A Contribution to Understanding Continuous Habitation of Vinkovci and its Surroundings in the Early Iron Age

Razdoblje starijega željeznog doba na prostoru Vinkovaca i okolice obilježile su svojim pojavama daljska, bosutska i srijemska kultura. Na početku starijega željeznog doba primjetni su utjecaji s prostora dolenjske i grupe Martijanec - Kaptol, uz koje se povezuju slučajni nalazi fibula iz Vinkovaca i Orolika te pojava tumula u Starim Jankovcima, Ilači i Gabošu. Utjecaji ovih grupa kao i s prostora glasinačkoga kulturnoga kruga prisutni su i u mlađoj fazi starijega željeznog doba kojoj pripadaju ravna groblja s kosturnim ukopima srijemske kulture u Vinkovcima i Novim Jankovcima. U završnu fazu starijega željeznog doba datiraju se naselja Damića gradina u Starim Mikanovcima i Dirov brijeg u Vinkovcima koja predstavljaju najzapadnija do sada poznata nalazišta najmlađe faze bosutske kulture. Keramički nalazi s tih naselja ujedno dokumentiraju kulturnu i etničku osnovu koju su Kelti zatekli pri naseljavanju prostora srednjeg Podunavlja krajem 4. st. pr. Kr.The Early Iron Age is one of the least investigated and little known prehistoric periods in the region of Vinkovci, as well as in eastern Slavonia and western Srijem. On the territory of the town of Vinkovci and its surroundings, intensive rescue excavations were conducted in the past three decades, in which settlements and cemeteries were uncovered which enable a more clear cultural and chronological picture of the Early Iron Age in the broader south-Pannonian area (Fig. 1.). Apart from the results of the excavations, the understanding of the material heritage is supported by isolated and chance finds from the Early Iron Age, preserved in the City Museum in Vinkovci, as well as in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, on the basis of which it is possible to assume the continuous habitation of the area of Vinkovci and its surroundings from the very beginning of the Early Iron Age in the 8th century BC up until the settlement of the Celts by the end of the 4th century BC. The older phase of the Late Bronze Age in the Vinkovci area is marked by the Belegiš II culture, known on the basis of the excavations of settlements in Vinkovci and Privlaka. From the period of the younger phase of the Late Bronze Age only isolated finds are known, which do not make possible their clear cultural classification. Thus the basis for the coming period of the Early Iron Age, to whose initial phase the chance find of a fragment of a bronze fibula of the Vače type from Vinkovci is dated, remains unknown. According to the classification by S. Gabrovac, the Vinkovci fibula belongs to the type Va of two-looped arched fibulae with an iron core and a bronze coating. The dissemination center of those fibulae was in the areas of Bela Krajina, Dolenjska and Gorenjska. A fibula of the Vače type (type Vb) was found on the cemetery Lijeva bara in Vukovar in the skeleton grave 269, in which a man with a spear and a sharpening iron was buried, whose handle was fashioned in the Thraco- Cimmerian style. On the sites of the Martijanec-Kaptol group, those fibulae appear throughout the first horizon, belonging to the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 7th century BC, into which period the Vinkovci fibula should be dated as well. Two fibulae chance finds from the area of the village of Orolik testify to the existence of links between the Vinkovci area in the early phase of the Early Iron Age and the dissemination area of the Dolenjska and Martijanec-Kaptol groups. On the site Rajterovo Brdo a fragment of a bronze fibula with a boat-shaped arch was found, whose terminals are decorated with engraved lines (T. 1., 3), whereas on the neighboring site called Zadružno dvorište (Cooperative Yard) a small bronze boat-shaped fibula with a transversal rip on its arch was unearthed, which is also decorated with engravings (T. 1., 1). Boat-shaped fibulae with transversal rips are characteristic of the eastern Alpine-Pannonian Region, and they belong to the first half or the middle of the 7th century BC. The fibula from Orolik can probably be dated into the same period. The existence of tumuli, uncovered already by the end of the 19th century, and systematically recorded in the Vinkovci area in 1951, testify to the links of the eastern Slavonian and the Srijem regions with the dissemination area of the Martijanec-Kaptol group in the West during the early phase of the Early Iron Age. The largest group, consisting of five tumuli, was uncovered near Stari Jankovci, whereas one tumulus was registered between the villages Ostrovo and Gaboš, northwest from Vinkovci. In the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb objects from the destroyed earth tumulus in Ilača are preserved, in which an iron spear, a bronze knob as part of horse-riding equipment, a rounded wether-bell and a part of a doublethreaded wire were found. Considering the excavation results in Stari Jankovci, where cremation and possibly skeleton burials were registered, we should look for analogies in the first place within the framework of the neighboring Martijanec-Kaptol group. The find of a bronze knob as part of horse-riding equipment from the destroyed tumulus in Ilača testifies to the dating of eastern Slavonian and Srijem tumuli, dating the knob into the 8th century BC, when on the right Danube bank a concentration of hoards containing horse-riding equipment is registered. The Dalj culture