Page 41 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(2) (2025)

Up and Down the Hill: Hillforts and Dry Stone Wall Enclosures on the Kvarner Islands
of Cres and Lošinj in Remote Sensing Data 1
Gor in dol po hribu: gradišča in suhozidne ograde na kvarnerskih otokih Cresu in Lošinju
v podatkih daljinskega zaznavanja

Nives Doneus Michael Doneus
Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS), Department of Prehistoric and Historical
University of Vienna Archaeology, University of Vienna
Human Evolution & Archaeological Sciences Human Evolution & Archaeological Sciences
(HEAS), University of Vienna (HEAS), University of Vienna
nives.doneus@univie.ac.at michael.doneus@univie.ac.at
Martin Fera Dalibor Branković
Human Evolution & Archaeological Sciences ArheoTech d.o.o., Draganić 41
(HEAS), University of Vienna dalibrank@gmail.com
Natural History Museum, Vienna Vito Benvin
martin.fera@univie.ac.at
Arheo Kvarner d.o.o., Vrbnik
vito.benvin@gmail.com

Abstract
The Cres-Lošinj archipelago is a region characterised by numerous topographically prominent settle-
ments. In the past, systematic research on this subject has been limited, mainly due to the difficulty of
accessing the area because of dense vegetation. This study aims to address this gap by providing an over-
view of 85 locations where hillfort settlements and other types of enclosures have been systematically
examined. It is based on a systematic analysis of ALS data covering approximately 500 km² of the archi-
pelago over several months.
The current state of knowledge offers little opportunity for traditional archaeological evaluation, which
relies on the typological and chronological characteristics of ceramic materials or on formal analogies
between settlement features. Therefore, the discussion in this study focuses primarily on the potential
of archaeological remote sensing for studying topographically prominent settlements in agro-pasto-
ral karst landscapes. ALS interpretations of individual sites have been made available to experts to fa-
cilitate further discussion of the archipelago’s dry stonewalled landscapes in general and of hillforts in
particular.
Keywords: ALS, Cres/Lošinj, hillforts, dry stone walls, agro-pastoral remains

Izvleček
Cresko-lošinjski arhipelag je območje, značilno po številnih topografsko izrazitih naseljih. Doslej so
bile sistematične raziskave tega območja omejene predvsem zaradi težkega dostopa, ki ga povzroča gos-
ta vegetacija. Namen pričujoče raziskave je zapolniti to raziskovalno vrzel s pregledom 85 lokacij, kjer so
bila sistematično preučena naselja na gradiščih in druge vrste naselbinskih ograj. Temelji na sistematič-
ni analizi ALS-podatkov, ki zajemajo približno 500 km² arhipelaga in pokrivajo večmesečno obdobje .
Trenutno znanje ponuja malo možnosti za tradicionalno arheološko vrednotenje, ki temelji na tipolo-
ških in kronoloških značilnostih keramičnih materialov ali na formalnih analogijah med naselbinskimi
elementi. Zato se razprava osredotoča predvsem na potencial arheološkega daljinskega zaznavanja pri
1 Reseach data will be published in the repository of University of Primorska.
https://doi.org/10.26493/2350-5443.13(2)41-62 © author/authors