Books by Anja Hellmuth Kramberger
M. Bležić/M. Črešnar/B. Hänsel/A. Hellmuth/E. Kaiser/C. Metzner-Nebelsick, Scripta praehistorica in honorem Biba Teržan. Situla 44 (Ljubljana 2007).
Plants–Animals–People. Lively archaeological landscapes of Styria and Northeastern Slovenia/Pflanzen–Tiere–Menschen. Lebendige archäologische Landschaften der Steiermark und Nordostslowenien Slowenien/Rastline–živali–ljudje. Žive arheološke krajine avstrijske Štajerske in severovzhodne Slovenije, Dec 2019
In the focus of this monographic publication are the cultural landscapes of Austrian Styria and n... more In the focus of this monographic publication are the cultural landscapes of Austrian Styria and north-eastern Slovenia and the changes that occurred since the introduction of farming. It includes archaeologically, archaeobotanically and archaeozoologically analyzed and collected data from numerous archaeological sites, stretching from the Late Neolithic period to the end of the Middle Ages. The selected case studies in this book are some of the most representative sites for individual epochs. Furthermore, the publication is closely connected to the database of the PalaeoDiversiStyria project (www.interarch-steiermark.eu), which is containing raw data on plant and animal remains from numerous archaeological sites in this region.
Special attention was given to the changes in the landscape caused by human intervention into the environment, e.g. by the cultivation of new plants and the domestication of animals, by the building of larger settlements or metal production. Part of the research included the discovery and identification of different plant species as well as domesticated and wild animals in archaeological contexts. To reach these results it was necessary that archaeologists, botanists, archaeobotanists as well as archaeozoologists worked hand in hand to create a better understanding of the interaction between nature and humans. With this interdisciplinary cooperation, we built new knowledge of the circumstances that influenced the dietary habits of people in the past.
The publication is one of the results of the interdisciplinary “PalaeoDiversiStyria” project, with the full name “Palaeolandscape of Styria and its Biodiversity from Prehistory to the Discovery of the New World”. It was a partnership between Universalmuseum Joanneum, the Institute for Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, two botanical gardens led by the Universities of Maribor and of Graz, and two Municipalities, Grosklein in Austria and Hoče-Slivnica in Slovenia. The project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the framework of the INTERREG Slovenia-Austria V-A 2014-2020 cooperation programme.
by Matija Črešnar, Marko Mele, Anja Hellmuth Kramberger, Daniel Modl, Marta Rakvin, Sasa Kovacevic, Dimitrij Mlekuz Vrhovnik, Zoltán Czajlik, Eszter Fejér, Novinszki-Groma Katalin, László Rupnik, András Bödőcs, and Bence Soós Early Iron Age Landscapes of the Danube region, 2019
The present publication is one of the main outcomes of the Iron-Age-Danube project (Interreg DTP)... more The present publication is one of the main outcomes of the Iron-Age-Danube project (Interreg DTP). In the focus of the project, as well as of the presented papers are archaeological landscapes and their visible as well as hidden monuments of the Early Iron Age. The published research took place in four countries (Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia) and focused on some of the most iconic sites of the Eastern Hallstatt circle, namely Großklein and Strettweg near Judenburg in Austria, on Jalžabet and Kaptol in Croatia, on Százhalombatta, Süttő and Sopron in Hungary and on Poštela and Dolenjske Toplice in Slovenia.
The studies have a broad span in their interpretative approaches; however, they all bring important new results on the Early Iron Age landscapes of the Danube region and present a fundament for further research of archaeological landscapes in the region and beyond.
The Iron-Age-Danube project — its full title is “Monumental Landscapes of the Early Iron Age in the Danube Basin” — was initiated in 2017 by 20 partners and associated partners from five countries in the Danube region. The project was co-financed within the framework of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme with EFRE funds in the amount of € 2,169,200. One of the major focuses of the project was the exploration of the rich archaeological heritage of the Early Iron Age (i.e. Hallstatt Period) in the Danube region using modern archaeological methods. For that purpose, a new format, the Archaeological Camps, was introduced to the region. This format for the first time combined various types of activities and comprised, in addition to research campaigns, a wide variety of heritage protection activities as well as actions to promote the inclusion of Iron-Age landscapes into the touristic offers of these regions. The camps were organized in four countries at selected locations within the nine preselected micro-regions and lasted one or two months. In this period, the institutions involved had the opportunity to combine their technologies, methodologies and expertise as well as to exchange their experiences and views. These chosen sites and their surrounding landscapes are embedded in a variety of environments of the Danube region, which in fact had a strong impact on the populations settling in these areas in the Early Iron Age, as well as on the archaeological research approaches. Combining their knowledge and specific skills, the experts have in this intensive cooperation established new strategies, which are tailored to each of the micro-regions. One of the results of this cooperation is also the monograph Researching Archaeological Landscapes across Borders (Budapest: Archaeolingua, 2019), which should help other researchers and heritage experts with planning their projects on archaeological landscapes.
Papers by Anja Hellmuth Kramberger
Monitor ISH XXV/2, 2023
Ta članek obravnava sfero žensk v prazgodovini, od
kamene do železne dobe med zahodno Azijo in sr... more Ta članek obravnava sfero žensk v prazgodovini, od
kamene do železne dobe med zahodno Azijo in srednjo Evropo.
Razmišljanja temeljijo predvsem na slikovnih upodobitvah, grobnih
najdbah in predmetih (kipi, figurice), ki predstavljajo ženske.
Vprašanja, ki izhajajo iz teh slikovnih in figuralnih upodobitev ter
grobnih najdb, zajemajo različne vidike, med drugim: v kakšnem
kontekstu se pojavljajo upodobitve žensk, kakšne značilnosti imajo
upodobitve, ali obstajajo namigi o predvideni uporabi upodobitev/
predmetov, ali upodobitve in grobne najdbe dajejo informacije
o družbenem statusu ali hierarhičnem položaju žensk v zadevni
prazgodovinski družbi, ali obstajajo dokazi o udeležbi žensk v verskih
in/ali obrednih dejavnostih itd.? Cilj je dobiti oris ženske sfere
v določenem časovnem okviru in prostoru.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Nov 1, 2022
PAROLE CHIAVE Età del Bronzo, siti fortificati, castellieri, gerarchia insediamentale, ceramica K... more PAROLE CHIAVE Età del Bronzo, siti fortificati, castellieri, gerarchia insediamentale, ceramica KEYWORDS Bronze Age, hillforts, castellieri, settlement hierarchies, pottery RIASSUNTO Fin dal XIX secolo l'interesse degli studiosi di antichità si è concentrato sugli insediamenti preistorici dell'Istria, corrispondenti a siti fortificati, denominati anche gradine, castellieri o kastelliere. Nel Carso sono oggi note alcune centinaia di questi insediamenti fortificati, posti sulla sommità delle alture, ma solo alcuni di essi sono stati oggetto di una ricerca archeologica sistematica. Il sito attualmente meglio indagato e scavato con metodi moderni è la Gradina di Monkodonja, datata all'inizio e alla fase avanzata della Media età del Bronzo, posta presso la città portuale di Rovigno sulla costa occidentale dell'Istria. Le recenti ricerche hanno portato a nuovi dati sulla cronologia, sull'organizzazione degli insediamenti e sui contatti a lunga distanza, ma hanno anche sollevato nuove domande. La Gradina di Monkodonja, per le dimensioni, il muro di fortificazione esterno con un perimetro di quasi 1 km e per la sua posizione prominente, è considerata l'insediamento principale al centro di un sistema insediativo con vari abitati satellite più piccoli. Tuttavia, fino ad oggi non si sa molto di questi insediamenti minori, soprattutto per quanto riguarda la loro cronologia. Non è del tutto chiarito se fossero contemporanei all'abitato di Monkodonja e se sia confermato nell'età del Bronzo il sistema gerarchico dei siti fortificati. Una ricerca iniziata nel 2016, finanziata dalla National Research Foundation of Korea, dal Museo Archeologico dell'Istria di Pola e dal Museo di Rovigno, ha come obiettivo l'indagine del sistema di siti fortificati nell'area attorno a Rovigno. Una fase della ricerca ha come oggetto la classificazione cronologica dei siti minori e ha portato significativi risultati dai sondaggi effettuati alla Gradina Monbrodo. In particolare, si affronta in questo articolo la tipologia ceramica, con la presentazione di alcuni reperti ceramici inediti.
