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We are situated at »Testenčena
ograjnica« at the heart of an extensive Iron Age graveyard. The
biggest archeological excavations here were made by the Vienna
and Trieste museums between 1884 and 1902. Already at that time
more than 6.500 Iron Age graves were uncovered and explored. Probably
the number of all buried people at this graveyard is around 10.000.
The burial traditions of the old inhabitants of the Posočje
region did not alter through the whole 1st millenium B.C. The
dead were cremated and the remains were, with the clothing of
the deceased and his possessions, scattered on the bottom of the
grave or placed into urns. The graves were covered with the stone
plates. Bronze bracelets, necklaces, rings and fibulas are the
additions that are most notable among the excavated artifacts.
If a deceased was a male, his remains were also complemented by
a weapon; usually consisting of an iron axe and a spear; this
tradition was not known prior to 4th century B.C.
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| Cross-section of an Iron Age grave where
the Attic Owl skyphos from the 5th century B.C. was found |
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Numerous additions prove a blossoming
cultural exchange with the regions of Southern Italy and Greece,
which is furthermore confirmed by the findings of the vessel from
the Attic workshops. The riches of personal contacts are represented,
on a symbolical level, by the surface of the memorial area, covered
by decorative volcanic sand from the slopes of the Mediterranean
volcanoes. |
