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Excavation of the Multi-Layer Kalnik-Igrišće Site in 2007
Snježana Karavanić
; Excavation of the Multi-Layer Kalnik-Igrišće Site in 2007
Abstract
The Kalnik-Igrišće site is situated on the southern slopes of Kalnik Mountain at around 500 m above sea level. From 1988 to 1990 systematic excavations were conducted on the cadastral plot no. 40 (Borje Cadastral Municipality) (Majnarić-Pandžić 1992; Vrdoljak 1992; Vrdoljak 1994; Vrdoljak, Forenbacher 1995), while these new systematic excavations, launched in 2006 (Karavanić 2007), are being conducted on the cadastral plot 233 (Kalnik Cadastral Municipality) which is the property of the public forest management company Hrvatske šume. The management of Hrvatske šume has been notified of these excavations. Overall, in April and September 2007 an area of 60 m2 was opened (Fig. 1). The majority of movable finds from Kalnik-Igrišće in 2007 is, of course, pottery. The finds are dated to various historic periods. In the surface levels (SJ 001 and 002) these items are mixed, so that medieval, Roman and La Tène pottery can be found together with that of the Late Bronze Age. Below these surface layers there are closed complexes in the form of hearths or pits from the La Tène and Roman periods which cut through the Late Bronze Age layers. The inventory of Late Bronze Age pottery are mainly various types of larger pots decorated with lines made by finger incisions. Their dating is very broad, as they appear through the entire Late Bronze Age from Ha A to Ha B. In the excavation report for 2006 (Karavanić 2007), it was pointed out that in this part of the settlement the biconical cups so frequent in earlier excavations on cadastral plot no. 40 (Vrdoljak 1994) were found only sporadically or not at all. Therefore, on the basis of pottery items a horizontal stratigraphy of the site was assumed. A very significant find is a cup decorated with the so-called pseudoschnur ornamentation, found in SJ 012 (the “gravel” layer), which was found above a layer of soot (SJ 014), pits (SJ 013, 015, 018, 019) and hearth (SJ 016, 020). The fragment can be dated into Ha B and is a characteristic find at Slovenian sites of the Ruša group, e.g. at the eponymous site, the Ruše cemetery (Müller-Karpe 1959, T. 108, B1, M2) and at Brinjeva gora (Pahič 1989-1990). One such decorated fragment was also found in earlier excavations on plot no. 40 (Vrdoljak 1994, T. 33.1).
In summary, the result of excavations on cadastral plot no. 233 (Kalnik Cadastral Municipality) is a multi-layered medieval, Roman, Celtic and Late Bronze Age site. The Middle Ages are represented only by sporadic fragments of pottery in the surface layer, while other periods are represented with structures and cultural deposits. From the Roman period, there is a hearth (Fig. 3) and a burial which can be dated, thanks to the discovery of coins, to the second half of the third century. La Tène finds, based on stylistic features, were dated to the Late La Tène. The most significant results were obtained in Late Bronze Age layers and structures, which can be dated to the early and younger Urnfield culture which encompasses phases Ha A and B. Over an area of 60 m2, part of a settlement with hearths (Fig. 2) were found, as well as pits for supplies alongside which daily kitchen activities took place, such as food preparation, weaving, etc. Excavations in 2007 also extended the dating of the Late Bronze Age settlement on Igrišće to Ha B. It should be possible to prove the existence of an earlier and younger phase of habitation in the Late Bronze Age using stratigraphic methods. An attempt will be made to complete these results by C-14 analyses.
Keywords
Kalnik; settlement; Late Bronze Age
Hrčak ID:
34051
URI
Publication date:
19.3.2009.
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