finds, uncovered in 1951 during the leveling of the southern part of the prehistoric multi-layer settlement on Tržnica (the Market) in the center of Vinkovci, belong to the earlier phase of the Early Iron Age. On this occasion, a pot with an S profiled body was unearthed with a striped grip and a shoulder decorated by vertically set cannelures divided into metopes. On the basis of the shape and the ornaments, the pot is classified as belonging to the Dalj culture and dated in the period from the year 700 until 600 BC. In trial excavations on the same site in 1962 in the surface strata new pottery finds of the Dalj culture were registered, collected also on Borinci near Jarmina. The early phase of the Early Iron Age in the Vinkovci area is represented by a larger number of sites (Fig. 1.), consisting of settlements as well as grave sites with skeleton burials, testifying to the complex ethnic and cultural activities going on in the region of southern Pannonia from the beginning of the 6th century BC until the Celtic settlement at the end of the 4th century BC. In the site Silos on Ervenica in the southeastern part of Vinkovci, in rescue excavations in 1972 two skeleton graves were unearthed. Grave 1 contained a woman’s burial with rich vaults representing Late Hallstatt I southern Pannonian costume, consisting of a bronze astragalar belt with 73 pieces preserved; a bronze Certosa fibula of the V group, decorated on its arch with the engraved motif of a firbranch; and a necklace with 24 beads. In grave 2 there was a biconical pot, which on the spot where the shoulder enters into the body is decorated with four knob-shaped protrusions, between which there are transversal cannelures. On the basis of vaults, the graves are dated into the devel- oped 5th century BC and classified as belonging to the Srijem culture of the western Balkan cultural complex. A richly vaulted female burial, which according to its inventory completely corresponds to grave 1 from Ervenica, was found near Novi Jankovci during railway construction works in 1890. Of the vaults, 11 bronze pieces of the astragalar belt, a bronze Certosa fibula of the V group and 4 beads made of yellow glass paste were preserved. On the basis of the find of the astragalar belt, J. Brunšmid ascribes the burial from Novi Jankovci to a man, but other contemporaneous burials with astragalar belts in the area of southern Pannonia suggest that we are dealing with female burials with characteristically extraordinarily rich costumes. Graves from Vinkovci and Novi Jankovci are dated on the basis of Certosa fibulae of the V group, which was one of the leading forms in the 5th century BC. On an unknown location in Vinkovci two astragalar belt pieces were found (T. 1., 8-9), whereas a fragment of another piece (T. 1., 4) was found during rescue excavations in Duga Street 23 in the center of Vinkovci. J. Brunšmid mentions a piece and a buckle of an astragalar belt with three loops and a fibula with two spirals and a plateshaped arch. The large number of chance finds of pieces of astragalar belts and other artifacts of the earlier phase of the Early Iron Age testify to the existence of a larger number of graves from this period on a couple of sites in Vinkovci. Chance finds of beads made of yellow glass paste with an ornamentation in the shape of a white-andblue eye-motif, found on Rajterovo brdo in Orolik (T. 1., 5-6) and in Vinkovački Banovci (T. 1., 7), most probably belong to the same period to which the graves from Ervenica and Novi Jankovci are dated. Graves from Ervenica and Novi Jankovci, as well as other chance finds from the same period from the Vinkovci area belong to the Srijem culture of the western Balkan cultural complex. Of particular significance for the understanding of the complex cultural and ethnic picture of the southern Pannonian area at the end of the Early Iron Age was the uncovering of the cemetery on the site of the department store Nama in the western, peripheral part of the multilayer prehistoric settlement on Tržnica in Vinkovci. In the rescue excavations in 1976 and 1977 eight skeletal burials and three horse burials were unearthed. In the graves of men, women and children bronze Certosa fibulae of the XIII group were found, as well as bronze and iron crossbow fibulae with a slightly bowed foot and a bronze fibula with a drum-shaped arch. An iron lance with a narrow web and a long sheath belongs to weapon finds. In grave 1 a bronze scepter was found, decorated with incised geometrical motifs. Among objects intended for every-day use there are finds of iron knives, whereas bracelets made of glass paste beads were worn around the neck. Vaults of pottery vessels were registered in the graves too, including a cantharus from grave 3 with a smoothed surface covered by miniature graphite particles. Burials of two horses contained parts of bronze horse-riding equipment. One piece of equipment consisted of bronze phalera produced in three sizes and of radially bowed parts of bronze metal sheet originating from the dissemination area of phase Early La Tène culture. The burial of the other horse contained forged bronze equipment with Thraco-Scythian characteristics, consisting of appliqués stylized in the shape of a griffin or a deer and of two polygonal sheets that served as metal fittings at rein endings. On the basis of the described vaults, the cemetery is dated into the late 5th and the first half of the 4th century BC, and it testifies