A new Byzantine fortification on Veliki Sikavac islet of the island of Pag*

Tijekom dvije kratke istraživačke kampanje 2013. i 2014. godine, u kojima su sudjelovali djelatnici Arheološkog muzeja Zadar i Odjela za arheologiju Filozofskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Ljubljani, otkriveni su dijelovi velike utvrde na otočiću Veliki Sikavac kod Vlašića na otoku Pagu. Radi se o pravokutnoj građevini položenoj na strmoj padini otočića i definiranoj zidovima širokim 1,80 metara. Na kutovima utvrde te na sredini sjeveroistočnog i jugozapadnog perimetralnog zida smješteno je šest istaknutih kula. Istraživanjem unutrašnjeg platoa ustanovljeno je pedesetak prostora namijenjenih smještaju posade, skladištima i radionicama. Na temelju građevinskih karakteristika i na osnovi keramičkog materijala potvrdilo se da čitav sklop pripada bizantskoj utvrdi kao jednoj u nisu sličnih utvrda izgrađenih na našem priobalju i otocima tijekom Justinijanove rekonkviste u 6. stoljeću. Ispod utvrde smješteni su ostaci manje jednobrodne crkvice, loše sačuvane, koja se, za sada, stavlja u okvire srednjeg vijeka. Sudeći po minimalnom ostacima iza apside crkvice vjeruje se da je naslijedila neki raniji objekt koji se nalazio na istom mjestu. Nalaza manjih ulomaka glazirane keramike iz druge pol 15. i prve polovice 16. st. upućuju na zaključak da se život na otočiću odvijao sve do ranih stoljeća novog vijeka. Za petnaestak izduženih i udubljenih nakupina kamena na padini ispod utvrde pretpostavlja se da pripadaju nekim manjim stambenim objektima. Donose se i zračni snimci ostalih bizantskih utvrda s otoka Paga kao i utvrda u velebitskom Podgorju.During two short excavation campaigns in 2013 and 2014, carried out by the employees of Archaeological Museum Zadar and Department of Archaeology of the Faculty of Arts of the University in Ljubljana, parts of a large fortification were discovered on the islet of Veliki Sikavac off Vlašić on the island of Pag. It is a square structure located on the islet’s steep slope and defined by walls 1.80m wide. Six prominent towers can be seen in the fortification’s corners and in the middle sections of the northeastern and southwestern perimeter walls. The excavations on the inner plateau resulted in the discovery of approx. fifty spatial units that had been used as garrison quarters, warehouses and workshops. Based on the architectural features and pottery found, it was confirmed that the complex was a Byzantine fortification – one of numerous similar fortifications built on Croatian coast and islands during Justinian’s reconquest in the 6th century. Remains of a small single-naved church, poorly preserved, can be found underneath the fortification. For the time being, the church is dated to Middle Ages. The scarce remains found behind its apse make us believe it was built on the site of an earlier structure. The finds of small fragments of glazed pottery from the second half of the 15th century and first half of the 16th century indicate that the islet was inhabited until the early Modern Age. As for the fifteen or so elongated and recessed stone piles found on the slope underneath the fortification, it is believed they are the remnants of small dwellings. The paper also includes aerial photographs of other Byzantine fortifications on the island of Pag and of those in Podgorje – the region at the foot of Velebit Mountain opposite the island

Resilience, innovation and collapse of settlement networks in later Bronze Age Europe: New survey data from the southern Carpathian Basin.

Societies of the later Early to Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2200-1600 BC) in the Carpathian Basin exhibited complex, hierarchical and regionally influential socio-political organisation that came to an abrupt end in the 16th century BC. Considered a collapse by some, this change was characterised by abandonment of virtually all central places / nodes in settlement networks. Until recently, the complexity that characterised the period was believed to have substantially diminished alongside depopulation. This model was reinforced by a combination of the loss of established external networks and low-resolution knowledge of where and how people lived in the first stages of the Late Bronze Age (between 1600 and 1200 BC). We contest the idea of a diminished Late Bronze Age and argue that a fully opposite trajectory can be identified-increased scale, complexity and density in settlement systems and intensification of long-distance networks. We present results of a settlement survey in the southern Pannonian Plain using remote and pedestrian prospection, augmented by small-scale excavations. New absolute dates are used to define the occupational history of sites dating primarily between 1500-1200 BC. We argue that climate change played a substantial role in in the transformation of settlement networks, creating a particular ecological niche enabling societies to thrive. New and specific forms of landscape exploitation developed that were characterised by proximity to wetlands and minor watercourses. In this context, the largest monuments of Bronze Age Europe were created and inhabited. In considering the origins and demise of these megasites and related settlements, we provide a new model for Late Bronze Age societies in the Carpathian Basin and their regional relevance