Študijné zvesti, vol. 2019, Supplementum 1, 2019
Keywords: Iron Age, Smolenice-Molpír, equestrian nomads, Scythian arrowheads
A script of the equ... more Keywords: Iron Age, Smolenice-Molpír, equestrian nomads, Scythian arrowheads
A script of the equestrian nomads in the 1st millennium BC? Remarks on the so-called Scythian arrowheads with markings between Eastern Alps, Urals and Anatolia Numerous studies are devoted to the distribution, chronology and historical interpretation of the so-called Scythian arrowheads, which are known in the vast area between Central Europe, Eurasia and the Near East. Less well known and researched so far is the occurrence of incised and cast signs that occur on the wings and sometimes the sockets of the two- and threewinged bronze arrowheads. While such signs on finds from the Northern Pontic region and Anatolia have been known for some time, their occurrence on arrowheads from eastern Central Europe, more precisely on arrowheads from the fortified Hallstatt-settlement Smolenice-Molpír, belongs to the more recent discoveries. While initially only a very small number of pieces with incised signs have been discovered and made public, we can now say that their number and their variety are much larger. The finds from Smolenice-Molpír are now among the largest ensembles of arrowheads with incised signs, which are known to date. With a view to comparable finds, the question arises of the interpretation of these signs – is it possibly a sign system that was widespread in the mounted nomadic cultural circle and is to be addressed as writing?
Early Iron Age Landscapes of the Danube region, 2019
The micro-region of Großklein with its famous Sulm valley necropolis, the princely tumuli
in Klei... more The micro-region of Großklein with its famous Sulm valley necropolis, the princely tumuli
in Kleinklein and the hilltop settlement on Burgstallkogel is one of the most prominent
European Early Iron Age landscapes. It has been in the focus of researchers since the end
of the 19th century and still is today. In 2017, the EU-project Iron-Age-Danube enabled
researchers from the Universalmuseum Joanneum to focus intensively on the region again.
New methods, such as the systematic evaluation of ALS data and extensive geophysics,
were used in addition to archaeological excavations. The focus of the research was not on
the main settlement and the tumulus cemeteries around Burgstallkogel, but also only on
other important points in the micro-region that showed potential for human activities in the
Early Iron Age, as for example the settlement at Königsberg near Heimschuh. The new data
enabled us to do extensive mapping and a discussion on settlement dynamics of the Sulm
valley, also from the viewpoint of the Central Place Theory.
Histria archaeologica : Časopis Arheološkog muzeja Istre, Nov 15, 2019
MONKODONJA istraživanje protourbanog naselja brončanog doba istre forschungen zu einer protourban... more MONKODONJA istraživanje protourbanog naselja brončanog doba istre forschungen zu einer protourbanen siedlung der bronzezeit istriens knjiga 4 / teil 4
PAROLE CHIAVE Età del Bronzo, siti fortificati, castellieri, gerarchia insediamentale, ceramica K... more PAROLE CHIAVE Età del Bronzo, siti fortificati, castellieri, gerarchia insediamentale, ceramica KEYWORDS Bronze Age, hillforts, castellieri, settlement hierarchies, pottery RIASSUNTO Fin dal XIX secolo l'interesse degli studiosi di antichità si è concentrato sugli insediamenti preistorici dell'Istria, corrispondenti a siti fortificati, denominati anche gradine, castellieri o kastelliere. Nel Carso sono oggi note alcune centinaia di questi insediamenti fortificati, posti sulla sommità delle alture, ma solo alcuni di essi sono stati oggetto di una ricerca archeologica sistematica. Il sito attualmente meglio indagato e scavato con metodi moderni è la Gradina di Monkodonja, datata all'inizio e alla fase avanzata della Media età del Bronzo, posta presso la città portuale di Rovigno sulla costa occidentale dell'Istria. Le recenti ricerche hanno portato a nuovi dati sulla cronologia, sull'organizzazione degli insediamenti e sui contatti a lunga distanza, ma hanno anche sollevato nuove domande. La Gradina di Monkodonja, per le dimensioni, il muro di fortificazione esterno con un perimetro di quasi 1 km e per la sua posizione prominente, è considerata l'insediamento principale al centro di un sistema insediativo con vari abitati satellite più piccoli. Tuttavia, fino ad oggi non si sa molto di questi insediamenti minori, soprattutto per quanto riguarda la loro cronologia. Non è del tutto chiarito se fossero contemporanei all'abitato di Monkodonja e se sia confermato nell'età del Bronzo il sistema gerarchico dei siti fortificati. Una ricerca iniziata nel 2016, finanziata dalla National Research Foundation of Korea, dal Museo Archeologico dell'Istria di Pola e dal Museo di Rovigno, ha come obiettivo l'indagine del sistema di siti fortificati nell'area attorno a Rovigno. Una fase della ricerca ha come oggetto la classificazione cronologica dei siti minori e ha portato significativi risultati dai sondaggi effettuati alla Gradina Monbrodo. In particolare, si affronta in questo articolo la tipologia ceramica, con la presentazione di alcuni reperti ceramici inediti.
Auseinandersetzungen unter Einsatz von Waffengewalt sind so alt wie die Menschheit. Die Entdeckun... more Auseinandersetzungen unter Einsatz von Waffengewalt sind so alt wie die Menschheit. Die Entdeckung einer partiell verheilten Stichverletzung an der neunten Rippe eines Neandertalerskeletts aus der Shanidar-Höhle in der Provinz Erbil im Irak durch den Ausgräber Ralph Solecki in den Jahren 1957-1960 entfachte eine Diskussion um den mutmaßlichen ältesten belegten Fall eines "versuchten Mordes"-oder zumindest bewaffneten Angriffs. 1 In Mitteleuropa finden sich immer wieder neolithische und kupferzeitliche Massengräber bzw. Opfer von Massakern, wie beispielweise im kroatischen Potočani. 2 Dort lagen in einer nur 2 m x 2 m messenden, ein Meter flachen Grube die Skelette von mindestens 41 Menschen unterschiedlichen Alters und Geschlechts, wobei an zahlreichen Schädeln Spuren massiver Gewalteinwirkung festgestellt wurden, die zum Tod der Individuen geführt haben. Die Positionierungen der unterschiedlichen, durch stumpfe und scharfe Waffen oder Werkzeuge verursachten Traumata an den Schädeln sprechen dabei eher für eine Hinrichtung als für das Resultat eines Kampfgeschehens.