to various influences from the territory of the lower Danube area and from the northern parts of the Pannonian Valley. The find of a bronze Certosa fibula of group XIII (T. 1., 2), found in 1977 on the southern part of the prehistoric tell Tržnica, is dated to the same period. The results of the rescue excavations of the prehistoric multi-layer settlement Damića gradina in Stari Mikanovci, conducted in 1980, are of particular importance for the understanding of the typology of pottery shapes of the younger phase of the Early Iron Age on the territory of eastern Slavonia and western Srijem. The greatest concentration of finds was registered in quadrant 20 and those surrounding it, where the remains of a house with a burned-down clay floor were found at 1.40 m, in which there were pottery fragments laid as terrazzo. The house was destroyed in a vigorous fire, as evident from large lumps of burned daub, as well as from finds of pottery fragments which were almost totally misshaped due to exposure to high temperature. Among the most interesting finds from Damića gradina is certainly that of the bronze Dux fibula, for which there are no exact data as to the location and depth of the find. Since the La Tène culture settlement is dated into the younger stage of Middle La Tène phase and the Late La Tène phase, i.e. into the second half of the 2nd and the 1st century BC, the fibula most probably belongs to the Early Iron Age layer, which, used in conjunction with the analysis of pottery finds, plays a significant role in the final dating of the settlement. In order to determine a clear cultural and chronological position of the Early Iron Age settlement on Damića gradina, a detailed typological-statistical processing of all pottery finds was carried out, on the basis of which basic functional forms were isolated with their respective types and versions. In a descriptive analysis a total of 5,109 fragments were processed, out of which number it was possible to define the functional form for 1,361 (26.64%), whereas this was not possible with 3,748 fragments (73.36%). When defining the typological table of functional forms, the basic criterion was sorting the forms based on the outline of the vessel, followed by the defining of the versions, which were sorted according to different rim shape and according to different decorating techniques (T. 2.-4.). Out of 1,361 distinct forms, 632 were pots (46.44%), 642 were bowls (47.17%), 22 canthari (1.62%), in one case a jug was registered (0.07%), and cups are represented with 34 samples (2.50%), whereas vessels of small dimensions with one grip were recognized as spoons and registered in 30 cases (2.20%). On Damića gradina 703 functional forms or fragments were sorted, which makes 13.76% of the total number of processed frag-ments, which are decorated in seven various decorating techniques appearing in different combinations on a single vessel. The largest number of forms and fragments is ornamented in the combination of the application of a plastic ribbon, on which fingerprints are applied (T. 2., 2, 5; T. 3., 4). Next come imprinting, engraving (T. 4., 4), appliqué, gouge (T. 4., 1) and modeling. The smallest number of forms and fragments is decorated with canneluring or a smoothed ornament (T. 2., 6). On the surface of a couple of fragments miniature graphite particles were registered. Characteristics similar to Damića gradina in selecting the position for constructing a settlement are also evident with Dirov brijeg in Vinkovci, where, during rescue excavations, pottery finds were unearthed which according to their forms and ornaments completely correspond with the finds from Damića gradina. Dirov brijeg is a prehistoric hillfort on the confluence of the Nevkoš Stream and the Bosut River. During rescue excavations in 1951 a fragment of a cup with a grip was found, on whose top there is a plastic protrusion decorated with a smoothed ornament (T. 1., 8). In conservation excavations in 1996 in J. Kozarca Street 74, which runs through the eastern part of Dirov brijeg, a trench was investigated, in whose filling, apart from plenty of La Tène pottery, pottery fragments were found which are dated into the younger phase of the Early Iron Age (T. 5.). A settlement form the Early Iron Age was uncovered in a survey in 1954 on the site Gradac, situated on the Bosut River near the village Podgrađe. It is a multi-layer settlement, from which a find of a cup with a rounded body and a grip with two plastic protrusions on the top is known (T. 1., 11). The find of a cup with an identically shaped grip is known from Gradina on Bosut, which is not surprising considering the fact that the settlement in Podgrađe is situated some ten kilometers to the west of the eponymous site of the Bosut culture. The comparatively closest functional forms and decorating techniques and motifs to pottery finds from Damića gradina and Dirov brijeg may be found on sites of the horizon of cannelured pottery in Srijem, i.e. phase III of the Bosut culture. This relates particularly to the rich and various pottery repertoire sorted in layers belonging to the settlement horizon Bosut IIIc of the eponymous Gradina on Bosut. In the youngest phases of the horizon IIIc fragments decorated with net-like or ribbon-like smoothed ornaments were registered, thus forming a base for the dating of identical fragments from Damića gradina and Dirov brijeg. Certain pottery forms may be compared to finds from other sites form