Page 82 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(1) (2025)

Kot kaže raziskava na Krasu, arheološko znanje ne processes (e.g. a cairn as field clearance, a collapsed
nastaja linearno, temveč iz prepleta različnih in- wall, or a ruined structure). Since features occur
terpretativnih niti, ki vključujejo tudi materialne in clusters and form complex archaeological land-
intervencije na terenu, analogije in kontekstualno scapes, field verification targets representative ex-
umeščenost v krajinsko logiko. amples, testing patterns and spatial logics rather
than individual occurrences.
Summary The empirical focus of the study lies in the Di-
This paper examines the role of field verification vača Karst and Vrhe. Several complexes of features
in the interpretation of airborne laser scanning identified on ALS imagery were verified through
(ALS) data on the Karst plateau. This is a highly visual inspection, geomagnetic survey, and tar-
specific landscape, where natural geomorphic pro- geted excavation. Results broadly confirmed that
cesses are slow and traces of human activity remain most features are anthropogenic and prehistor-
exceptionally well preserved. For this reason, the ic in origin, while also revealing greater variabil-
82 Karst is a key area for investigating, through ALS ity than suggested by morphology alone. Cairns
and high-resolution digital terrain models, how ar- proved to be unsorted piles of local limestone, of-
studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 13 (2025), številka 1 / volume 13 (2025), number 1
chaeological traces manifest in the surface record. ten directly on bedrock, with unexpected accu-
ALS enables the systematic identification of mulations of fine sediment indicating long-term
surface anomalies, both positive (banks, walls, aeolian and paedogenetic processes. Most lacked
cairns) and negative (pits, ditches, hollows). How- finds, though occasional ceramic fragments al-
ever, morphology alone does not guarantee ar- lowed a Bronze Age attribution. Linear structures
chaeological interpretation. Many anomalies re- proved more heterogeneous: some were clearance
main in an ‘epistemological limbo’: described but walls, others collapsed dry-stone constructions,
unconfirmed, detected but unexplained. The cen- and in a few cases substantial double-faced walls
tral question is when, and on what grounds, we can built with considerable labour investment. Par-
consider a surface form to represent an archaeolog- ticularly striking were the massive walls at Dren-
ical trace. je and Sigurni hrib, interpreted as boundaries of
The theoretical framework of the paper builds landholding or agrarian infrastructure, reliably
on Alison Wylie’s notion of ‘cabling’, which un- dated to prehistory. Geomagnetic survey added a
derstands archaeological knowledge as cumulative further dimension, identifying sub-surface traces
reasoning based on the intertwining of multiple of habitation, invisible on the surface, confirming
strands of evidence. Interpretation arises not from that ALS provides only a partial view of archaeo-
a single data point, but from the combination of logical reality.
morphological and spatial logic (ALS), stratigra- The study makes three main contributions:
phy, material composition, finds, analogy, and lo- (1) Epistemological: ALS interpretation is not a
cal context. Each strand may be weak on its own, neutral process but a reflective and transparent
but together they form a robust interpretative bun- one. Research must document how strands of ar-
dle. Interpretation is thus a process of inference gument are assembled, from choices of visualiza-
to the best explanation, where credibility derives tion to field decisions. Good interpretation is not
from interweaving, not from isolated proofs. only technically correct but also methodologically
Within this framework, field verification accountable. (2) Methodological: field verification
plays a crucial role. It is not a binary operation of is most effective when testing patterns and spatial
confirmation or rejection, but a node in the inter- configurations rather than isolated anomalies. The
pretative process where abstract anomalies meet combination of ALS, geophysics, and targeted ex-
concrete material traces. Material interventions, cavation creates synergies that exceed the limits of
cleaning, test trenching, and geophysics reveal the any single method. (3) Archaeological: the investi-
genesis, composition, preservation, and age of fea- gated part of the Karst emerges as a complex pal-
tures, while reducing the problem of equifinality, in impsest, where prehistoric landscape structures,
which similar forms can be produced by different cairns, walls, and agrarian layouts, are still remark-