AV 70, 2019: Branko KERMAN

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK 70, 2019

Branko KERMAN

Settlements from the Early Iron Age in Prekmurje

Abstract

In Prekmurje, the archaeological excavations that took place due to the construction of highways from 1999 to 2008 uncovered settlements and cemeteries that offered a quite new image of the inhabitation of the lowlands along the Mura in the Early Iron Age. Along the southern edge of Murska Sobota small hamlets and corresponding cemeteries were excavated at the sites of Kotare – Baza and Kotare – Krogi, and also Nova tabla and Za Raščico. A Hallstatt period settlement with a cemetery was discovered at the site of Pri Muri near Lendava. Two types of dwellings were found: above ground buildings, constructed with vertical wooden beams (supports for the walls and for the gable roof structure), and dug-in structures – pit-dwellings.

A comparative analysis of selected pottery fragments from the sites of Kotare – Baza, Nova tabla, and Pri Muri indicates their typological and chronological similarity, as well as similarities with settlements along the Drava River at Ormož and Zbelava near Varaždin, and also with material from elevated fortified settlements at Gornja Radgona, Poštela, and Rifnik and in Austrian Styria (Kleinklein, Kapfensteiner Kogel, etc.), which are dated to the period from the later Urnfield Culture (Ha B) and in the Early Iron Age (Ha C–HaD1).

Keywords: Slovenia, Prekmurje, Kotare – Baza, Kotare – Krogi, Nova tabla, Za Raščico, Pri Muri, Early Iron Age, settlements, cemeteries, pottery material, radiocarbon analysis

Article (pdf)