the Early Iron Age in eastern Slavonia, as well as in a broader southeastern Alpine Pannonian area. Pottery finds from Damića gradina have numerous corresponding forms, decoration motifs and techniques in the finds from settlements in Osijek, as well as in the phases IIc and IIIa of Donja Dolina according to the classification by Z. Marić, i.e. with finds of the phases 3a-2 and 3b according to the classification by B. Čović. Correspondences with certain forms from Damića gradina may be found on the hillfort Klinac southern from Petrinja, as well as the hillfort Kiringrad. Considering numerous described comparisons, the pottery finds from Damića gradina, Dirov brijeg and Gradac in Podgrađe can be dated into the younger phase of the Early Iron Age. The mentioned settlements according to the typological characteristics of pottery forms as well as decoration motifs and techniques belong to the dissemination area of the phase III of the Bosut culture, i.e. the horizon of cannelured pottery. In order to support the suggested dating of settlements we can take the finds of pots with a rounded body and the grips overtopping the rim (T. 4., 6), which have one or two differently shaped plastic protrusions on the top, out of which the two from Dirov brijeg are decorated with a smoothed ornament (T. 1., 8; T. 5., 8). The fragment of a grip from Damića gradina with a somewhat clearer presentation of two small animal heads proves that we are dealing with highly stylized presentations of animal protomes. Significant for the dating of the settlements Damića gradina and Dirov brijeg are also fragments of cups with a rounded body whose inner surface is decorated with a smoothed ornament. Direct comparisons as to the form of the cup and the decoration technique and motifs are found on Gradina on Bosut, where the described form belongs to the horizon of cannelured pottery. Decorating by smoothing is to become characteristic of the ceramography of La Tène culture of the Scordiscs. In determining the chronology of the Early Iron Age strata from Damića gradina and recognizing the base of certain cultural influences, the appearance of a jug and of fragments with rippled decorations is significant (T. 4., 5). The appearance of the rippled ornament on Damića gradina points to the existence of cultural influences from the west, from the dissemination area of the Dolenjska and the Martijanec-Kaptol groups, which were already registered in the younger phase of the Early Iron Age in the description of the finds from the graves of the Srijem culture. Certain differences between the pottery finds from Damića gradina and Gradina on Bosut are visible in the first place in the small number of forms and fragments, which on Damića gradina are cannelured, and an entire phase of the Bosut culture was named after this decorating technique. The described difference, as well as the fact that only a slightly larger number of fragments from Damića gradina was decorated in similar gouge technique, probably corresponds to certain chronological differences, i.e. it is supposed that the settlements Damića gradina and Dirov brijeg belong to the younger part of phase III of the Bosut culture, when decorating by canneluring, after which the entire phase was named, was not that common any longer. Pottery became mostly undecorated, and even if there was an ornament, it was mostly a combination of a plastic ribbon and a set of stamps. The assumptions on dating are supported also by the lack of finds of horizontally facetted everted pot rims, as well as of bowls with a rounded body and an inverted rim, transversally or horizontally cannelured and facetted on Damića gradina, from where a significant quantity of pottery material originates, as well as on Dirov brijeg. The Early Iron Age sites in Vinkovci and its surroundings offer a possibility for studying the relationship of the Bosut and the Dalj culture, two neighboring cultural phenomena that in the central Danube Region marked the period of the Early Iron Age. In settlements and grave sites of the Dalj culture from the early phase of the Early Iron Age in Dalj and Vukovar the appearance of pottery fragments of Bessarabian style was registered, which belong to phase II of the Bosut culture, whereas fragments of Dalj pottery are known from Gradina on Bosut. The appearance of skeletal burials on cremation grave sites of the Dalj culture in Vukovar and Dalj reflects the influence of the neighboring Bosut culture, as well as the eastern Alpine and the northern Balkan area, of which the inhumation rite is characteristic. The southern border of the Dalj culture dissemination was mainly drawn along the line Ilok-Vukovar-Županja or Vukovar-Vinkovci, with the penetration of the Dalj culture up to the western slopes of Fruška gora near Ilok and Šid. Thus the area between Vukovar and Šid might have been a transitional zone between the Bosut and the Dalj cultures, and the basis for making a distinction was pottery, whereas metal finds such as horse-riding equipment appear on sites of both cultures. The supposed differentiation could thus be related to the early phase of the Early Iron Age, into which pottery finds of the Dalj culture from Tržnica in Vinkovci are dated. In the younger phase of the Early Iron Age the Bosut culture was spread to the west in its phase III or the horizon of cannelured pottery, to which the settlements Dirov brijeg in Vinkovci and Damića gradina in Stari Mikanovci belong. This assump