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Books by Anja Hellmuth Kramberger
Special attention was given to the changes in the landscape caused by human intervention into the environment, e.g. by the cultivation of new plants and the domestication of animals, by the building of larger settlements or metal production. Part of the research included the discovery and identification of different plant species as well as domesticated and wild animals in archaeological contexts. To reach these results it was necessary that archaeologists, botanists, archaeobotanists as well as archaeozoologists worked hand in hand to create a better understanding of the interaction between nature and humans. With this interdisciplinary cooperation, we built new knowledge of the circumstances that influenced the dietary habits of people in the past.
The publication is one of the results of the interdisciplinary “PalaeoDiversiStyria” project, with the full name “Palaeolandscape of Styria and its Biodiversity from Prehistory to the Discovery of the New World”. It was a partnership between Universalmuseum Joanneum, the Institute for Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, two botanical gardens led by the Universities of Maribor and of Graz, and two Municipalities, Grosklein in Austria and Hoče-Slivnica in Slovenia. The project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the framework of the INTERREG Slovenia-Austria V-A 2014-2020 cooperation programme.
The studies have a broad span in their interpretative approaches; however, they all bring important new results on the Early Iron Age landscapes of the Danube region and present a fundament for further research of archaeological landscapes in the region and beyond.
The Iron-Age-Danube project — its full title is “Monumental Landscapes of the Early Iron Age in the Danube Basin” — was initiated in 2017 by 20 partners and associated partners from five countries in the Danube region. The project was co-financed within the framework of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme with EFRE funds in the amount of € 2,169,200. One of the major focuses of the project was the exploration of the rich archaeological heritage of the Early Iron Age (i.e. Hallstatt Period) in the Danube region using modern archaeological methods. For that purpose, a new format, the Archaeological Camps, was introduced to the region. This format for the first time combined various types of activities and comprised, in addition to research campaigns, a wide variety of heritage protection activities as well as actions to promote the inclusion of Iron-Age landscapes into the touristic offers of these regions. The camps were organized in four countries at selected locations within the nine preselected micro-regions and lasted one or two months. In this period, the institutions involved had the opportunity to combine their technologies, methodologies and expertise as well as to exchange their experiences and views. These chosen sites and their surrounding landscapes are embedded in a variety of environments of the Danube region, which in fact had a strong impact on the populations settling in these areas in the Early Iron Age, as well as on the archaeological research approaches. Combining their knowledge and specific skills, the experts have in this intensive cooperation established new strategies, which are tailored to each of the micro-regions. One of the results of this cooperation is also the monograph Researching Archaeological Landscapes across Borders (Budapest: Archaeolingua, 2019), which should help other researchers and heritage experts with planning their projects on archaeological landscapes.
Papers by Anja Hellmuth Kramberger
kamene do železne dobe med zahodno Azijo in srednjo Evropo.
Razmišljanja temeljijo predvsem na slikovnih upodobitvah, grobnih
najdbah in predmetih (kipi, figurice), ki predstavljajo ženske.
Vprašanja, ki izhajajo iz teh slikovnih in figuralnih upodobitev ter
grobnih najdb, zajemajo različne vidike, med drugim: v kakšnem
kontekstu se pojavljajo upodobitve žensk, kakšne značilnosti imajo
upodobitve, ali obstajajo namigi o predvideni uporabi upodobitev/
predmetov, ali upodobitve in grobne najdbe dajejo informacije
o družbenem statusu ali hierarhičnem položaju žensk v zadevni
prazgodovinski družbi, ali obstajajo dokazi o udeležbi žensk v verskih
in/ali obrednih dejavnostih itd.? Cilj je dobiti oris ženske sfere
v določenem časovnem okviru in prostoru.
A script of the equestrian nomads in the 1st millennium BC? Remarks on the so-called Scythian arrowheads with markings between Eastern Alps, Urals and Anatolia Numerous studies are devoted to the distribution, chronology and historical interpretation of the so-called Scythian arrowheads, which are known in the vast area between Central Europe, Eurasia and the Near East. Less well known and researched so far is the occurrence of incised and cast signs that occur on the wings and sometimes the sockets of the two- and threewinged bronze arrowheads. While such signs on finds from the Northern Pontic region and Anatolia have been known for some time, their occurrence on arrowheads from eastern Central Europe, more precisely on arrowheads from the fortified Hallstatt-settlement Smolenice-Molpír, belongs to the more recent discoveries. While initially only a very small number of pieces with incised signs have been discovered and made public, we can now say that their number and their variety are much larger. The finds from Smolenice-Molpír are now among the largest ensembles of arrowheads with incised signs, which are known to date. With a view to comparable finds, the question arises of the interpretation of these signs – is it possibly a sign system that was widespread in the mounted nomadic cultural circle and is to be addressed as writing?
in Kleinklein and the hilltop settlement on Burgstallkogel is one of the most prominent
European Early Iron Age landscapes. It has been in the focus of researchers since the end
of the 19th century and still is today. In 2017, the EU-project Iron-Age-Danube enabled
researchers from the Universalmuseum Joanneum to focus intensively on the region again.
New methods, such as the systematic evaluation of ALS data and extensive geophysics,
were used in addition to archaeological excavations. The focus of the research was not on
the main settlement and the tumulus cemeteries around Burgstallkogel, but also only on
other important points in the micro-region that showed potential for human activities in the
Early Iron Age, as for example the settlement at Königsberg near Heimschuh. The new data
enabled us to do extensive mapping and a discussion on settlement dynamics of the Sulm
valley, also from the viewpoint of the Central Place Theory.
Special attention was given to the changes in the landscape caused by human intervention into the environment, e.g. by the cultivation of new plants and the domestication of animals, by the building of larger settlements or metal production. Part of the research included the discovery and identification of different plant species as well as domesticated and wild animals in archaeological contexts. To reach these results it was necessary that archaeologists, botanists, archaeobotanists as well as archaeozoologists worked hand in hand to create a better understanding of the interaction between nature and humans. With this interdisciplinary cooperation, we built new knowledge of the circumstances that influenced the dietary habits of people in the past.
The publication is one of the results of the interdisciplinary “PalaeoDiversiStyria” project, with the full name “Palaeolandscape of Styria and its Biodiversity from Prehistory to the Discovery of the New World”. It was a partnership between Universalmuseum Joanneum, the Institute for Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, two botanical gardens led by the Universities of Maribor and of Graz, and two Municipalities, Grosklein in Austria and Hoče-Slivnica in Slovenia. The project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the framework of the INTERREG Slovenia-Austria V-A 2014-2020 cooperation programme.
The studies have a broad span in their interpretative approaches; however, they all bring important new results on the Early Iron Age landscapes of the Danube region and present a fundament for further research of archaeological landscapes in the region and beyond.
The Iron-Age-Danube project — its full title is “Monumental Landscapes of the Early Iron Age in the Danube Basin” — was initiated in 2017 by 20 partners and associated partners from five countries in the Danube region. The project was co-financed within the framework of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme with EFRE funds in the amount of € 2,169,200. One of the major focuses of the project was the exploration of the rich archaeological heritage of the Early Iron Age (i.e. Hallstatt Period) in the Danube region using modern archaeological methods. For that purpose, a new format, the Archaeological Camps, was introduced to the region. This format for the first time combined various types of activities and comprised, in addition to research campaigns, a wide variety of heritage protection activities as well as actions to promote the inclusion of Iron-Age landscapes into the touristic offers of these regions. The camps were organized in four countries at selected locations within the nine preselected micro-regions and lasted one or two months. In this period, the institutions involved had the opportunity to combine their technologies, methodologies and expertise as well as to exchange their experiences and views. These chosen sites and their surrounding landscapes are embedded in a variety of environments of the Danube region, which in fact had a strong impact on the populations settling in these areas in the Early Iron Age, as well as on the archaeological research approaches. Combining their knowledge and specific skills, the experts have in this intensive cooperation established new strategies, which are tailored to each of the micro-regions. One of the results of this cooperation is also the monograph Researching Archaeological Landscapes across Borders (Budapest: Archaeolingua, 2019), which should help other researchers and heritage experts with planning their projects on archaeological landscapes.
kamene do železne dobe med zahodno Azijo in srednjo Evropo.
