The zooarchaeological remains from Early Iron Age hill-top fortress at Klisura- Kadića Brdo, eastern Bosnia: a taphonomic assessment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5644/Godisnjak.CBI.ANUBiH.34-4Abstract
The archaeological site of Klisura-Kadića Brdo (Gorge-Judge’s Hill) is located on the Glasinac plateau in eastern Bosnia, overlooking the modern and Medieval town of Knežina. Kadića Brdo is a multi-period “gradina” or hill-fort site, with occupation during the Eneolithic and the Early and Late Iron Ages. The site was abandoned at the end of the Iron Age as much of the regional population relocated to the lowlands. The activity at the settlement ceased during the period of the Late Iron
Age. Judging by the scarce number of chronologically diagnostic finds, the life at the plateau stopped during or soon after the 5th century BC. During the period of the Early Iron Age, the settlement was very likely a regional center and was the locus of elite activities. It is larger than most of its contemporaries on the plateau. Furthermore, several stone covered tumuli dot the mountain heights above the settlement. The Glasinac plateau and surrounding areas are well known in the literature from the extensive excavations of the Bronze and Iron Age burial mounds. These have been excavated on and off since the 1890’s and have provided one of the linchpins of the Central European typochronological system proposed by Reinecke. This system was adopted by the Yugoslavian school of archaeology.' While the region’s funerary complexes were well-known, little was known about domestic or other kinds of archaeological deposits. Hence, beginning in 1980, the Bosnia-Hercegovinian (BiH) Academy of Sciences and Arts embarked upon an ambitious campaign to survey and excavate post-Neolithic (Eneolithic, Bronze
and Iron Age) sites on the plateau. Based on an extensive survey and test excavations, Kadića Brdo was selected for large-scale excavation since it was the best preserved of the “gradina” on the Glasinac plateau. It was to provide an inventory of domestic and other artifacts and Information that were sorely lacking from the region.
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