Projects / Programmes
Iron Age settlement at Most na Soči – the beginnings of urbanism in the southeastern Alps
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.02.00 |
Humanities |
Archaeology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H340 |
Humanities |
Archaeology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.01 |
Humanities |
History and Archaeology |
Southeastern Alps, Most na Soči, Iron Age, S. Lucia group, settlements, urbanism, material culture, paleo-economy
Researchers (7)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
In Slovenia, only a handful of settlements from the Early Iron Age have been extensively explored, allowing an insight into the urban layout, organization and use of space. Most na Soči (known also as S. Lucia) stands out among them with the remains of the settlement from the Bronze and Iron Age and from Roman period. Dwelling complex above the confluence of the Soča / Isonzo and Idrijca Rivers represents together with the adjacent cemeteries the top archaeological site. It has been internationally recognized as such already in the second half of the 19th century, owing to the discovery of a large flat cemetery with close to 7000 unearthed graves from the Early Iron Age. The grave material played a major role in the development of prehistoric archaeology and provided a basis for solving the key chronological and cultural-historic problems.
A similar pioneering significance attributable to the necropolis at Most na Soči has field research of the contemporaneous settlement, conducted in 1970’s by the museum in Nova Gorica. Through preventive excavations over 40.000 m2 of surface was uncovered and 41 houses documented, of which as many as 32 dating to the Iron Age. The size of this settlement research ranks it among the largest in the southeastern Alpine and northern Italian regions. The excavations were thoroughly documented; the rich collection of finds (pottery, metal and other objects as well as organic remains) was organized and inventoried. The finds are now kept, along with the documentation, in the museum in Nova Gorica.
All this material acquired by field research represents a sizeable potential for studies on living culture, architecture and urbanism, and everyday life between the Po plain and the eastern Alps in the Iron Age that has thus far remained unexplored, unevaluated and under-presented.
Post-excavation analyses will be carried out in cooperation with the excavators of this settlement and with experts from many different fields. The field documentation, spatial, stratigraphic and chronological relationships between individual objects and structures will be examined in detail. Other remains and products of human activity (construction techniques, interior furnishings, pottery and metal production, remains of fauna and flora) will be analyzed. These analyses are varied. They include different methods and sciences, ranging from archaeological to archeozoological, acheobotanic, technologic, spatial etc.
The results of preliminary analyses will be evaluated in studies on buildings and infrastructure and their functions, on construction techniques, the development and layout of the settlement in chronological phases. The ceramic and metallurgical productions, the significance of trade and exchange of goods and the importance of husbandry in local economy will be also studied. All the results will be summarized into a final study, which will shed light on the cultural and social aspects of life in the Iron Age in the area between the northern Adriatic hinterland and the Alps.
The publication, which is the primary goal of the proposed project, would bring an important contribution to the knowledge on living culture, urban organization and settlement development in the first millennium BC, as no comparable publication has been made for this particular time and area. It would serve as a basis for further comparative studies on then material culture, paleo-economy and settlement processes. It could be a referential scientific work, which would also be useful for education and the promotion of cultural heritage.
Significance for science
It is a fundamental research of one of the most important settlement complexes from the Iron Age in the area of the South-eastern Alps, which yielded a great amount of data and new findings on architecture, construction techniques, spatial organization, economic basis, living culture, hand-craft activities and of various finds. The settlement remains are representative. The ceramics, wooden and faunal finds present the largest samples that ever being found from the period of the Iron Age on the territory of Slovenia, which thus themselves represent a valuable source of data for further comparative and diachronic studies of similar topics in the wider area. Within the research, a multidisciplinary approach and methods were used, and the archaeological, archaeozoological, archaeobotanical, petrological, metallographic and textile analyses were performed. The results of these analyses have been comprehensively evaluated from various aspects that have a long-term value. The archaeological sources, the results of analyses and the findings are holistically and systematically presented in two scientific monographs, including with a scientific apparatus. They represent the reference work to study the then material culture and settlement processes, and contribute to a better insight into the various aspects of life in the Iron Age in the Caput Adriae and the Alpine regions. They are available to interested users in English and Slovene, both in printed publications and online. The research carried out within the framework of the project is an important contribution to the knownledge of the civilizational achievements of prehistoric cultures on the territory of Slovenia, and to the development of settlement archaeology.
Significance for the country
The findings of the study on the Iron Age settlement at Most na Soči will enrich the learning contents on the higher education level. By integrating into exhibition contents and guides intended for the general public, they will contribute to the cultural development of the region. They represent the potential use for protection and management of cultural heritage in the area. A significant impact of the research on the professional education, the promotional activities in connection with Slovene cultural heritage, and the affirmation of Slovene archaeology in the international context is also expected.
Most important scientific results
Final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Final report