Razmišljanja temeljijo predvsem na slikovnih upodobitvah, grobnih
najdbah in predmetih (kipi, figurice), ki predstavljajo ženske.
Vprašanja, ki izhajajo iz teh slikovnih in figuralnih upodobitev ter
grobnih najdb, zajemajo različne vidike, med drugim: v kakšnem
kontekstu se pojavljajo upodobitve žensk, kakšne značilnosti imajo
upodobitve, ali obstajajo namigi o predvideni uporabi upodobitev/
predmetov, ali upodobitve in grobne najdbe dajejo informacije
o družbenem statusu ali hierarhičnem položaju žensk v zadevni
prazgodovinski družbi, ali obstajajo dokazi o udeležbi žensk v verskih
in/ali obrednih dejavnostih itd.? Cilj je dobiti oris ženske sfere
v določenem časovnem okviru in prostoru.
A script of the equestrian nomads in the 1st millennium BC? Remarks on the so-called Scythian arrowheads with markings between Eastern Alps, Urals and Anatolia Numerous studies are devoted to the distribution, chronology and historical interpretation of the so-called Scythian arrowheads, which are known in the vast area between Central Europe, Eurasia and the Near East. Less well known and researched so far is the occurrence of incised and cast signs that occur on the wings and sometimes the sockets of the two- and threewinged bronze arrowheads. While such signs on finds from the Northern Pontic region and Anatolia have been known for some time, their occurrence on arrowheads from eastern Central Europe, more precisely on arrowheads from the fortified Hallstatt-settlement Smolenice-Molpír, belongs to the more recent discoveries. While initially only a very small number of pieces with incised signs have been discovered and made public, we can now say that their number and their variety are much larger. The finds from Smolenice-Molpír are now among the largest ensembles of arrowheads with incised signs, which are known to date. With a view to comparable finds, the question arises of the interpretation of these signs – is it possibly a sign system that was widespread in the mounted nomadic cultural circle and is to be addressed as writing?
in Kleinklein and the hilltop settlement on Burgstallkogel is one of the most prominent
European Early Iron Age landscapes. It has been in the focus of researchers since the end
of the 19th century and still is today. In 2017, the EU-project Iron-Age-Danube enabled
researchers from the Universalmuseum Joanneum to focus intensively on the region again.
New methods, such as the systematic evaluation of ALS data and extensive geophysics,
were used in addition to archaeological excavations. The focus of the research was not on
the main settlement and the tumulus cemeteries around Burgstallkogel, but also only on
other important points in the micro-region that showed potential for human activities in the
Early Iron Age, as for example the settlement at Königsberg near Heimschuh. The new data
enabled us to do extensive mapping and a discussion on settlement dynamics of the Sulm
valley, also from the viewpoint of the Central Place Theory.
Rimska država je nastala na območju mesta Rim, ki je bil ves čas glavno mesto rimske republike in nato cesarstva. Rimljani so osvojili vso Sredozemlje, jugovzhodno Evropo, prostor današnje Anatolije, del Bližnjega vzhoda, polovico Britanskega otočja in večji del Srednje Evrope. Zaradi dolgega obstoja (od 27. pr. n. št. do 476 n. št.) in velikega obsega Rimskega cesarstva so rimske prakse močno vplivale na razvoj jezika, religije, umetnosti, arhitekture, filozofije in prava v takratnem času, znanja pa so se prenesla od ene do druge države, iz ene v drugo kulturo in iz roda v rod vse dodanes (npr. Bratož 2007).
Ena pomembnejših novosti, ki se je z rimsko civilizacijo razširila po Evropi, je bila pisava. Omogočila je lažje shranjevanje in širjenje podatkov in sporočil med ljudmi, hkrati pa (ob zapisu na odporen medij) njihovo trajnejšo hrambo. Posledično se nam je v pisnih virih iz antičnega obdobja ohranilo veliko podrobnosti o takratnih dogodkih in življenju ljudi, v nekaterih pisnih virih pa so zabeleženi tudi različni detajli o tehnikah ribolova, ujetih ribah in o antičnih kuharskih receptih.
aktivnost, v nekaterih delih sveta pa so imele nekatere vrste rib
celo božanski pomen. To nam dokazujejo najdbe ribolovnih
pripomočkov, analize ribjih kosti ter številne upodobitve in
zapisi na reliefih, klinopisnih tablicah in papirusih na prostoru
nastanka prvih visokih civilizacij na Bližnjem vzhodu in v
starem Egiptu.
2300 in 800 pr. n. št. in na območje od Srednje Evrope na severu in severne Afrike in vzhodnega Sredozemlja na jugu.
Specifically focussing on the Balkan Peninsula, this session aims at understanding different aspects of the interplay between human groups and the mountainous landscape and its change over time.
One of the main goals is to stimulate a theoretical informed debate based on archaeological evidence by cutting across traditional geographic, methodological, and chronological boundaries and by challenging established assumptions and interpretative frameworks In particular, the following topics will be discussed:
1) Appropriation of resources in a mountainous environment. These are intended as socially produced constructions expressing what people perceived as relevant for their life, and satisfying both physical and social needs.
2) Building local and “global” identities, change and endurance of cultural customs and socio-political relations
3) Mountains as sacred topography. Perception and reshaping of natural landscapes in connection with cult practices and funerary customs.
We invite doctoral students, early career researchers, and established scholars to submit papers discussing their research in Balkan Prehistory. Papers adopting a comparative or diachronic perspective stressing both on local characteristics and interregionally shared features are especially welcome.
The Eastern Mediterranean – Ancient meeting place of cultures" (19th Grazer Althistorische Adventgespräche), 12.-13. Dezember 2019:
Charakteristikum der kroatische Halbinsel Istrien sind ab dem Beginn der Frühbronzezeit die Gradinen, Bergsiedlungen mit verteidigungswirksamer Architektur aus ringförmig angelegten Mauern. Seit 1997 wird durch ein deutsch-kroatisch-slowenisch /kroatisch-koreanisches Team besonders eine Mikroregion mit ihrem Siedlungssystem nahe der Ortschaft Rovinj an der Westküste der Halbinsel intensiv erforscht. Insbesondere die Forschungen in der Gradina von Monkodonja, der Zentralsiedlung des Siedlungssystems, haben umfassende neue Erkenntnisse zur Einbindung des Ortes in das weitreichende frühbronzezeitliche Kommunikationsnetz erbracht. Von besonderem Interesse sind dabei die Kontakte zu den gleichzeitigen Hochkulturen des Östlichen Mittelmeerkulturraumes. Reflektiert sind diese auf unterschiedliche Weise. Zum einen finden sich in Istrien keramische Formen wie Dreifußteller, die ihre Parallelen im Ostmediterranen Raum haben. Zu nennen sind auch bestimmte Ziermotive, die sich einerseits auf der Keramik in Monkodonja finden, andererseits auf Zierelementen aus Mykene oder auf Spinnwirteln aus Troja. Auch für die Architektur der Bergsiedlungen wird auf Parallelen im Östlichen Mittelmeerraum, wie bspw. in Aegina, hingewiesen. Weitere Einflüsse zeigen sich bei der wirtschaftlichen Organisation: bestimmte Gebäude dienten als Magazine, über die Ein- und Ausgänge der Waren wurde wahrscheinlich Buch geführt und es stellt sich die Frage, ob wir eine „Palastwirtschaft“ im frühbronzezeitlichen Istrien fassen können, die auf Kontakte in den Östlichen Mittelmeerraum zurückgehen.
