Lower Kupa valley region in Iron Age Communication Network Between Southern Pannonia, Eastern Alps and Western Balkans

Drnić, Ivan. (2018). Lower Kupa valley region in Iron Age Communication Network Between Southern Pannonia, Eastern Alps and Western Balkans. PhD Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Archaeology.
(PDS Arheologija) [mentor Dizdar, Marko].

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Abstract

This dissertation includes an analysis and an interpretation of material culture from the prehistoric and proto-historic communities that inhabited the territory of the Lower Kupa River valley during the Iron Age. The Lower Kupa River valley region is defined as the area of the lower flow of the Kupa River from Ozalj, where it exits the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar and flows into the lowland area in the southwestern part of the Pannonian basin, all the way to where it flows into the Sava River near Sisak. This area is bordered by the Žumberak Mountains in the northwest, the Vukomeričke gorice range in the northeast, and the Slunj karst plate in the southwest. This dissertation also includes the territories of the Zrinska and Petrova gora Mountains, situated south of the Kupa River, that are seen as a contact zone with the western Balkans. As can be seen from the archaeological record, the specific position of this territory, situated at the crossroads of three geographical and cultural regions – the southeastern Alps, southern Pannonia and the western Balkans, turned it into a significant component in the Iron Age communication network. The period when these communities developed can be divided into two chronological phases: the Early and the Late Iron Age with the Hallstatt and the La Tène cultures as the dominant cultural phenomena that marked the area of central Europe between the 8th and the 1st century BC. In Donje Pokuplje, along with having a strong local character seen in the material culture, the said cultural occurances went through a specific regional interpretation the likes of which are common for the peripheral areas of larger cultural units. Considering the amount of available archaeological material and contextualized and spatial data, the focus of the analysis is on the settlement situated on the territory of today's city of Sisak, known from ancient written sources as Segesta / Segestica. The analysis also includes available data on all Iron Age sites in the Lower Kupa valley. The results of the conducted analysis can be defined through several main determinants, such as settlements, movable finds (pottery, functional and decorative elements of the attire, weapons, metal vessels) and, finally, the collective identity of Iron Age communities from the Lower Kupa valley - the Colapiani.

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