Conference Archive

During the last couple of decades, we are witnessing a tremendous development of (bio)archaeology, especially in relation and in close collaboration with natural sciences. The so-called "Third Scientific Revolution in Archaeology" enabled the development of numerous analytical methods. The widespread application of these techniques resulted in the occurrence of large amounts of new, previously, unknown information about various aspects of life and death of our distant ancestors. This presentation will show the importance of these methods in our study of general health, diet and subsistence, population structure and migrations of ancient individuals and communities based on the selected examples from Croatia. Here we will focus on the following techniques used in our research: pathogen aDNA analysis, strontium isotopes analysis, ZooMS, peptide analysis of tooth enamel, and lead concentration analysis.

The mobility of men and women, of animals and traded goods, is a key research issue in archaeology. Recent advances in chemical and biochemical analysis, such as ancient DNA sequencing or isotope analysis, have revealed a hitherto unknown scope of the flow of human and animal populations. However, prehistoric communication routes remain very poorly known and even less so the mobility practices of those on the move. What is more, much of the prehistoric movement may not have relied on specific infrastructure, as in the case of pastoralism and other landscape wide subsistence activities.
Digital modelling provides a particularly promising angle to the prehistoric mobility problem. Indeed, the simulation of optimal paths, linking a departure and a destination point, has already become a relatively commonplace approach, especially for historical periods. However, the movement out of trodden paths, across the landscape, remains largely unexplored. This problem is particularly pertinent for prehistoric periods, characterised by diffuse movements and, quite probably, informal and unstable infrastructure. Our approach has thus focused on modelling all theoretically possible movement corridors, irrespective of specific points of departure or arrival. Such total mobility field is simulated using a dedicated algorithm, developed with speed and efficiency in mind. The resultant model reveals theoretical movement corridors, visible as bundles and overlaps of multiple paths while tracking movement intensity in every corner of a given geographical area.
The potential of this approach will be demonstrated on two study areas, the Jutland peninsula (Denmark) and the Dolenjska region (Slovenia). Both regions have extensive archaeological databases for, respectively, Bronze and Iron Ages. The existence of prehistoric movement corridors or pathways can be confidently postulated for both regions, even if the archaeological record has remained extremely terse on the infrastructure involved. In Denmark, Bronze Age burial mounds quite plausibly tend to gather along communication corridors, while in Slovenia important hillfort settlements may have benefited from the proximity of local or long-distance routes. The total mobility field approach will help us to place these geographical patterns into the context of theoretical movement practices.

Any cultural landscape can be seen as an artefact, a cumulative result of interaction between the environment and cultural practices in the long term. The landscape played a central role in the subsistence of pre-industrial societies, as growing crops and raising animals were the focus of daily life of most people and communities in the past. The landscape should be seen as a cumulative artefact, and this especially rings true with the Kras.
Kras (it. Carso, germ. Karst) is a cultural landscape; it is a heavily modified and transformed landscape with its own time-depth and history of formations and transformations. Landscape transformations involve a series of reorderings, reuses and representations of the landscape. In the Kras, natural processes act slowly; there are no fast episodes of erosion and accumulation that would destroy or bury older remains. Human interventions leave almost permanent scars on the surface as topographic anomalies.
We examine the elements of past landscapes that are still preserved in the modern landscape using airborne laser scanning. One of the most common features that can be recognised on ALS high-resolution topographic data are numerous circular mounds that can be interpreted as clearance cairns. Cairnfields are often bounded by low linear positive features, which could be interpreted either as collapsed dry stone walls or linear cairns.
We mapped these features using airborne laser scanning. Features were digitised and quantified, allowing us to calculate various aspects of land use and human impact, especially the intensity of use, type of use and relation to the settlements. Kraslandscape testifies that pre-industrial societies did not have only local and transitory environmental impacts, that human impact on landscape did not begin decades ago, but we have been profoundly influencing for thousands of years.