The Kaptol Group and the Požega Valley

V zadnjih dveh desetletjih se je večina s kaptolsko kulturno skupino povezanih raziskav odvijala v Požeški kotlini. Železnodobne skupnosti na tem območju vsekakor pripadajo vzhodnohalštatskemu kulturnemu kompleksu, a so imele tudi zelo močne stike z jugom, kar je še zlasti vidno v poznohalštatskem obdobju. Številni predmeti, kot so deli oborožitve in noše, dosežejo prav v Požeški kotlini svoje najbolj oddaljene točke razprostranjenosti v evropskih okvirih. Preliminarne geofizikalne raziskave na velikem in prosperirajočem naselju z dolgo kontinuiteto kažejo na visoko organizirano, skoraj urbano strukturo. Arheobotanične analize spreminjajo opredelitev grobnega rituala teh skupnosti. Lidarski posnetki kažejo na nov policentričen model ustroja skupnosti v Požeški kotlini. Raziskave na najdišču Bangradac pa dopuščajo hipotezo, da so železnodobna središča Požeške kotline nastala z opuščanjem poznobronastodobnih utrjenih naselij in ustanavljanjem novih središč na nižjih obronkih bližje dolini. Odnos tako imenovane kaptolske skupine in sosednjih pokrajin še vedno ni jasno definiran.In the last two decades, most of the research related to the Kaptol Cultural group took place in the Požega Valley. The Iron Age communities of this area certainly belong to the Eastern Hallstatt Cultural Complex, but also had very strong ties with the south, which is particularly noticeable in the Late Hallstatt period. Numerous items discovered in the Požega Valley, including various types of weapons and elements of attire found here their farthest points of distribution within European framework. Preliminary geophysical investigations of the large and prosperous settlement with the long continuity point to highly organised, almost urban structure. The archaeobotanical methods have altered our perception and definition of the burial ritual of these communities. The LiDAR data indicate a polycentric model of the community structure in the Požega Valley. Investigations of the site Bangradac allow a hypothesis that the Iron Age centres of the Požega Valley were created after the Late Bronze Age fortified settlements had been abandoned. The new settlements were established on the lower slopes, closer to the valley. The relationship between the so-called Kaptol Group and neighbouring regions has not yet been defined

Trial Excavation of prehistoric hilltop settlement on Pliš near Velika

U pokusnim istraživanjima na Plišu kod Velike potvrđeno je postojanje visinskog prapovijesnog naselja koje se na osnovi prikupljenih keramičkih ulomaka može datirati u kasno brončano i starije željezno doba. S obzirom na istaknut položaj na vrhu strmog uzvišenja na južnim obroncima Papuka, s naselja se moglo kontrolirati komunikacije koje su vodile sjevernim dijelom Požeške kotline kao i onu koja je dolinom potoka Veličanke vodila prema Podravini. Iako je nalazište oštećeno radom kamenoloma, na pojedinim dijelovima sačuvane su netaknute površine čija istraživanja mogu posvjedočiti o trajanju naselja kao i njegovoj infrastrukturi.During March and April 2011 trial excavation of the site Pliš near Velika was carried out (township Velika, Požega-Slavonia County). The site is located on one of the prominent southern slopes of Papuk (altitude 559 m) above the valley of the Veličanka stream (Fig. 1). South-eastern and eastern part of the site are endangered by the activities of the quarry. Previously collected ceramic finds were dated to the Late Bronze Age (Potrebica, Ložnjak 2003; 2004; Ložnjak Dizdar, Potrebica 2004). Test trenches are grouped into two groups along the edge of the quarry exploitation zones: four trenches (1-4) are located on the northwest edge of the quarry on the position Osredak (Fig. 3), whereas two trenches (5-6) are located on the southwest side of the quarry on Pliš (Fig. 4). A total area of 331 m2 was explored , with the intensely reviewed area located on the north side of Pliš spreading on 200 m2. In the trenches at the position Osredak there were no traces of any archaeological complex or movable finds. In trenches 5-6 at Pliš remains of buildings were not found, however, a number of ceramic finds were collected. Fragments of pots with rounded body and horizontally drawn faceted edge decorated with plastic stripes and notches were singled out (Fig. 5), followed by rounded bowls with inverted rim, the bowl with the S-moulded body and the cup with the rounded body and a conical neck. Based on the typological-chronological analysis of pottery fragments collected as well as on those known from earlier, the settlement on Pliš can be dated to the Late Bronze Age, or the end of the older and younger phase of the Urnfield culture (Ložnjak Dizdar, Potrebica 2004; Ložnjak Dizdar 2011) and the Early Iron age. The amount of detected findings indicates that this is a prominent high-altitude settlement that controls the southern slopes of Papuk and communication route to Podravina through the valley of the Veličanka stream. In the humus layer on Pliš very few pottery fragments from the Middle Ages were also found. Experimental studies on Pliš confirmed the existence of a prominent hilltop prehistoric settlement with its southeast and eastern slopes partly destroyed by the quarry operations, which is why it is important to undertake the explorations of a larger area of the settlement in order to examine its infrastructure and define the position of the housing objects

The Požega Valley – European Cultural Centre (Archaeological Perspective)

