The earliest past of Svetvinčenat and its surroundings

Abstract

The paper deals with the oldest history of Svetvinčenat and its territory on the basis of archaeological finds, written sources and cartographic data. There is a relatively limited amount of information on this area, and - as archaeological excavations were never made here - the facts here presented were obtained mainly by surveying the territory. The oldest traces of human presence date to the Bronze Age, during the 2nd millenium B. C., when people lived in fortified settlements on hill-tops, in so-called castellieri (gradine): Lakoršaga, Kmički vrh between Orihi and Skitača, Gradina near Čabrunići, Tondolon, Pešćine. The usual form of burial was under tumuli, which are documented in Škicini, Soline - Sohe near Bjažići, Glavica south of Sv. Peter. Burial inside the settlement, such as in the case of Gradina near Čabrunići, illustrates the burial customs in Middle Bronze Age. During Roman rule in Istria, the area of Svetvinčenat was on the northern border of the territory of the colony of Pola. Finds of pottery, building elements, tombs and inscriptions are not rare, and they date from the period between the 2nd century B. C. to the 4th-5th century A. D., when the first changes owing to barbaric migrations were starting to be felt in Istria as well. A number of roman and late roman sites are known in the surroundings of Svetvinčenat: Skicini, Turki, Markovica and Suhi Dub. The continuity of settlement and population is best confirmed in sites with church buildings: St. Mary "of the three borders" (Sv. Marija od tri kunfina), and St. Peter.