Page 47 - Kavur, Boris. Everything counts (in small amounts) … Koper: University of Primorska Press, 2015.
P. 47
Birth of a city? 47
Late La Tène period in Ptuj
The middle of the 2nd century BC was a period of intensive changes on the whole south-eastern Pre-Al-
pine territory. Most probably outer influences, on one hand the spread of influence of Celtic Boii on the
north-east as well as the Dacian expansionism far away in the south, but most important the growing
pressure of the Roman republic in the west, which spread its influence in the military campaign against the Pan-
nonian Segestica, have change the prehistoric world. Economic and military contacts with Mediterranean civ-
ilizations created this time different social elites. We do not know them from rich graves, but we can still recon-
struct their existence based on the renewal of old and the construction of new fortified settlements, but most of
all due to the inclusion in a monetary economy and the start of their own minting.
This is a period when burials in the plains ceased in the territory of eastern Slovenia and Podravje. At the same
time remains of old defensive architectures of older prehistoric settlements such as Ormož and Poštela were re-
newed. The stone wall, discovered at the western part of Turnirski prostor on Grajski grič in Ptuj, interpreted
as a part of defensive walls demonstrate the erection of new settlements. At one time authors interpreted these
building activities as heralds of uneasy periods and the withdrawal of populations behind safe walls. Today, tak-
ing into consideration the settlement patterns in the whole landscape, we can assume that this was just the es-
tablishment of hierarchized system of settlements where the physical as well as visually fortified settlements
became residences of social elites. In the Late La Tène period the number of sites in the landscape, especially
on fertile plains from the foothills of Pohorje all the way to Goričko, increased dramatically. Modest remains
demonstrate traces of a highly dispersed pattern constituting from smaller numbers of buildings – most prob-
ably individual farmsteads.
It seems that in this period the territory of later Roman Ptuj and its surrounding was sparsely populated. For
habitation were interesting river terraces in Spodnja and Zgornja Hajdina, Zgornji Breg and Rabelčja vas as well
Late La Tène period in Ptuj
The middle of the 2nd century BC was a period of intensive changes on the whole south-eastern Pre-Al-
pine territory. Most probably outer influences, on one hand the spread of influence of Celtic Boii on the
north-east as well as the Dacian expansionism far away in the south, but most important the growing
pressure of the Roman republic in the west, which spread its influence in the military campaign against the Pan-
nonian Segestica, have change the prehistoric world. Economic and military contacts with Mediterranean civ-
ilizations created this time different social elites. We do not know them from rich graves, but we can still recon-
struct their existence based on the renewal of old and the construction of new fortified settlements, but most of
all due to the inclusion in a monetary economy and the start of their own minting.
This is a period when burials in the plains ceased in the territory of eastern Slovenia and Podravje. At the same
time remains of old defensive architectures of older prehistoric settlements such as Ormož and Poštela were re-
newed. The stone wall, discovered at the western part of Turnirski prostor on Grajski grič in Ptuj, interpreted
as a part of defensive walls demonstrate the erection of new settlements. At one time authors interpreted these
building activities as heralds of uneasy periods and the withdrawal of populations behind safe walls. Today, tak-
ing into consideration the settlement patterns in the whole landscape, we can assume that this was just the es-
tablishment of hierarchized system of settlements where the physical as well as visually fortified settlements
became residences of social elites. In the Late La Tène period the number of sites in the landscape, especially
on fertile plains from the foothills of Pohorje all the way to Goričko, increased dramatically. Modest remains
demonstrate traces of a highly dispersed pattern constituting from smaller numbers of buildings – most prob-
ably individual farmsteads.
It seems that in this period the territory of later Roman Ptuj and its surrounding was sparsely populated. For
habitation were interesting river terraces in Spodnja and Zgornja Hajdina, Zgornji Breg and Rabelčja vas as well