In the late 10th and early 9th century BC in Assyria - for example on a stele from Tell Aschera from the time of Tukulti-Ninurta II which is depicting the weather god Adad - appears for the first time a striking robe: made from a garment which is richly ornamented with cassettes or rhombuses. In the course of the following 200 years, such a decorated garment becomes in the Assyrian Empire the characteristic attribute of the ruler or of divine beings. In a somewhat modified form, we also know such decorated garments from the kingdom of Urartu, which is adjacent to Assyria. Remarkably, it was mainly women, priestesses and goddesses, who wore such robes with cassette-decoration. Across Asia Minor the motif or this type of garment reached around 700 BC also Greece. And here too, the robe with a cassette-pattern appears in a new context: usually worn by heroes and gods. Finally, in a rudimentary form, the cassette- and rhombus pattern can still be grasped in the eastern Alpine region of the Easthallstatt circle, in fact in the Situla art. Over several centuries, we are able to capture a special form of robe decoration over a wide area, from Western Asia to the Eastern Alps, which was a special attribute of rulers, gods and mythical figures. However, as the origin of these robes must be considered the Ancient Orient, Assyria.
In the first half of the second millennium BC, the Istrian peninsula emerges as a coherent cultural space, which is characterized by Gradinas, fortified hilltop settlements with circular walls built in dry-stone technique, and a very specific pottery. The rough karst landscape of the peninsula was inhabited especially in the western part in the coastal areas, the mountainous central and northeastern part show a lower population density. Influences of the Istrian peninsula respectively the integration into the same cultural space are particularly evident in the spread of the specific pottery in the area of the Trieste karst on the one hand and in the area of the Kvarner Bay on the other. In particular, the appearance of comparable material culture on the Kvarner islands speaks for a lively exchange in the context of a communication network by sea. The situation is markedly different in the hinterland of the Primorsko-notranjska region of south-western Slovenia and in the Primorje-Gorski kotar county in north-western Croatia, which are bordering on Istria. Comparable ceramics are hardly known here. The question arises whether this is merely a desideratum of research or whether the Učka massif in the north-east of the Istrian peninsula formed a geographic and cultural boundary during the developed Early and Middle Bronze Age?
In recent years, based on intensive research, it has become clear that the peninsula of Istria was integrated into the broad Central European communication network during the developed Early and Middle Bronze Age. On the one hand, this is evidenced by the finds of “Loaf-of-Bread Idols” and characteristic bronzes that came to light in the fortified settlement of Monkodonja, and on the other hand by the fact that the Istrian ceramic spectrum shows clear relations to the Danube-Carpathian region. Particularly noteworthy are elements from the ceramic repertoire of the Aunjetitz culture in Lower Austria with the Unterwölbing group and the Böheimkirchner group of the Vĕteřov culture. For some vessels it can also be assumed that they are imports from the aforementioned region.
The research in the fortified hilltop settlement of Monkodonja has also shown that the settlement has pronounced hierarchical structures. These include differences in the architecture of individual areas of the settlement and differences in the spectrum of finds. Furthermore, there is evidence that centralized storage of large quantities of food, delivered from surrounding areas, has been practiced. On the one hand, we want to discuss in our presentation the findings and finds that support these hierarchical structures, and on the other hand, we will stress out the relationship with the Central European communication network.
On the one hand, the Istrian peninsula can be described as the periphery of the Hallstatt and La Tène cultural milieu and, on the other hand, it formed an important contact zone between the Central European and Adriatic-Mediterranean cultural spheres. For the Late Iron Age our knowledge about the culture of the Histri, the historically testified inhabitants of the peninsula, primarily comes from the numerous necropolises. The state of research on the contemporary settlements is - with the exception of the Histrian capital Nesactium - much worse and it is known to date little about the Iron Age settlements.
Between 2016-2018 an international Korean-Croatian research project was dedicated to the study of a Bronze Age settlement system south of the small port town of Rovinj, during which archaeological excavations were carried out on three of the numerous characteristic fortified hilltop settlements, the so-called Gradinas or Kastellieri. The findings on the Gradina Monbrodo near Cisterna Bay, a hilltop settlement located directly on the coast, should prove particularly significant. In fact, it could be determined that we are not only dealing with a large fortified settlement of the Early and Middle Bronze Age, but that the place was massively fortified and densely populated also in the Late Iron Age. The rich finds such as specific Latène fibulae, imported wheel-made pottery, amber etc. testify to the integration of the site into the Late Iron Age trade and communications network during a period immediately before the subjugation of Istria by the Imperium Romanum in the first half of the 2nd century BC. The location directly on the coast probably speaks for the fact that the settlement needs to be seen as a trans-regional trading center in the maritime trade.
In our contribution some of the most important findings and finds from the Gradina Monbrodo will be presented for the first time and provide an insight into one of the rare known settlements of the Late Iron Age in Istria.
23. - 24. May 2019, Faculty of Humanities, University of Primorska, , Slovenia
In den letzten Jahren konnten zahlreiche neue Erkenntnisse zur früh- und mittelbronzezeitlichen Keramik Istriens anhand des umfangreichen keramischen Fundmaterials aus der Gradina von Monkodonja gewonnen werden. Während bis dato nur sehr wenig über das lokale Formenspektrum der Gefäße der Gradinen Istriens und potentielle Einflüssen aus benachbarten und weiter entfernten Regionen bekannt war, zeichnet sich nun ein deutliches Bild in dem Istrien als Schnittstelle zwischen dem Adriatischen Kulturraum und dem Donau-Karpatenraum bzw. Mitteleuropa hervortritt.
Eine besondere Gruppe an Gefäßen aus der Gradina von Monkodonja bilden Miniaturgefäße. Bei diesen gilt es zu unterscheiden zwischen kleinen, sehr groben, fingerhutartigen Gefäßen und detaillierten Imitationen großer Gefäße. Bemerkenswert sind vor allem Imitationen von Pithoi mit anthropomorphen Verzierungen. Wofür haben sie gedient? Handelt es sich um Hilfsmittel bei handwerklichen Tätigkeiten, um Aufbewahrungsorte für spezielle Substanzen, um Spielzeuge oder um Opfergaben?
