Page 55 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(2) (2025)

Conclusion interpretation process has shown that in some
A systematic investigation of detailed terrain cases, the distinction between simple pastoral or
models confirmed 35 locations where simple dry agricultural enclosures and those with a fortified
stone wall enclosures or settlement fortifications character is difficult to make based solely on ALS
had previously been recognised as archaeologi- data. In addition, well-known hillforts exhibit a
cal sites. No visible archaeological traces were ev- variety of overlapping functions throughout their
ident in the ALS data at the other 22 presumed lifespan. Combining modern remote sensing
sites. However, 28 new locations of enclosures with older field research gives the project breadth
and settlements were added to the catalogue. but also highlights discrepancies that can only be
Although high-resolution ALS-derived dig- resolved through large-scale systematic research.
ital terrain models markedly improve our capac- One key point that could significantly ad-
ity to detect anthropogenic landforms beneath vance future research is that investigating ALS-
dense vegetation, the threshold of feature recog- based terrain models shifts the focus from sites 55
nition remains constrained: subtle morphologi- to landscapes. Combined with appropriate dat-
cal anomalies may be filtered out or masked by ing methods, such as OSL-PD method, this al-
processing algorithms, and their archaeological lows the archaeology of the landscapes around
significance cannot be addressed reliably without and between hillforts to be investigated, leading
systematic ground assessment. Furthermore, the to new research questions and perspectives.

Table 1: List of Documented Hillforts and Enclosures. The Source column refers to the background information for
single locations: a) DTM HR, b) Stražičić 1981, c) Čučković 2017, d) Ilijanić et al. 2024, e) Miletić 2002, f) Starac 2011,
g) Šiljeg 2006.
Nr. Name Interpretation Archaeological finds E UTM 33N N UTM 33N Source
1 Gornja Glava Settlement (?) ? 446668 4 948886 a, b
2 Petričina Settlement (?) ? 450311 4 948256 a, b
3 Porozina Settlement (?) ? 444845 4 948065 a
4 Važminec Settlement (?) ? 448149 4 947161 a
5 Novograjca Enclosure ? 446081 4 946972 a Up and Down the Hill: Hillforts and Dry Stone Wall Enclosures on the Kvarner Islands...
6 Palvana Enclosure ? 447793 4 946873 a
7 Višnjin Enclosure ? 444733 4 946041 a
8 Halm Settlement Prehistory 445053 4 944772 a, c
9 Beli Settlement Prehistory (?), Late Antique (?) - 449276 4 944745 b
modern times
10 Telcar Enclosure ? 444822 4 944377 a
11 Kalci Settlement (?) ? 448632 4 944084 a
12 Sis Settlement (?) ? 449197 4 943643 a, c
13 Velo Gračišće No structures 451021 4 943112 b
14 Zakenj Settlement (?) ? 450599 4 942941 a
15 Sv. Bartolomej Settlement Prehistory/Roman/Late Antiqui- 454483 4 942419 a, c
ty/Early Middle Ages
16 Mravinci Settlement (?) ? 457396 4 941994 a
17 Melzicar Settlement (?) ? 456060 4 940397 a