Most Na Soči the 2000–2016 Archaeological Investigations on the Left Bank of the Idrijca
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MOST NA SOČI THE 2000–2016 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON THE LEFT BANK OF THE IDRIJCA Summary INTRODUCTION The Posočje region and its archaeological sites have archaeological campaigns in advance of construction been the source of important and unique finds for the works, led by Miha Mlinar from the Tolminski muzej past century and a half, attracting renowned names of (Fig. 2, 3). central European prehistory to Most na Soči, Tolmin, One of these campaigns took place in May 2000 at Kobarid and Idrija pri Bači. There was Carlo Marchesetti Repelc. The rescue archaeological excavation examined from Trieste, who excavated at Most na Soči (its former a 160 m2 large area in 2000, continuing in 2002 with an name was Sveta Lucija or Santa Lucia in Italian), Kobarid excavation area of 128 m2. In 2001, there were rescue and many other prehistoric sites at the western fringes excavation at Pucarjev rob, as well as small-scale exca- of the Slavic-speaking area. In addition to Most na Soči, vations of the Iron Age and Roman-period settlement Josef Szombathy from Vienna also tackled the Late on the right bank of the Idrijca. A watching brief took Iron Age cemetery at Idrija pri Bači. In recent history, place in 2013 at Pucarjev rob, while in 2016 a burial was a prominent figure who ushered in another prolific pe- discovered nearby, at Lipičarjev vrt (Fig. 1–3). On the riod for the archaeology in Posočje was Drago Svoljšak, right bank of the Idrijca, the watching briefs in 2004 and long time curator at the Goriški muzej in Nova Gorica, 2015 revealed the remains of three Roman buildings. beginner and head of the large-scale excavations of the Some results of these investigations of the Tolmin- settlement at Most na Soči. ski muzej have already been presented to the public in Marchesetti and Szombathy conducted large-scale professional publications and exhibition catalogues excavations of the cemetery on the left bank of the River (Mlinar 2002a; 2002b; 2002c; 2003; 2005; 2009; 2014; Idrijca towards the end of the 19th and beginning of the 2017; Gaspari, Mlinar 2005; Mlinar, Klasinc, Knavs 20th century, while Drago Svoljšak investigated the set- 2008; Cunja, Mlinar 2010; Gerbec, Mlinar 2014; Mlinar, tlement and cemetery on the right bank between 1971 Perko, Žbona Trkman 2015; Mlinar 2017), but never in and 1984.1 In the early 21st century, this was followed by a comprehensive manner as it is the case here. 1 For the history of research, see Gabrovec, Svoljšak 1983, 12–35; Mlinar 2002a, 13–17; Svoljšak, Dular 2016, 17–36. 111 Miha MLINAR INVESTIGATIONS AT PUCARJEV ROB IN 2001 AND 2013 TOPOGRAPHIC AND STRATIGRAPHIC Four graves contained an urn burial. The urn in two EVIDENCE of those (Graves PR 1 and PR 2; Fig. 5, 6; Pl. 2: 14; 4A: 5) was an almost completely surviving ceramic pithos, The area of archaeological investigations at Pucarjev while the ceramic urn in Graves PR 29 and PR 30 (Pl. rob lies on the levelled terrain above the precipitous banks 12A, B) disintegrated and the form was no longer dis- of the River Idrijca, along the old road leading towards the cernible. Urn burials are rare in the Sveta Lucija group; Most na Soči railway station (Fig. 2, 3). In 1958, Nikolaj Marchesetti mentions only 9.56% of such burials,6 while Mozetič already trial trenched here, in the eastern part of the Pucarjev rob site yielded roughly 11%. the area, but found no archaeological remains.2 The other graves had the cremated remains strewn The archaeological excavation was conducted as across the pit (Fig. 10). The cremated human remains part of the watching brief in advance of construction mixed with wood charcoal were usually found on the works. It took place between 27 July and 22 October bottom of the pit, in rare cases also mixed with the fill 2001, covering a surface of 30 × 2 m.3 The first artefact, (e.g. in Graves PR 6, PR 31). an iron shaft-hole axe (Pl. 14C: 8), came to light in a The graves contained very small amounts of cre- modern-period road bedding only 10 cm below the mated human bones. Their weight ranged between 1 surface, indicating the existence of burials. Indeed, and 523 g, 90 g on average.7 Most graves held less than this was followed by 31 Iron Age cremations from the 50 g of cremated bone, only six (PR 1, 2, 14, 18, 23, 25) excavated in a roughly 60 m² large area (Fig. 4: 1–30). between 100 