed a layer of sand with organic detritus that had been deposited around wooden piles and contained remains of ceramic vessels, stone flakes and tools as well as unworked animal bone remains. Particularly noteworthy among the ceramic vessels are fragments of cups and a jug of fine grey pottery decorated with cord impressions as well as more numerously represented coarse belly-shaped vessels with funnel necks. The settlement is situated on the westernmost edge of the distribution area of the Litzen pottery and supplements the fragmentary knowledge of
the final phase of the pile-dwelling sites in the Ljubljansko barje. It is dated, through radiocarbon analysis, between the end of 21st and beginning of the 18th century BC. Also surveyed was the deeper lying part of the stream bed parallel to the remains of the pile-dwelling site. It revealed pottery comparable to that around the piles, but also an axe made of red deer antler, a harpoon of caprine horn and some fragments of vessels with analogies in the settlement and burial contexts from the area between central Slovenia, the Kras, Istria and Lika. These finds may represent traces of a later settlement phase from the final part of the Early Bronze Age or from the Middle Bronze Age.
the Baltic Sea. Both are most likely local ‘Celtic’ products, with decoration again close to that on spearheads from the ‘Germanic’ milieu. These exceptional artefacts might perhaps be associated with the movements of Germanic peoples between the late 2nd and the mid-
1st century BC.
in London, which reported its origin in an old private collection in Germany. The scabbard, made of silver and copper alloy, is in excellent condition, with a large part of the sword surviving in its interior. It is a representative example of the Late La Tène style scabbards with openwork mounts. These objects were in use roughly between 40/30 BC and the first few decades AD, mainly in the south-eastern Alps, the Moselle Basin and the middle reaches of the Rhine, but also between the southern Baltic coast and the Rivers Vistula and Odra. The technological features, particularly the probable use of brass, as well as individual decorative elements suggest that these items of prestige were produced in Roman workshops for the prominent members of the Celtic, Germanic and Thracian military elites. The condition of the scabbard indicates that the weapon most probably came from a watery context, possibly on the territory of the Taurisci between the Ljubljansko barje and the lower Krka valley, which is an area known for such finds of weaponry.
The underwater architecture on the nearshore part of the seabed was recognised as a facility for breeding and/or keeping marine animals (vivarium) with landing piers. Remains on the walls of the extensive jetty forming two enclosed basins are reliable indicators of the relative rise in sea level from the beginning of the 1st century AD, when the building was constructed, to the present day, estimated at 1.5 m ± 20 cm. The presumed fish farm and associated shoreline facilities were probably in use until the 5th century.
Recent underwater trial excavations in the western part of the bay revealed a stone fill combined with horizontal logs and wooden piles that probably served as a breakwater. Special attention is given to the finds of a yard or spar of a spritsail and a masthead with integral pulley, both of which were reused as mooring piles, as well as discarded pieces of ship rigging and fishing gear. The AMS dating of the wooden elements and the pottery from the associated deposits attests to the use of the harbour between the 3rd and 4th/5th centuries.
The book focus on the results of the preventive underwater research of the Ljubljanica riverbed conducted in 2015 at Vrhnika. This revealed an approximately 14.5 m long and 1.38 m wide oak logboat from the late 2nd c. BC, with repairs and features of presumed Mediterranean origin. These include the use of woollen textile soaked in resin for caulking of the joint between substituted half of bow and parent log as well as an unlocked mortice and tenon joint featuring on detached board of approximately the same age (but of yet unverified provenance). Excavations also partially exposed the wreck of a contemporary sewn cargo ship, with constructional details very similar to those of the Lipe (Ljubljana) ship that make it one of the earliest known representatives of the Northern Adriatic shipbuilding tradition. Both add to the important role that the trade and military post at Nauportus played in the transfer and innovation of naval technology at the end of prehistory and in the early period of the Italic/Roman presence in the region.
Early endeavours of cave diving in Kolpa (Kupa) spring and search for a cave with possible paleolithic mammoth painting, allegedly situated in vicinity.