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The fourth season of archaeological investigations at Virje – Volarski breg/Sušine
Tajana Sekelj Ivančan
orcid.org/0000-0001-5992-8434
; Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The archaeological excavations carried out at Virje-Volarski breg/Sušine in the autumn 2013 covered 300 m2 in two trenches. The trenches were carefully chosen and positioned according to the results of geophysical investigations carried out in spring 2013, with a view to obtaining precise information regarding the recognition and appearance of the elements of a smelting workshop.
The archaeological investigations corroborated the existence of the remains of a smelting workshop in Trench S-7 and remains of a settlement in Trench S-8 at Sušine. In the western part of Trench S-7 we documented and excavated a part of the space used for dumping smelting waste, while in the south-eastern part there was a space with the remains of four furnaces for smelting iron ore. In the north-western part of Trench S-7 we investigated an elongated prehistoric feature from the La Tene period.
Trench S-8 yielded the remains of habitation with a recognizable larger structure and an open-air fireplace next to it. Based on the abundant collected remains of pottery of coarse texture, simple rim profilations and combed waveline decoration, as well as the indicative find of a part of a bronze belt strap-end, the structure can preliminarily be dated to the early medieval period.
At Sušine we investigated the remains of a smelting workshop and the remains of a settlement from the Early Middle Ages. In the investigated workshop complex a significant portion of the surface was covered by the waste dumped from the workshop. The excavations covered only a peripheral part of the workshop with the remains of furnaces that presumably extended further, beneath unexcavated ploughland. Based on the present state of research we cannot determine whether the smelting workshop at Sušine was in operation during the life of the early medieval settlement located adjacent to it, and the answer to this question will be provided by future planned interdisciplinary analyses.
Keywords
Virje; position Sušine; rescue archaeological investigation; remains of a smelting workshop; early mediaeval settlement; La Tene period
Hrčak ID:
128697
URI
Publication date:
17.10.2014.
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