and 400 g and only Grave PR 16 more than Most lay under the road or next to it and were fairly 500 g; the last grave held a double burial. The weight of well preserved, protected by the road bedding and the the cremated human bones suggests that only a limited asphalt surface. Grave 24 reached beyond the excavation part of the remains of any particular deceased was laid area and could not be fully investigated. Five other Iron into the grave pit. Also found were several uncremated Age cremation burials (Fig. 4: 31–35) were unearthed or poorly cremated human bones, in Graves PR 2 (ulna), in 2013, in an excavation area measuring 12.5 × 2.5 m.4 PR 3 (mandibula), PR 4 (radius) and PR 6 (humerus). The stratigraphy at the site is simple. A layer of These bones were light brown in colour, which is typical sterile loam (SU 6) and bedrock (SU 7) constitute the of inhumation burials or cremated bones exposed to geological basement (Fig. 5). They were covered by a fires not exceeding 200°C. loamy deposit with small marl inclusions (SU 5) and a The grave pits were usually dug into sterile loam, in modern-period road bedding (SU 3) with a water pipe some cases reaching to the bedrock. The pits of Graves (SU 4) laid at the bottom. The bedding was covered with PR 6 and PR 31 (Fig. 9, 11) were dug into the upper layer an asphalt surface (SU 1) or turf (SU 2). of the loamy colluvium (SU 5/2001 or SU 91/2013) that lay directly under the bedding for the asphalt road. Some graves were dug next or on top of each other at different GRAVES levels, for example Graves PR 1, 2, 3 and 6 (Fig. 5), or the superposed pairs of Graves PR 11 and PR 20 (Pl. 7B), The burials excavated at Pucarjev rob in 2001 and PR 14 and PR 22 (Pl. 10B), PR 31 and PR 34. 2013 (Pl. 1–14) are marked with the abbreviation PR The grave pits were more or less curved in section, followed by the successive number. They lie at the north- and oval or round in plan. They measured from 40 × 25 easternmost edge of the vast Iron Age cemetery on the cm (PR 15) to 110 × 60 cm (PR 1) and even 210 × 85 left bank of the Idrijca (Fig. 3). The burial rite shows the cm (PR 31) in plan and also varied in depth, with the basic characteristics of the Sveta Lucija cultural group;5 shallowest only around 15 cm deep, while the deepest all are cremations and relatively well preserved with the were urn Grave PR 1 (70 cm) and largest Grave PR 31 exception of some with pits dug at shallower depths, (65 cm), the latter possibly holding two burials without which were partially destroyed by the modern road. an apparent border between the two. The undisturbed graves were found to be covered 2 Mozetič 1958–1959, Fig. 18: 27, 18, 23; Svoljšak 1975, with a stone slab (PR 1, 6, 16, 23, 25), in some cases Pl. 2: 2; Gabrovec, Svoljšak 1983, 33, Fig. 21. several slabs (PR 2, 34). The slabs were of limestone8 3 The benchmark was set at 158.00 m asl. (PR 23, 25) or marl (PR 1, 2, 6, 16, 34). The reddish marl 4 Gerbec, Mlinar 2014, 16. 5 The burial rite characteristic of the Sveta Lucija group 6 Marchesetti 1893, 231. is cremation, though several inhumation burials were also 7 See here Leben-Seljak, Tab. 1. found in the Iron Age cemetery at Most na Soči (cf. Mar- 8 The rock was identified as Volče limestone, with the chesetti 1893, 227; Svoljšak, Žbona Trkman 1985, 87; Dular, closest major deposits known on the Senica hill near the vil- Tecco Hvala 2018, 128–129). lage of Modrej (cf. Verbič 2002, 103). 112 MOST NA SOČI. THE 2000–2016 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON THE LEFT BANK OF THE IDRIJCA slab that covered the pit of Grave PR 16 (Fig. 12) was 1 held a burnt piece of an animal vertebra, possibly the presumably collected from the marl deposits located remains of a piece of meat offered at the pyre or the downstream from the confluence of the Idrijca and Soča, remains of the funerary feast.14 below the Repelc site (Fig. 13).9 The slabs differed in size, from 60 × 50 × 10 cm (PR 6) and 65 × 43 × 4 cm (PR 25) to 110 × 50 × 17 cm (PR 1). Large and heavy cover ATTRIBUTION OF GRAVE GOODS slabs were usually associated with rich graves,10 some of which even had a lining of vertical marl slabs (PR 1, Fibulae 2)11 presumably forming a cist.12 Several graves had a marl slab (PR 2, 16, 29) or marl rubble (PR 13, 14, 15, The earliest from Pucarjev rob is a two-looped 21, 22) laid on the bottom of the pit,13 a few even marl fibula from Grave PR 21 Pl.( 10A: 1), with a ribbed rubble forming a ring at the top of the pit (PR 1, 26, 29).