Škocjan in the Bronze Age: tracing the rise of a fortified village
Acronym: ŠBA
Description
The ŠBA project investigates the antiquity of the fortified settlement on Škocjan hillfort, Slovenia, a site located in a crucial area for Slovenian and European prehistory. Recent excavations revealed the stratigraphic evidence of Middle and Recent Bronze Age settlement phases suggesting a possible ancient origin for the site: are these Bronze Age features linked to the hillfort's drywall construction?
Confirming a Bronze Age phase would make Škocjan one of the oldest hillforts in the Slovenian Karst castellieri network - a significant discovery that would improve our understanding of regional prehistory. The project will excavate a portion of the drywall and conduct interdisciplinary analysis of ceramics, integrating typo-chronological and archaeometric approaches.
The team combines CNR ISPC’s typo-chronological studies with University of Ljubljana's archaeometric approach, creating optimal conditions for mutal knowledge transfer, lasting scientific collaboration and capacity building.
Project information
- Italian project leader: CNR ISPC
- Partners:University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of Archaeology
- ISPC Scientific coordinator: Elisa Dalla Longa
- Involved Countries: Italy - Slovenia
- Site/Area/Case study: Škocjan hillfort near Divača
- Status: ongoing
- Funding: CNR joint archaeological labs (2026)
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