The project „TRANS RIVERS“ funded by the Croatian Science Foundation deals with the study of prehistoric sites and communication routes along the Sava and Sutla rivers in the Croatian region of Prigorje (roughly corresponding to the administrative boundaries of modern-day cities of Samobor, Zaprešić and Zagreb). The area presents a challenging landscape for archaeological study due to natural (flooding and erosion) and man-made effects (quarrying and urbanization). One of the main goals of the project revolves around identifying and confirming new prehistoric sites, especially on the slopes of Medvednica mountain, and other lower-lying hills which have not been influenced by the above-mentioned destructive processes. The airborne laser scanning (ALS) approach to these research problems was the best fit, and in the scope of the project, we utilized data from three very different laser scanning surveys to ensure proper coverage of the research area. This paper will present the preliminary results of our first ground surveys and LiDAR data interpretations, with a special focus on the prehistoric sites which are in the focus of the Trans Rivers project.

The Dinaric karst landscapes present challenging conditions for the implementation of standard field survey methods. The ubiquitous practices of intensive field clearance and a high level of parcellation of arable land resulted in various types of drystone walls and stone cairns at the edges of fields. In the Dalmatian hinterland, this practice was the main agency of intensive transformation of the landscape and thus the cause of alteration of the surface archaeological record. These factors resulted in a landscape fragmented in small drystone-bounded fields that are mostly unconnected and thus do not form continuous surfaces favourable for field survey practices. On the other hand, the recent general abandonment of agricultural activities, as a consequence of the continuous deruralisation of the Dalmatian hinterland, resulted in an increase in dense vegetation on abandoned fields, significantly reducing the surface soil’s availability and visibility.
For these reasons, the authors present an artefact-based field survey approach, adapted to the described conditions, simultaneously aimed at recording types of surveyed units (drystone wall, stone cairn, field, ground, etc.) and their visibility rate. The procedure was carried out in the area of Bristivica village, located in the hinterland of Trogir, where different types of surface archaeological material were recorded. As the collected assemblage is marked by the significant presence of lithic artefacts and chert raw materials, the objective is to present the potential of the employed approach for detecting lithic scatters in a Dinaric karst landscape, as well as the difficulties that arise in evaluating the spatial context of their appearance and a more specific chronological frame to which they could be determined.

Enclosures are a widespread feature in European prehistory that first appeared in Southeast Europe at the beginning of the neolithization. There, it seems that the early Neolithic settlements were preferably enclosed by ditches even though the evidence is limited, as a very small area of the sites has usually been excavated. Ditch enclosures are a popular research topic in the latest archaeological work in said region, however, the character of their backfills is a rarely discussed matter. Attention has mostly been paid to the presence of various finds and/or human skeletal remains but not to the nature and the formation processes of the fills themselves.
This presentation will focus on the ditch construction that was revealed at several Neolithic sites in Bulgarian Thrace. Most of them seem to have been in use for a long time, and the communities took special care to maintain them. This is visible in the cross sections of their fills as multiple cleanings and recuts. The “repair activities” may be partial as only sections of various lengths were affected. Sometimes, however, the entire course of the ditch was renovated and thus a new cut was dug, following the exact outlines of the former, slightly, or completely deviating from them. An argument can be made that the episodes of ditch digging, re-filling, re-cutting, and digging new, larger ditches, were an intentional and well-organized communal effort to create and maintain social identity over a long period of time.

In the lecture, I will analyze the use of different kinds of building materials during the construction of the burial mound Gomila, in Jalžabet east of Varaždin (NW Croatia). My objective is to identify their source and present the construction sequence which is inextricably intertwined with the burial rite. The complex burial monument from the middle of the 6th century BC was one of the focal points of the Early Iron Age cultural landscape and - without a doubt - a symbol of the whole Eastern Hallstatt community in the region. Between 2017 and 2021 rescue excavations of the burial mound 1 – Gomila in Jalžabet have been conducted by the Institute of Archaeology in Zagreb. The research was financed by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia. One of the largest burial monuments of its kind in Central Europe is 65 m in diameter, with a current height of 8 m. Around the burial mound, there was a circular ditch about 100 m in diameter. During the field research, we found a burial chamber with dromos made of wood and different kinds of stones placed in the center of the stone-paved plateau – crepidoma. The sourcing and extensive use of different kinds of materials was a huge undertaking for the community involved in construction. Placing the building sequence in the proper context of the burial rite has left us with numerous unanswered questions, some of which will be addressed in the presentation.

