Page 21 - Kavur, Boris. Everything counts (in small amounts) … Koper: University of Primorska Press, 2015.
P. 21
East side story 21
Only a few decades later everything changed on the territory of eastern Slovenia. Hillsides of Pohor-
je represent the western border which stopped the wave of Celtic immigrants coming from the east.
New modes of pottery production and shaping, this time made on the fast spinning potter’s wheel,
new forms and decoration of jewelry and most of all new weapons characterized the small communities which
in a relatively short period of time settled the territory between southern Slovakia, the “knee” of Danube in
Hungary and the territory of Štajerska between Ptuj in Slovenia and Graz in Austria.
The communities which initially left behind only modest cemeteries consisting of only a smaller number of
graves demonstrate that their migrations were not so much consequences of population pressures, but that the
creative and technological change enabled the inclusion and strategic settlement on a territory which was from
the 5th century already demographically weakened. For years numerous archaeologists focused mostly on war-
riors, especially swordbearers. They were perceived as a reflection of the change in technology of armament and
consequently of fighting techniques which enabled the conquest of new territories. But the cemeteries, as the
one discovered in Srednica near Zgornja Hajdina, demonstrate that this was a much more sophisticated and
complex process of occupation.
In the middle of the 4th century BC a small community inhumed four deceased members on the territory of the
Drava river terrace near Zgornja Hajdina. They chose the area of a deserted Early Iron Age cemetery for the in-
humations which presented with its mounds the only topographically significant spot in an area today known
as Srednica. Three women were buried in the old way as guardians of traditions. They were placed, decorated
with their attire, into an elongated grave pit, while ceramic pots were placed beside their heads. But the warrior
was buried in a different way – he was cremated and his ashes were placed into a smaller square pit into which his
arms, jewelry and ceramic pots were added.
Only a few decades later everything changed on the territory of eastern Slovenia. Hillsides of Pohor-
je represent the western border which stopped the wave of Celtic immigrants coming from the east.
New modes of pottery production and shaping, this time made on the fast spinning potter’s wheel,
new forms and decoration of jewelry and most of all new weapons characterized the small communities which
in a relatively short period of time settled the territory between southern Slovakia, the “knee” of Danube in
Hungary and the territory of Štajerska between Ptuj in Slovenia and Graz in Austria.
The communities which initially left behind only modest cemeteries consisting of only a smaller number of
graves demonstrate that their migrations were not so much consequences of population pressures, but that the
creative and technological change enabled the inclusion and strategic settlement on a territory which was from
the 5th century already demographically weakened. For years numerous archaeologists focused mostly on war-
riors, especially swordbearers. They were perceived as a reflection of the change in technology of armament and
consequently of fighting techniques which enabled the conquest of new territories. But the cemeteries, as the
one discovered in Srednica near Zgornja Hajdina, demonstrate that this was a much more sophisticated and
complex process of occupation.
In the middle of the 4th century BC a small community inhumed four deceased members on the territory of the
Drava river terrace near Zgornja Hajdina. They chose the area of a deserted Early Iron Age cemetery for the in-
humations which presented with its mounds the only topographically significant spot in an area today known
as Srednica. Three women were buried in the old way as guardians of traditions. They were placed, decorated
with their attire, into an elongated grave pit, while ceramic pots were placed beside their heads. But the warrior
was buried in a different way – he was cremated and his ashes were placed into a smaller square pit into which his
arms, jewelry and ceramic pots were added.