Največje in najbolj znano gradišče v okolici mesta Rovinj (HR) v Istri je Monkodonja. Naselje bi naj imelo v reginalnem bronastodobnem poselitvenem sistemu vlogo osrednjega naselja. V okolici gradišča, pa se nahaja več manjših naselbin, ki so označene s terminus tehnikus satelitske naselbine. O teh naselbinah je bilo doslej malo znanega, za večino od njih niti ne vemo v katerem obdobju so bile dejansko naseljene. To je bil razlog zato, da smo pričeli leta 2016 s projektom »Bronze Age Settlement Hierarchies in Istria, Croatia«. Gre za korejski-hrvaški projekt, katerega cilj je bil zbrati nove podatke o gradiščih v okolici Monkodonje in o prazgodovinskemu poselitvenemu sistemu v okolici Rovinja. Leta 2016 smo začeli z majhnimi sondiranji v eni od večjih naselbin, imenovani Monbrodo, ki leži okrog 5 kilometrov jugozahodno od Monkodonje. Na 30 metrov visokem griču je bilo skupaj identificiranih šest obzidij in več teras. Na treh od njih so bile v obdobju 2016–2018 raziskane tri sonde. Sonde so dale številne informacije o zgodovini poslitve, kakor tudi o arhitekturnem razvoju naselja. Na akropoli smo naleteli na skoraj 2 metrov globoko stratigrafijo, pri čemer je bilo v najnižjih plasteh, nad apnencem oziroma živo skalo najdeno veliko lončenine, ki je povsem primerljiva z materialom iz Monkodonje. Gre torej za pozne zgodnje in začetek srednje bronaste dobe oziroma za konec stopnje (bronaste dobe) Bz A1 in prehod iz stopnje Bz B1 v Bz B2 / C1 po kronološki shemi Reinecke-ja. Toda, če je bila Monkodonja uničena na sredini drugega tisočletja pred našim štetjem in potem kasneje več nikoli ni bila naseljena, pa kaže Monbrodo intenzivno poselitev v mlajši železni dobi. Poleg tega so bile ugotovljene tudi naselbinske ostaline, ki sodijo glede na stratigrafsko zaporedje v čas med srednjo bronasto dobo in mlajšo železno dobo. Ta faza poselitve datira verjetno v pozno bronasto, ali zgodnjo železno dobo.
S predstavitvijo želimo podati kratek vpogled v najpomembnejše rezultate raziskav na istrskem gradišču Monbrodo.
the European Association of Archaeologists, Barcelona 2018.
Session 623 Beyond Ramparts, Walls and Ditches: new Perspectives on the European Hillforts
Since the 19th century the interest of scientists and antiquity lovers is directed to the prehistoric hillfort settlements, also known as Gradine, Castellieri or Kastelliere, on the Istrian peninsula. Several Hundred of these fortified settlements, situated on the tops of the countless hills of the Karst, are today registered. However, investigated by systematic archaeological research, are only a few of
them. The Gradina of Monkodonja near the small port city of Rovinj on the western coast of Istria, excavated with modern methods, is currently the best investigated. It dates to the developed Early and beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. Researches led to multiple new insights, as the chronology, the settlement organization and the remote contacts. But they have also raised new questions.
Because of the size of the Gradina Monkodonja with an almost 1 km long outer fortification wall and it´s prominent position, it was supposed by the excavators that it was a central hillfort within a settlement system with various small satellite settlements. However, until today not much information about these smaller, presumed satellite settlements – especially regarding their chronological assignment - is known. Therefore, it is mainly unclear if they indeed lived contemporary with the supposed central settlement Monkodonja and that a hierarchical system of hillforts existed in the Bronze Age. New researches funded by the National Research
Foundation of Korea and supported by the Archaeological museum of Istria in Pula and the Rovinj Heritage Museum are aimed since 2016 at the exploration of the system of hillforts around Rovinj. One step in the investigation is directed on gaining new data regarding the chronological assignment of the smaller hillforts. Significant new results stem from the Gradine Monbrodo and Monvi, which
shed new light on the aforementioned questions about the settlement system around Rovinj.
Research has increasingly shifted from the study of single sites to the contemplation of prehistoric cultural landscapes. Legacies of human activities are assessed in their relationship to each other and in terms of space, time and environment. The EU project “Iron-Age-Danube” deals with the exploration of Iron Age cultural landscapes as part of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme. Eleven project partners and nine associated partners from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia are dedicated to research and promote nine Iron Age micro-regions. One researched micro-region is located in the municipality of Großklein, Styria, determined by the rivers Sulm and Saggau and best known by the vast Sulm valley-necropolis below the settlement Burgstallkogel. While the numerous tumuli groups are well researched, it is unclear to what extent Burgstallkogel possessed a specific position within a settlement hierarchy or even as central settlement. Archeological landscape research is pursuing the aforementioned question in the frame of the project. Significant new insights brought the investigations on the nearby hillfort Königsberg. Although in the vicinity of Königsberg are situated isolated groups of tumuli, the situation is not comparable with Burgstallkogel and also spatially considered these groups lay in considerable distance from the settlement. This may be an indicator of the chronological assignment of the settlement, and indeed, both the ceramic material and radiocarbon dates point to an occupation in the late Urnfield period. The question arises if we are dealing with possible hierarchical changes between both settlements in the course of upheavals at the end of the Late Bronze Age and at the beginning of the Early Iron Age. Did the settlement on Königsberg have to relinquish its formerly dominant role to its competitor on Burgstallkogel, which in the following centuries became seat of an elite that presented itself with splendidly furnished graves under monumental tumuli?
Während für den bronzezeitlichen Mittelmeer-Kulturraum und auch Vorderasien recht konkrete Kenntnisse zur Lagerung, Verwaltung und Distribution von Gütern in den urbanen Zentren vorliegen, standen für Istrien im 2. Jahrtausend vor Christus bis dato kaum Informationen hinsichtlich dieser Thematik zur Verfügung. Gleichwohl jedoch wurden Aufbau und Architektur der befestigten Bergsiedlungen, Gradinen, mit zeitgleichen Erscheinungen im östlichen Mittelmeerraum verglichen. Gleiches gilt für bestimmte keramische Erzeugnisse wie Dreifüßen bzw.
Dreifußplatten, die sich einerseits auf dem griechischen Festland, Kreta und Zypern finden, andererseits in Istrien. Zahlreiche neue Erkenntnisse hinsichtlich der Lagerung, Organisation und Distribution von Nahrung konnten in den letzten Jahren anhand der umfangreichen Ausgrabungen und Studien am Material aus der früh- bis mittelbronzezeitlichen Gradina von Monkodonja nahe Rovinj an der Westküste Istriens gewonnen werden. Einerseits haben die Analysen der Tierknochen bisher zeigen können, dass Nahrungsmittel wie Fleisch und Fisch in standarisierten Größen/Portionen in die Siedlung gebracht wurden. Andererseits offenbaren die Untersuchungen zur Verteilung der Keramik, dass bestimmte Bereiche innerhalb der befestigten Siedlung speziell zur Lagerung von Vorräten gedient haben müssen, andere womöglich zur Nahrungszubereitung in größerem Stil. Dabei deutet sich auch an, dass die Menge der gelagerten Nahrungsmittel den Bedarf der bronzezeitlichen Bewohner deutlich überstiegen haben dürfte. Man muss demnach davon ausgehen, dass Nahrungsmittel, die im Umfeld der Siedlung erzeugt wurden, an diese geliefert, zentral gelagert und von dort aus wieder verteilt wurden. Dabei ist zu vermuten, dass eine derartige Organisation von einem bestimmten Personenkreis bzw. herausgehobenen Einzelpersonen geleitet wurde und sich dies auch im Befund widerspiegelt. In der Tat konnte für Monkodonja festgestellt werden, dass sich innerhalb der Siedlung eine hierarchische Gliederung abzeichnet, innerhalb derer der Akropolis eine herausragende Stellung zukommt, die sich sowohl in der Architektur, als auch im Fundspektrum zeigt. Insgesamt liefern die bisherigen Erkenntnisse einige Argumente dafür, dass es sich bei der Gradina von Monkodonja um eine bronzezeitliche Zentralsiedlung innerhalb eines Siedlungssystems gehandelt hat, der eine wichtige Rolle in der zentralisierten Güterlagerung und Nahrungsdistribution zukam, und der damit eine ähnliche Position zugekommen sein mag, wie den Zentren im östlichen Mittelmeerraum.