At the proto-urban hillfort of Pungrt above Ig, located in the vicinity of the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, we are employing various geoarchaeological and micro-archaeological analytical techniques to study the lifeways and technologies in the Iron Age. Micro-refuse analysis in one of the buildings under investigation, Building 24, has revealed a blacksmith's workshop dating to the Late Hallstatt Period. Since our first presentation of these preliminary results at the 10th MetArh, we have further studied the smithys' floor deposits, and micro-debris trampled into the floor at the microscopic level. The micromorphological, petrographic, metallographic and scanning electron microscope analyses have provided detailed insights into various technologies and practices in the Hallstatt Period, some previously unknown. These include the first clear evidence for the use of flux in iron welding during the Early Iron Age, and the use of lime technology recognised for the first time in the Hallstatt Period in Slovenia. They also provide insights into floor maintenance practices, grease rendering, bread baking and numerous other activities. The combined data allows for a detailed reconstruction of activities in the Early Iron Age smithy that could never be garnered through excavation data alone.

Animal bones, teeth and mollusc shells were widely used for the production of diverse artefacts, including ornaments. Some of the everyday tools, as well as some of the ornaments, needed to be suspended or attached to something, and usually perforations, were made. Technology of making perforations through rather thick and resilient materials such as animal hard tissues without breaking them was rather demanding, and several technological procedures were used in prehistoric times. These included incising, drilling with a chipped stone artefact, drilling with a bow drill, usually with sand added, while larger holes were made by larger, hollow instruments and with sand added. Sometimes, unfinished perforations served as an ornament. There are also examples of naturally pierced mollusc shells that were collected and subsequently used as ornaments.
Use wear on perforations may provide information on how long the item was in use, and whether it was suspended, or it was attached to something, for example, some ornaments were most likely attached to the clothes. On ornaments worn for a very long time, for example, may be noticed that after the perforation was broken, another one was made. Bracelets made from mollusc shells were occasionally recycled into pendants, by adding a perforation and other modifications. In this paper will be presented major techniques for the production of perforations used in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in the Balkans, as well as some of the interesting examples of the intensive use wear traces.

With the rapid development of digital photogrammetry in the last decade, the construction of 3D models for archaeological purposes is becoming more common. Recent research has shown that software processing of 3D models of various artefacts makes it possible to detect even the smallest irregularities on their surfaces. Thus, in recent years, a small number of papers, which are based on the use of different software visualizations for the purpose of reading damaged and unrecognizable inscriptions on epigraphic monuments, were published. This work was carried out with the aim of examining the possibilities of applying different open-source software tools in the analysis of photogrammetric 3D models of Roman epigraphic monuments. The research was conducted on 4 Roman monuments from today's village of Kremna, in southwestern Serbia. Each of the monuments was photographed twice: using a DSLR camera and mobile phone, with the desire to compare the results and simultaneously determine the possibilities for the wider use of this method. The results of this research show that reliefs on all monuments are much more noticeable, and some of those that are not visible today using traditional epigraphic methods, are also recognizable. On each of the analyzed monuments, a part of the present-day invisible or partially visible inscription was observed, and the high success of the method is best illustrated in the case of recording 27 new letters on one of the analyzed altars from Kremna. The quality of the results obtained by the used methodology leads to a significantly better archaeological interpretation of epigraphic monuments. If one takes into account the very poor state of preservation and the lack of protection of a large number of monuments, creating 3D models can also ensure their permanent recording and protection in virtual space.