U društveno-humanističkim raspravama često se susrećemo s idejom europske kulture kao kompaktnog i statičnog tijela koje počiva na jasno određenim nositeljima i radijalno se širi iz zamišljenog središta prema periferiji. Ovaj rad temelji se na tezi da europska kultura čini dinamičku mrežu čija su čvorišta u neprekidnoj komunikaciji. Primjeri iz tri osnovna arheološka razdoblja pokazuju da je zbog niza okolišnih ali i kulturoloških čimbenika, Požeška kotlina u od najranijih vremena predstavljala važno središte u tvorbi i promicanju europske kulturne baštine. U srednjem vijeku samostan na Rudini imao je golemu važnost kao kulturološko središte čiji nevidljivi značaj tek odražava monumentalnost arhitekture i plastike. Rijetki materijalni dokazi toga su okovi korica knjiga, povijesni izvori te umjetnost i epigrafija u službi vizualne komunikacije ideologije i identiteta. Koncept kulturne pripadnosti Rimskome Carstvu u najvećoj mjeri ovisio je o tome koliko je ta kultura ušla duboko u prostor odnosno tkivo lokalnih zajednica. Međutim, često zaboravimo činjenicu da u jednom od najvećih carstava poznatog svijeta i okruženju prvog globalističkog shvaćanja kulture, 95% stanovništva živi u ruralnim prostorima kakve dobro ocrtava nalazište u Tekiću. Materijal pronađen u kneževskim grobovima kod Kaptola bio je toliko značajan da je po tom mjestu imenovana čitava kultura starijeg željeznog doba ovog dijela Europe. Moćni vladari ovog kraja upravljali su zajednicom koja se nalazila na rubu tri geografska i civilizacijska kruga: alpskog svijeta kojim je dominirala srednjoeuropska halštatska kultura, panonskog preko kojeg su dolazili istočni pontsko-kavkaski utjecaji, i balkanskog preko kojeg su dolazili utjecaji dalekog svijeta sredozemnih civilizacija. Između ostalog njihova moć i golemi utjecaj zasnivali su se na određenom monopolu na kulturološki transfer između ovih svjetova.In discussions tackling social and humanistic topics, the idea of European culture is often described as a compact and static body consisting of clearly defined elements and radially spreading from an imagined centre towards periphery. This paper is based on the thesis that European culture is a dynamic net, the hubs of which uninterruptedly communicate. Examples from three basic archaeological periods show that due to a whole set of external but also culturological factors, the Požega Valley has, since the earliest times, been an important centre in the context of creating and promoting European cultural heritage. In the Middle Ages, the monastery in Rudina played a major role as a culturological centre, whose invisible importance merely reflected the monumentality of architecture and plastic. Rare material proofs thereof are metal book covers, historical sources, arts and epigraphy related to visual communication between ideology and identity. The concept of cultural affiliation to the Roman Empire depended to the most extent on how deeply culture had entered the space or rather the fibre of local communities. Nevertheless, what often tends to be forgotten is the fact that in one of the greatest empires of the known world and the atmosphere of the first globalist comprehension of culture, 95 % of population lived in rural environments well presented by the finds from Tekić. The material found in princely graves near Kaptol was of so much importance that an entire Early-Iron-Age culture in this part of Europe was named after this location. The mighty rulers of this part of the world managed a community that was located on the tri-border of: the Alps, dominated by the Central-European Hallstatt culture; the Pannonia, which accepted the eastern Caucasus influences; and the Balkans, which accepted the influences of the faraway Mediterranean civilisations. Their power and immense influence were, inter alia, based on a certain kind of monopoly on the culturological transfer among these three worlds

The Požega Valley – European Cultural Centre (Archaeological Perspective)

U društveno-humanističkim raspravama često se susrećemo s idejom europske kulture kao kompaktnog i statičnog tijela koje počiva na jasno određenim nositeljima i radijalno se širi iz zamišljenog središta prema periferiji. Ovaj rad temelji se na tezi da europska kultura čini dinamičku mrežu čija su čvorišta u neprekidnoj komunikaciji. Primjeri iz tri osnovna arheološka razdoblja pokazuju da je zbog niza okolišnih ali i kulturoloških čimbenika, Požeška kotlina u od najranijih vremena predstavljala važno središte u tvorbi i promicanju europske kulturne baštine. U srednjem vijeku samostan na Rudini imao je golemu važnost kao kulturološko središte čiji nevidljivi značaj tek odražava monumentalnost arhitekture i plastike. Rijetki materijalni dokazi toga su okovi korica knjiga, povijesni izvori te umjetnost i epigrafija u službi vizualne komunikacije ideologije i identiteta. Koncept kulturne pripadnosti Rimskome Carstvu u najvećoj mjeri ovisio je o tome koliko je ta kultura ušla duboko u prostor odnosno tkivo lokalnih zajednica. Međutim, često zaboravimo činjenicu da u jednom od najvećih carstava poznatog svijeta i okruženju prvog globalističkog shvaćanja kulture, 95% stanovništva živi u ruralnim prostorima kakve dobro ocrtava nalazište u Tekiću. Materijal pronađen u kneževskim grobovima kod Kaptola bio je toliko značajan da je po tom mjestu imenovana čitava kultura starijeg željeznog doba ovog dijela Europe. Moćni vladari ovog kraja upravljali su zajednicom koja se nalazila na rubu tri geografska i civilizacijska kruga: alpskog svijeta kojim je dominirala srednjoeuropska halštatska kultura, panonskog preko kojeg su dolazili istočni pontsko-kavkaski utjecaji, i balkanskog preko kojeg su dolazili utjecaji dalekog svijeta sredozemnih civilizacija. Između ostalog njihova moć i golemi utjecaj zasnivali su se na određenom monopolu na kulturološki transfer između ovih svjetova.In discussions tackling social and humanistic topics, the idea of European culture is often described as a compact and static body consisting of clearly defined elements and radially spreading from an imagined centre towards periphery. This paper is based on the thesis that European culture is a dynamic net, the hubs of which uninterruptedly communicate. Examples from three basic archaeological periods show that due to a whole set of external but also culturological factors, the Požega Valley has, since the earliest times, been an important centre in the context of creating and promoting European cultural heritage. In the Middle Ages, the monastery in Rudina played a major role as a culturological centre, whose invisible importance merely reflected the monumentality of architecture and plastic. Rare material proofs thereof are metal book covers, historical sources, arts and epigraphy related to visual communication between ideology and identity. The concept of cultural affiliation to the Roman Empire depended to the most extent on how deeply culture had entered the space or rather the fibre of local communities. Nevertheless, what often tends to be forgotten is the fact that in one of the greatest empires of the known world and the atmosphere of the first globalist comprehension of culture, 95 % of population lived in rural environments well presented by the finds from Tekić. The material found in princely graves near Kaptol was of so much importance that an entire Early-Iron-Age culture in this part of Europe was named after this location. The mighty rulers of this part of the world managed a community that was located on the tri-border of: the Alps, dominated by the Central-European Hallstatt culture; the Pannonia, which accepted the eastern Caucasus influences; and the Balkans, which accepted the influences of the faraway Mediterranean civilisations. Their power and immense influence were, inter alia, based on a certain kind of monopoly on the culturological transfer among these three worlds