Med letoma 1997 in 2009 so potekala v okviru hrvaško-nemško-slovenskega projekta na znamenitem gradišču Monkodonja pri Rovinju obsežna izkopavanja. Po trinajstih letih izkopavanj je bilo odkritih več 100.000 odlomkov lončenine iz razvite zgodnje in začetne srednje faze bronaste dobe, ki so bili vključeni v prvo obsežno študijo lončenine z istrskih gradišč, odkar so se začela njihova raziskovanja v sredini 19. stoletja. Rezultati te raziskave so bili objavljeni leta 2017 v monografiji z naslovom Monkodonja. Istraživanje protourbanog naselja brončanog doba Istre. Knjiga 2 - Keramika s brončanodobne gradine Monkodonja. Monografije i katalozi 28, Pula.”
V raziskavi smo makroskopsko analizirali in opisali smo več kot 7.400 posod in fragmentov posod. Te fragmente smo tipološko-kronološko določili in jim analizirali pojavnost znotraj izkopanega območja naselja glede na posamezne tipe. Več kot 1.000 odlomkov je predstavljenih v kataložnem delu knjige. Tipo-kronološla določitev keramike z Monkodonje je podprta z serijo 46 radiokarbonskih datumov, pridobljenih iz vzorcev kosti.
Te datacije umeščajo naselje med razvito zgodnjo bronasto dobo in začetkom srednje bronaste dobe, to je med 1850/1750 in 1500/1450 calBC; kar ustreza koncu stopnje Bd A1 in prehodu iz stopnje Bd B1 in Bd B2 / C1 po kronološki shemi Reinecke-ja. Radiokarbonske datacije in stratigrafski podatki kažejo na dve glavni fazi razvoja gradišča, ki je bilo uničeno v vojaškem spopadu, kmalu po letu 1500 pr. n. št. Čeprav so stratigrafski podatki omejeni zaradi kraških erozijskih procesov, je bilo mogoče na posameznih območjih ločiti dve fazi, ki smo ju lahko naslonili na keramične najdbe (starejši in mlajši horizont). Razlike med fazama so podprte s prepoznanimi subtilnimi spremembami v oblikah posod in s spremembami v keramični tehnologiji oziroma lončarski masi.
Do sedaj je naše znanje o lončenini istrskih gradišč temeljilo na zbirkah fragmentov posod in na izbranih posebnih delih kot so trikotni ročaji s ploščato ploščico. Posledično je bilo težko razlikovati med značilnimi lokalnimi oblikami in ornamenti na eni ter oblikami, ki od njih odstopajo, na drugi strani. Raziskave keramike z Monkodonje, so v nasprotju z vsemi pričakovanji pokazale, da je v keramičnem zbiru z istrskega gradišča kljub slabemu stanju ohranjanja najdb in kraških erozijskih procesov, mogoče združiti presenetljivo veliko število keramičnih fragmentov. Rezultat tega je, da je bilo v fragmentiranem keramičnem zbiru z Monkodonje, ki ga lahko štejemo kot značilnega predstavnika Istre kot celote in tudi tržaškega krasa, ugotovljen večji del oblikovnega spektra lončenine. Raziskave te lončenine so pokazale, da ima Istre v zgodnji in srednji bronasti dobi položaj pomembne kontaktne cone med Jadransko obalo na eni strani ter Donavsko-Karpatskim območjem in srednjo Evropo na drugi.
In recent decades, research has increasingly shifted from the extensive study of selected sites to the contemplation of prehistoric cultural landscapes. The legacies of human activities in the form of settlements, burial grounds, communication routes, mining areas, etc. are assessed in their direct relationship to each other and in terms of space, time and environment. As part of the EU project "Iron-Age-Danube", which deals with the exploration, protection and promotion of Iron Age cultural landscapes, the Universalmuseum Joanneum, department of Archaeology and Coin Cabinet, conducted 2017 in the frame of the international “Archaeology-Camp Austria 2017” archaeological researches in the micro-region of Großklein in Styria.
The micro-region of Großklein is determined by the two rivers Sulm, a right tributary of the Mur, and Saggau and is known in particular by the vast Sulmtal-necropolis below the Burgstallkogel. While the numerous groups of burial mounds are relatively well researched, the knowledge of the settlement system has large gaps. Accordingly, it is not yet clear to which extent the settlement on the Burgstallkogel possessed a specific position within a settlement hierarchy or even as a central settlement. How dense were the valleys of Sulm and Saggau populated in the Hallstatt period? As part of the "Iron-Age-Danube" objectives, landscape archeological research is pursuing the aforementioned questions. The evaluation of LiDAR images and ortho photos of the micro-region as well as geophysical prospections, fieldwalking and small test excavations should contribute to the understanding of the surroundings of the settlement Burgstallkogel and the Sulmtal-necropolis. On seven different places were conducted field researches in the frame of the “Archaeology-Camp Austria 2017” and different methods were tested. Among the locations – all potential Iron Age settlement sites - can be named on the one hand known archaeological sites like the hillfort Königsberg near Heimschuh, as well as until now uninvestigated potential settlement sites like a strategically located plateau on the hill Pernitschkogel, likewise situated near Heimschuh in the Sulm valley.
Assyrian cuneiform texts from the 8th century and 7th century BC tell us about the first known mounted nomadic tribes of history which became a threat to the Assyrian neighbor Urartu and later to the Assyrian Empire itself. They distinguish two different groups, the Gimirraia and the Ischkuzaia, which are often equated with the Cimmerians and the Scythians as they are mentioned in the Histories of Herodotus. It has long been the subject of research to distinguish these two groups on the basis of specific findings. Since there is an ongoing research discussion and an ethnic assignment is problematic, more often neutral terms as "mounted nomadic", “Eurasian nomadic” or “reiternomadisch” in German language are used. However, in the wide area of the Northern Black Sea region and in the steppe region further to the east there are indeed local peculiarities in the archaeological material to recognize that point to different groups. Local peculiarities even can be recognized within one of the most frequently represented group of finds of the Eurasian nomadic type, in fact in the different variations of arrowheads that are known in the research also under the term so-called “Scythian arrowheads”. On the one hand these arrowheads are known as grave goods in the Eurasian steppe region, the Northern Black Sea region and in the Carpathian Basin and on the other hand they appear in destruction layers of settlements in the western Danube region, the eastern part of Middle Europe, as well as in destruction layers of settlements in Western Asia. These finds obviously indicate those areas where groups of mounted nomads have entered in the frame of military campaigns as they are also documented in the written sources. That the likewise impact of groups of mounted nomads in the Danube region and in Western Asia in the Early Iron Age between the 8th and 7th century BC goes beyond raids and looting is indicated by finds that reflect an interaction sphere on the level of diplomacy and possible dynastic connections. In the Danube region in the later centuries, after the 7th century BC, even significant changes in the local material culture are to recognize and a population emerges that is distinguished by the component of mounted warfare itself.