Shallow reliefs and lightly carved motifs or inscriptions have always presented a unique problem in research dealing with late medieval tombstones locally known as Stećci. The tombstones are usually found in situ or slightly removed from their original location but in most cases still completely exposed to the weather conditions which gradually erode the stone surface of the monuments. Documenting and surveying these tombstones usually included clearing them from surrounding vegetation, waiting for the proper light conditions to expose the shadows, photographing and drawing the monument. In recent years 3D laser scanning has also proven to be an effective way to document these types of monuments. Without diminishing the previous documentation practices, utilizing image-based modelling opens up a new range of possibilities in research and survey of Stećci. This paper will present the advantages and methods used in the documentation process as well as some new approaches in utilizing the created 3D models of tombstones to conduct further research. Using different visualization techniques various small changes in the microrelief of the tombstones revealed new details and previously unseen carvings in the stone. It quickly became apparent that documenting these monuments in three dimensions is important not only as a recording of the state they are in but that due to the slow degradation of the stone surface, we could lose a part of the historically significant information that past societies tried to preserve and convey to us.

Establishing the sex of unknown skeletal remains is one of the first steps in the identification and reconstruction of demography of past populations. A common approach to estimating sex is visually examining bone morphology differences based on scores, anatomical descriptions, and referent depictions. However, it is challenging for scientists with less experience to compare 3D specimens with 2D displays. Thus, we selected skeletal element with highly expressed three-dimensionality, the mastoid process, and bony protrusion behind the ear on the temporal bone. It is an important anatomical feature, and its size and shape can be used to differentiate male from female skulls. We decided to create exact 3D models of mastoid processes representative of each degree of the trait expression. Expression of mastoid processes was scored on 200 patients' MSCT scans from the University Hospital centres in Split and Zagreb. Twenty specimens of each grade (1 - 5) were randomly selected and evaluated by two experienced researchers. We selected one of each grade from specimens with full agreement as representative. The mastoid models were created using a 3D surface rendering tool in Osirix MD and exported as OBJ files. The models were refined through CAD software in preparation for 3D printing. A simplification eliminated extraneous details while simultaneously addressing errors and deformations, yielding the creation of refined and contoured 3D models. The subsequent phase involved printing optimized models using a Masked Stereolithography Apparatus (MSLA). The choice of the Anycubic Photon M3 resin 3D printer for the MSLA printing ensured precision and accuracy in replicating the mastoid processes. As previous studies showed that casts of skeletal elements for age estimation could be more beneficial than descriptions and 2D depictions, we tested if a similar approach could be applied using 3D-printed skeletal elements for sex assessment.

Traditionally, epistemological research in archaeology was primarily concerned with the ways one can obtain knowledge about past humans and their activities from material remains. In doing this, epistemological questions included, in the first place, detailed analyses of theoretical frameworks, their conceptual apparatus and categories, and thought processes involved in making the archaeological interpretation. Later, with the onset of post-processual archaeology and gender archaeology, another set of questions was added to epistemological research in archaeology, that of the role of the subject and its social milieu in the production of archaeological knowledge.
The paper discusses the epistemic outcomes of the recent division in Slovene archaeology, between academic archaeology and field professionals, two distinctive groups of researchers each working in a particular social and economic context in archaeological practice. These changes produced new circumstances and determinants which greatly affected the knowledge-producing process which we observe from a standpoint of social epistemology. The topics of the nature of research, research freedom, organization of research work, and associated epistemic asymmetry and dependence are discussed in more detail.

