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Stobreč 2012 – Hellenistic fortification
Marina Ugarković
; Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb, Croatia
Tina Neuhauser
; ArchaeoAir, Ligist, Austria
Abstract
The ancient Issaean small urban settlement of Epetion (modern Stobreč) was founded on the mainland of the East Adriatic coast, in the 3rd century BC. Possibly it played a role in transference of the Greek cultural traits further into the mainland, probably along with Issaean products, wherein lies its importance. Epetion emerged on a peninsula (4.5ha), that was soon encircled and protected with the city fortification. The remains of these walls are nowadays visible only on the north-east side of the peninsula, where one stone row still lies reconstructed above the terrain level. Epetion was never the subject of systematic archaeological research. In September 2012, the cooperation of the Institute of Archaeology from Zagreb and the Institut für Archäologie der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz led to short investigations in the area of the visible Hellenistic fortification on the north-eastern side of the Stobreč peninsula. As a part of preparatory work in February 2012, in collaboration with the Institute for Geography and Regional Science Graz (IGR), a non-destructive method (GPR) was used to investigate the area inside and outside of the remains of the Northern fortification walls. The primary focus in the first year was on the digital and up-to-date documentation of the Hellenistic fortification. The two main questions were whether the original fortification was preserved below the reconstructed stone line, and the actual state it was in. Two trenches were opened, one outside the fortification walls, on the western part of the parcel, and the other one between the clay-filled, double-faced ashlar masonry wall. In the trench in front of the fortification walls stratigraphy of the layers documented the site formation process (SU 1-10). All layers had mixed material dating from the Late Iron Age up to the present day, mostly findings from the ancient period. SU 7 was defined as the trench for levelling the terrain. The results showed that the Hellenistic fortification was preserved in situ, exactly below the reconstructed part, below the modern terrain level. The exterior and interior facings of the Epetion Hellenistic fortification were built from big stone blocks, without bindings. The width of the Hellenistic fortification varies between 3,20m to 3,40m. The exterior facing of Epetion´s clay-filled, double-faced ashlar masonry wall is well preserved, and on this part so far documented up to 2m in depth.
Keywords
Stobreč-Epetion; Hellenistic fortification; GPR; archaeological documentation
Hrčak ID:
112034
URI
Publication date:
13.12.2013.
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