Als eine wichtige Kontaktzone ist der Donau-Karpatenraum zu benennen, womit die Stellung Istriens als Mittler zwischen dem adriatischen Kulturraum und dem Donau-Karpatenraum sowie Zentraleuropa hervor tritt. Einerseits finden sich in Monkodonja einzelne Keramikfunde, bei denen es sich um Importe handeln mag. Andererseits lassen sich bestimmte Elemente der Gefäße mit Formen aus den früh- bis mittelbronzezeitlichen Kulturen des westlichen Donau-Karpatenraumes, insbesondere der Aunjetitz-Kultur in Niederösterreich mit der Unterwölbing-Gruppe sowie der Böheimkirchner Gruppe der Vĕteřov-Kultur vergleichen. Es liegen somit gemeinsame Charakteristika vor und im Falle spezieller Gefäßformen ist womöglich auch an einen ähnlichen Gebrauch dieser zu denken. Besonders im Falle der Feinkeramik mit regelhaft vorkommenden kleinen Trinkgefäßen, kleine Krüge und Kantharoi, wäre beispielsweise an ähnliche Trinksitten zu denken.
Mit dem vorliegenden Beitrag soll, am Beispiel Monkodonja, auf die Beziehungen zwischen Istrien zum Donau-Karpatenraum eingegangen werden, die sich mit Beginn der entwickelten Frühbronzezeit deutlich abzeichnen.
Location and Event: Wien, OREA/ÖAW, 5./6. April 2017, “South wind – Late Bronze Age cultural phenomena and influences from the Adriatic region to the north”, UK-Gespräche
In 2016 started new investigations on the Gradina Monbrodo, located directly at the sea on a 30 m high elevation, at the west coast of Istria in the municipality Rovinj as a Korean-Croatian joint project. Monbrodo is just 3 km away from the famous Gradina Monkodonja (Hänsel/Mihovilić/Teržan 2015) and has also been established by the recent findings in the Early Bronze Age. Unlike Monkodonja, which was destroyed in the middle of the 2nd millennium in consequence of a presumably military event and then not resettled, Monbrodo has also been used in the Iron Age. There are hints that the in the Early Bronze Age constructed annular walls of the Acropolis were rebuilt in the 1st millennium BC and that on Monbrodo, based on the discoveries of two Certosafibulae type VII (Teržan 1976, 355ff., Fig. 42, 44) and ceramic of the type Alto Adriatico (Landolfi 1996) a fortified settlement existed in the 5th-4th/3rd century BC. We are therefore dealing with a period for which in Istria are mostly graveyards known and explored. Among the most outstanding discoveries, which are linked to the late 5th /early 6th century BC in Istria, counts the situla from the grave vault of Nesactium that depicts a sea-battle (Mihovilić 1996, 47-48, Appendix 3).
Among the rare finds that integrate the Iron Age Istria in an extensive trading network, reaching as far as to the Baltic Sea, belong amber beads. An amber bead, which finds comparison in one piece from Nesactium (Mihovilić 2001 233, Pl. 77.2), came to light in the first excavation campaign on Monbrodo. Especially the ceramic of the type Alto Adriatico denotes access of Monbrodo to a trading network that likely went by sea. Our contribution would like to introduce the site Monbrodo and the ongoing project and present, with a view concerning the question of its role in the context of an Iron Age maritime trade as a settlement site situated directly on the coast, first contexts and finds.
Conference, Kiel: Socio-Environmental Dynamics over the Last 12,000 Years: The Creation of Landscapes V. International Open Workshop 2017, Exploring inter-regional interactions in the first Millennium BC in Europe.Regional and trans-regional interaction between the Baltic and the Mediterranean sphres in the first Millennium BC.
In meinem Beitrag soll es unter anderem um die folgenden Fragen gehen: mit welcher Häufigkeit lassen sich unter den frühskythischen Grabfunden des Mittleren Dneprgebiets tatsächlich bewaffnete Frauen nachweisen? Inwieweit kann über das Gendering von Grabbeigaben bei fehlenden anthropologischen Bestimmungen als alleiniger Identifikationsmethode von männlichen und weiblichen Bestattungen überhaupt eine Einschätzung vorgenommen werden? Handelt es sich bei den sicher als Grablegen bewaffneter Frauen bestimmten Bestattungen um herausragende Gräber? Zeichnen sie sich beispielsweise durch einen besonderen Beigabenreichtum aus oder eine besondere Größe von Grabkammer und Grabhügel, und in welcher Relation stehen sie zu den Männerbestattungen?
Location: Berlin
Event Date: 20.-21. 05. 2016
Organization: Institut für Prähistorische Archäologie der Freien Universität Berlin. Interdisziplinäre Konferenz „Big Men or Women? Neue interdisziplinäre Ansätze der Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung für die Eisenzeit Mitteleuropas“
In zahlreichen Kulturen ist die Praxis belegt, Gefäße und andere Güter auf dem Kopf zu transportieren. Vom biomechanischen Standpunkt aus stellt das Transportieren von Gegenständen auf dem Kopf den effizientesten Weg dar, um Güter zu bewegen. Studien mit Frauen aus Ostafrika zeigen, dass es diesen möglich ist bis zu 20% ihres eigenen Körpergewichts auf dem Kopf zu transportieren ohne dabei zusätzliche Energie aufwenden zu müssen. Die Frage, wie weit verbreitet der Transport von Gütern auf dem Kopf bereits in der Prähistorie war, stellt ein weniger beachtetes Thema dar. Die Quellenbasis umfasst in erster Linie bildliche Darstellungen, Figuralplastik und szenische Darstellungen auf Gefäßen. Hinweise auf den Transport von Gegenständen auf und mit Hilfe des Kopfes liefern ferner Untersuchungen am Skelettmaterial.
Location: Tübingen
Event Date: 30.-31. 10. 2015
Organization: AG Bronzezeit. „Transporte, Transportwege und Transportstrukturen“
The main objective of the symposium is to offer a multidisciplinary forum to discuss relevant topics and specific issues in cultural heritage protection and management and the application of digital methods for this purpose. The program shall encourage the scientific exchange and strengthen collaborative ties between participating institutions as well as increase the awareness of non-invasive methods in cultural heritage protection among stakeholders and the interested public.
Session 3: Raising Awareness for digital methods for cultural property protection and cultural heritage management
Along with hunting and agriculture, aquatic resources represented an important aspect of subsistence in past communities. The various fishing techniques are proven through the finds of artifacts such as fishing equipment, through pictorial representations, and bones.
In this session we want to discuss the role that aquatic resources played in prehistoric societies as well as methods and tools for assessing their societal impact. We aim to discuss the role of fish and marine mammals in the livelihoods of past communities, since for certain periods and cultures, the fish not only served as a food source, but also had a symbolic or mythological meaning. We aim at coming closer to answering the question of the internal and external perception of “fishers”.
We would like to invite contributions dealing with the use of aquatic resources and fishing techniques, but also theoretical contexts to discuss, for instance:
>> The importance of marine resources as food source and methods and techniques for aquiring them
>> the symbolic-religious meaning of the fish during different prehistoric periods
>> the archaeological analysis and evaluation of the relevance of aquatic resources in mixed economies
>> the social functions of fishing in certain communities. Were marine resources famine food, feast, seasonal abundance exploitation, export and trade, competitional, ‘social refugia’, etc.?
We want to welcome colleagues at all career levels and offer particularly young researchers a platform to present their research results.
We also encourage studies that go beyond data presentation and contextualize their findings in a social perspective. Hence. ideas and methodological discussions are as welcome as archaeozoological, iconographic or techno-typological studies, to name a few.