Page 51 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(2) (2025)

vidual sites still requires further research. Ques- Cres and Lošinj. On its western edge the city is
tions of prehistoric material culture on the archi- bordered by a narrow channel that also separates
pelago have been addressed in detail mainly in the islands of Cres and Lošinj. Current geoar-
context of research of Osor (Blečić Kavur 2014; chaeological research on the Osor Channel indi-
2015; Blečić Kavur and Kavur 2024, 2025). After cates the transport of sediments by currents be-
Čučković (2017, 532) the presence of prehistoric tween Cres and Lošinj as early as 5621–5313 cal
pottery fragments on hillforts mostly indicates BP (3672–3364 cal BC) (see Miko et al. 2025).
a Bronze Age settlement horizon. However, This indicates that the narrow strip of land be-
this assessment must be confirmed by future re- tween Cres and Lošinj had already been sub-
search, given that systematic research on Bronze merged by the Bronze Age, leading to the sepa-
and Iron Age pottery is still lacking. In this con- ration of both islands by the sea. This change in
text the question arises not only as to the loca- the landscape and the creation of the new mar-
tion of Iron Age settlements, but also as to the itime route may be related to prehistoric trade 51
extent to which sites – now referred to as prehis- in and around Osor. Grave and settlement finds
toric hillfort settlements – contain settlement from the Bronze Age (Blečić Kavur 2014; 2015;
traces from more recent historical periods. As Blečić Kavur and Kavur 2013; 2025) demonstrate
all research builds upon the work of Marcheset- the area’s earliest archaeological traces, prior to
ti (1924), his views are widely accepted, par- the establishment of the Iron Age and Roman
ticularly in compilations on the research histo- town. The richest archaeological finds from this
ry into the archipelago (e.g. Ćus-Rukonić 1982; period come from the city’s necropolis and valu-
Ćus-Rukonić et al. 2013). As he was primari- able insights into the inhabitants of Osor (Miho-
ly interested in prehistoric hillforts, he includ- vilić 2013; Blečić Kavur 2015; 2021; 2025; Blečić
ed all topographically prominent enclosures in Kavur and Kavur 2013; 2024). After Blečić Ka-
his list, creating the impression that these were vur and Kavur (2025) the material culture con-
entirely prehistoric or Bronze Age settlements. firms the role of Osor as an economic centre of
At the same time Marchesetti noted later finds the Kvarner region and the wider northern Adri-
on the hillforts although without the distinc- atic during the last two millennia of the prehis-
tion between Roman and Late Antique times. toric era.
Consequently, descriptions of Roman or Late The presumed concentration of hillforts
Antique settlement patterns in the archipelago near Osor was considered an indication of Osor’s Up and Down the Hill: Hillforts and Dry Stone Wall Enclosures on the Kvarner Islands...
(e.g. Ćus-Rukonić 1982) are of little help in re- leading role in the Iron Age (e.g. Stražičić 1995,
constructing settlement processes after the Iron 76; Ćus-Rukonić et al. 2013, 11). This reasoning
Age. Archaeological material from the Roman is easy to understand. In two-dimensional maps,
or Late Antiquity period has been noted so far which have been used for archaeological over-
at only few sites (15, 57, 60–62). This figure will views for over a century (fig. 8), Osor appears to
probably increase after further research on the be surrounded by hilltop settlements (Stražičić
archipelago. For the Late Antique hillfort of Beli 1981, fig. 29; 1995, fig. 2). However, to better un-
(9), see the contribution on Roman urbanisation derstand the apparently high number of hillforts
in this volume. around Osor, it is necessary to view them not as
dots on a map, but to compare their location
Hillforts in the Area of Osor with the prevailing relief. The dense distribu-
Systematic research is also required into the hill- tion of hillforts is not limited to the north-east-
fort settlements in the area around Osor. As the ern tip of Lošinj Island but extends across the
only known example of a lowland prehistoric entire island (fig. 2). This is due to the numer-
settlement to date, Osor is strategically located ous locations suitable for topographically prom-
on a circular land bridge between the islands of inent settlements arising from the rugged terrain