This poster presents the first results of a multi-analytical archaeometric investigation of Iron Age amphora-shaped glass beads from Croatia. Amphora-shaped Iron Age beads made of glass or coral are known from a wide area of the Carpathian Basin, the Balkans, and the Adriatic during the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. The distribution of amphora-shaped beads has been the subject of prior studies, which interpreted them as evidence of trade between Mediterranean civilisations and social elites of Prehistoric Europe. Compositional data on this type of beads is so far rather limited, but suggestive of their origin in Eastern Mediterranean workshops.
A set of amphora-shaped beads from Gradac near Pleternica (Požega county) was studied by Optical Microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (VP-SEM-EDS), micro X-ray diffraction (μ-XRD) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to document manufacture and use traces, and to obtain their chemical (including trace elements) and mineralogical composition. The results of analyses are discussed within the framework of technological and raw materials provenance studies of Iron Age glass.

The karst region of Croatia prominently displays material traces of its rich past. Using landscape archaeology methods, primarily field surveys, aerial photographs and satellite imagery analysis, the anthropogenic structures of the landscape are documented. In 2021 and 2022, as part of a project, surveys were conducted along the canyons of the Zrmanja and Krupa rivers. A fortified site Babin grad was documented on a highly inaccessible ridge deep in the river Krupa near the settlement of Ravni Golubić. Although the site's archaeological history is not well established, it holds significant cultural importance in local oral tradition. Exploring different narratives related to the site provided a fresh outlook. After conducting surveys, it has been confirmed that the fortified site dates back to the Middle Ages, dispelling the previous scarce archaeological mention of a prehistoric hillfort. Our surveys provided new insights and information regarding the site by taking into account the perspectives of local communities toward the archaeological remains. There are various noteworthy observations that can be drawn with respect to the understanding of the site. This has enabled us to comprehend how the landscape is formed over time.

Archaeological research of the multi-layered site Lobor - Majka Božja Gorska in northwestern Croatia was mostly concentrated on the church complex and its cemetery, which damaged earlier prehistoric, antique and late antique structures. Excavations were also carried out in several areas on the northern plateau outside the church complex. During the excavation, large quantities of late antique pottery were found, which can be dated from the second half of the 3rd to the first half of the 6th century. Although late antique pottery is very fragmented, several sherd clusters were documented on the northern plateau of the late antique hilltop settlement, between the church complex and the northern rampart. Considering that the architectural remains are few and poorly preserved due to the mentioned damaging, during the late antique pottery research, quantitative analysis of sherds, analysis of spatial distribution and comparative analysis with the contemporary sites of the Noric-Pannonian border area, were used in order to interpret the appearance of the northern side of the late antique settlement, which was less destroyed by construction and erosion. The results of this research provide insight into the degree of destruction of the site due to the burial of medieval and post-medieval graves and the spread of late antique pottery, as well as how well the clusters of late antique pottery finds match the few remains of late antique architecture. Certain clusters point to the existence of completely destroyed structures, which indicate different construction techniques within the late antique settlement. The final interpretation of the possible appearance of the northern part of the late antique settlement in Lobor based on the pottery finds shows similarities with other hilltop settlements of the Noric-Pannonian border area and probably indicates the integration of the settlement into the mentioned area.

The use of remote sensing techniques in Portuguese archaeology has, thus far, been rather limited. Nevertheless, the increasing awareness and availability of equipment and open-source data, namely airborne LiDAR and satellite imagery datasets, is changing this picture. With these techniques to study archaeological landscapes and, particularly, Iron Age hillforts, it is possible not only to identify sites that were, until then, unknown but also to obtain new information on known sites that, in some cases, have already been investigated in the past. Focusing on the northern area of modern-day Portugal and using several case study sites, this study aims to explore the different remote sensing tools that are currently publicly available, particularly airborne LiDAR and aerial photography, and discuss the potential and limitations these techniques present for the study of Iron Age fortified settlements. This paper will thus discuss the different techniques and particular visualisation techniques, as well as new archaeological sites and new data on the extension, morphology and defensive systems of other, previously known sites. Ultimately, it will hopefully provide a contribution to a better understanding not only of the Iron Age sites in this region of the Iberian Peninsula but also, by extension, of the use of remote sensing to study hillforts across Europe.