Trial excavations in Mali Bilač 2011

U probnim istraživanjima oko mjesnog groblja u Malom Bilaču na zapadnim obroncima Dilja pronađeni su ostaci paljevinskih grobova koji se mogu datirati u kasni laten (LT D1). S istog nalazišta potječu nalazi koji pripadaju istovremenom bogato opremljenom dvojnom ratničkom grobu koji je sadržavao naoružanje, predmete nošnje te keramičke i importirane brončane posude.The trial excavations of the prehistoric site in Mali Bilač located on the western slopes of Dilj on the eastern part of the Požega basin were carried out during April 2011 (Fig. 1). In 1993, armament (swords in the scabbards, spears, shield bosses), parts of costumes (fibulae) and fragments of bronze and ceramic vessels were found by chance at the local cemetery; these finds probably belong to the dual warrior grave from the earlier phase of the Late La Tène period (LT D1). The small scale trial excavations in 2003 have not resulted in the discovery of any new graves, except for the findings collected from the destroyed grave 1. In April 2011, after the area around the cemetery was destroyed by construction works, the remaining area around the cemetery was fully explored. During the excavations the remains of two incineration graves that confirm the assumption of the existence of Late La Tène cemetery were discovered on the highest, southern part of the ridge. Only the bottom parts of grave pits were preserved. In grave 2 a part of the bronze pin was found, probably a part of a fibula, and in addition S-shaped bowl and fragments of another vessel, probably kantharoi. The smaller pile of burned bones was deposited south of the bowl (Fig. 5). Only few ceramic fragments were preserved in the grave 3. Trial excavations have confirmed the former knowledge about the chronological picture of the cemetery in Mali Bilač, which, according to the findings from a ruined grave, belongs to LT D1 period, i.e. to the second half of the 2nd and the beginning of 1st century BC

Grave from Donja Dolina with crested fibulae – whence, how and when did they reach the River Sava

