Review article
Was there an antique observation post on the Šćah hill?
David Štrmelj
; Zadar, Hrvatska
Abstract
Although the island of Ugljan counts as one of the largest islands in the Zadar archipelago, it is unfortunately one of the least excavated places in the region. The prehistorical metal periods are attested only by a number of unexcavated small hillforts and tumuli, while in the classical Antiquity, the island had served as an agrarian extension of the nearby Roman colony of Iader; this has been validated by a certain number of mainly unexcavated villas and remains of the first-century centuriation.
This articles deals with one hillfort attested in the 70' on the Šćah hill, which is the highest peak of the island. Although Šćah has so far never been systematically excavated, the surface finds, as well as its strategic position, indicate that the site had been used as a signal observation post. Moreover, the author thoroughly examines types of (fire) signalisation in the Antiquity and early medieval period, with special attention paid to Eastern Adriatic.
The second part of the article deals with the finds of two metal birds, presumably ducks (picture 3 in the text). The stratigraphy and context of the finds are uncertain. The birds were deposited in the local school, in a box with other artefacts, mainly pottery, dating from the Iron Age Orljak hillfort by late Vladimir Vidović, a local archaeologist. Judging by the holes in the middle of the items, and the fact that the artefacts were processed only on one side, it seams that the birds were an integral part of a larger composition, where they faced opposite directions. It is hard to find direct parallels with these two items, but the motif pertains to the spiritual world of late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. The fact that the birds were found on an Iron Age hillfort gives us an additional argument to label this find as an Iron Age product. Local Liburnians cherished the late Bronze Age iconography deep into the Iron Age; though bird manifestations in their material culture are not rare, there are no direct parallels to the Ugljan finds.
Keywords
Ugljan; signal heap; patrol; hillfort; observation post
Hrčak ID:
148881
URI
Publication date:
2.12.2015.
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