Biritualno groblje u Donjoj Dolini i nakon više od stotinu godina od istraživanja još uvijek predstavlja osnovu za proučavanje složenih interakcija koje su zajednice starijega željeznog doba naseljene na jugu Panonske nizine ostvarivale s onima sa susjednih prostora, prije svega sa zapadnim i središnjim Balkanom na jugu, jugoistočnoalpskim prostorom na zapadu te Podunavljem na istoku. U dosadašnjim proučavanjima groblja u Donjoj Dolini naglasak je najčešće bio na prestižnim predmetima ratničke obrambene opreme te brončanome posuđu. Međutim, ono po čemu se groblje u Donjoj Dolini izdvaja u odnosu na ostala istovremena nalazišta prepoznaje se u združivanju raznolikih predmeta ženske nošnje i nakita u jedinstvene kombinacije koje izvrsno prikazuju složenost ostvarenih mreža kontakata. Jednu od takvih grobnih cjelina predstavlja paljevinski grob 16 s grede I. Stipančevića u kojem su spaljeni ostaci vjerojatno mlađe pokojnice bili položeni u urnu, zajedno s ostalim predmetima nošnje i nakita. Nošnji pripadaju dvije kre- Marko Dizdar, Hrvoje Potrebica Grob iz Donje Doline s krestastim fibulama – odakle, kako i kada su došle do rijeke Save Grave from Donja Dolina with crested fibulae – whence, how and when did they reach the River Sava 2 VAHD 113–1, 2020. – 2021., 1–40 staste fibule za koje se, kroz detaljnu tipološku analizu, pokazalo kako predstavljaju import s Glasinca, pri čemu otvorenim ostaje pitanje radi li se o predmetima koji su sredinom 6. st. pr. Kr. do Donje Doline dospjeli kulturnim transferom ili su fibule, kao dio nošnje, prispjele s osobom koja ih je nosila. Druga fibula u grobu 16 – brončana dvopetljasta fibula s kvadratnom nožicom s dva otvora – također pokazuje usmjerenje prema Glasincu, uostalom kao i niz drugih predmeta ženske nošnje i nakita s groblja u Donjoj Dolini. Analiza krestastih fibula pokazala je kako se radi o heterogenoj skupini s tri izdvojena tipa – Ražana, Pod i Zabrnjica – koji su prepoznatljiv dio ženske nošnje, odnosno kako su bile nošene od strane djevojaka ili odraslih žena. Njihova je rasprostranjenost u najvećem broju dokumentirana na Glasincu, no zabilježene su i na nalazištima od Donje Doline na sjeveru do sjeverne Albanije na jugu, pri čemu je primjetno kako fibule tipa Pod i Zabrnjica pokazuju lokalnu rasprostranjenost.Even after more than a hundred years of research, the biritual cemetery in Donja Dolina is still the cornerstone for studying the complex interactions of the Early Iron Age communities inhabited in the south of the Pannonian Plain with those from the neighbouring areas, primarily the western and central Balkans in the south, the south-eastern Alps in the west, and the Danube region in the east. Previous studies of the cemetery in Donja Dolina have mostly been focused on prestigious items of warriors’ defensive equipment and bronze vessels. However, the cemetery in Donja Dolina is unlike any other contemporaneous site because of its unique combinations of various items of female costume and jewellery that perfectly reveal the complexity of the established contact networks. One such burial unit is the cremation grave 16 at greda I. Stipančević, in which the cremated remains of an apparently young woman were placed in an urn, together with various costume and jewellery items. Two crested fibulae are parts of costume. A detailed typological analysis revealed that they had been imported from Glasinac. It still remains open whether these objects reached Donja Dolina in the mid-sixth century BC by cultural transfer, or the fibulae, as parts of the costume, were brought by the person who wore them. Another fibula in grave 16 – a bronze fibula with two loops and a square foot with two openings – also demonstrates an orientation towards Glasinac, as do a number of other items of female costume and jewellery from the cemetery in Donja Dolina. The crested fibulae were analysed and found to be a heterogeneous group with three separate types – Ražana, Pod and Zabrnjica – distinctive parts of female costume as they were worn by girls or adult women. Their distribution has mostly been recorded at Glasinac, but they have also been documented on sites from Donja Dolina in the north to northern Albania in the south, whereas the fibulae of the Pod and Zabrnjica types indicate a noticeably local distribution

Tumulus IV on the Kaptol-Čemernica cemetery – revision excavation

Revizijsko istraživanje tumula IV na groblju Kaptol-Čemernica u Požeškoj kotlini, provedeno 2016. godine, dalo je nove spoznaje o tom iznimno važnom spomeniku. Utvrđeno je da se pod tumulom ne nalazi pet grobova, od kojih je najveći bio kvadratnog oblika i pripadao ratniku visokog statusa, nego da je riječ o tumulu s monumentalnom drvenom grobnom komorom u kojoj su bila dva drvena sanduka s ritualnim hodnikom (dromosom) koji se protezao prema jugu. Nalazi iz groba potječu iz različitih izvora. Grčko-ilirska kaciga i knemide izrađene su u grčkim radionicama, dok je konjska oprema povezana s prostorom Karpatske kotline, a sjekira s južnopanonskim, odnosno jugoistočnoalpskih prostorom. Višeglave igle i keramičke posude općenito pripadaju istohalštatskom krugu, a pojaseve tipa Libna možemo uže povezati s prostorom Dolenjske. Predmeti su, također, različito stari. Dok sjekira i konjska oprema pripadaju samom početku halštatskog razdoblja, pojas tipa Libna i višeglave igle su mlađe, a najkasniji predmeti u grobu su grčko-ilirska kaciga i knemide, iz druge polovice ili s kraja 7. stoljeća prije Krista. Iako mali broj pronađenih novih nalaza nije u znatnoj mjeri promijenio inventar ovoga groba, omogućio je njegovu novu interpretaciju.The 2016 revision excavation of tumulus IV in the Kaptol-Čemernica cemetery in the Požega Valley resulted in new insights into this very important monument. It was established that, rather than containing five graves (with the largest of them square in shape, belonging to a high-ranking warrior), the tumulus contained a monumental wooden burial chamber holding two wooden boxes, and a ritual corridor (dromos) extending to the south. The material found in the grave originates from various sources. The Greco- Illyrian helmet and greaves were produced by Greek workshops, while the horse gear is associated to the Carpathian Basin, and the axe to the southern Pannonian region, or south-eastern Alps. The multi-headed pins and pottery generally belong to the Eastern Hallstatt Circle, while belts of the Libna type can be associated with the Lower Carniola. The discovered material originates from various periods. While the axe and horse gear belong to the very beginning of the Hallstatt period, the Libna-type belt and multiheaded pins are later, and the most recent objects found in the grave – the Greco-Illyrian helmet and greaves – belong to the second half or the end of the 7th c. BC. Even though the small number of new finds has not considerably modified the grave inventory, it has allowed its new interpretation