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A hillfort (also called hill fort and hill-fort) is a general term used to describe a fortification on a hilltop, the best known of which are the later prehistoric examples mainly of later Bronze Age and Iron Age date, the 1st millennium B.C., in Europe. Usually situated in a prominent and defensible position, hillforts were fortified with one or more lines of stone walls or earthen ramparts and ditches and elaborate defences. Their construction often relates to the kind of warfare common in the region in which they lie at the time of their occupation. Many were permanently occupied, although some were temporary refuges in times of trouble. [Source The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archeology.] Alternate names: kaštelir / kasteljer (Istrijanski), castelieri (Istroveneto), castellieri (Italiano), gradine (Hrvatski). From American journal of archaeology, Volume 1, Archaeological Institute of America, 1885, p. 248-9: Before Mr. Burton's work, Notes on the Castellieri or prehistoric ruins of the Istrian Peninsula, published in 1875, no attempt had been made to account for the ancient ruins called Castellieri which cover the hills and rocks of Istria; and it was not until 1883 that the first scientific researches were begun in this field, at Vermo near Pisino, by Prof. Moser at the expense of the Viennese Academy. These researches resulted in the discovery of a necropolis which contained over a hundred tombs a combustione, consisting of square cells opened in the friable rock from 1 to 2 metres below the surface and covered with slabs. Each contained one, seldom more, cinerary urn of pottery or metal without special decoration. The contents of these tombs were extremely meagre. Further discoveries were made in the same year by Dr. Marchessetti. The objects found enrich the Museums of Vienna and Trieste. In consequence, an historical society and a provincial museum were founded, and excavations begun on a grand scale by Dr. Amoroso in the vicinity of Vermo and at the Castellieri dei Pizzughi near Parenzo, the latter of which was productive of very important results. The 200 tombs at the Pizzughi, at a depth of between 0.50 and 1.50 met., are square and measure about a metre each way; they are built of polygonal masses and covered with large calcareous slabs. A single tomb often contained as many as five ossuaries which also were covered with a thin stone slab. Another species of tombs is formed in the shape of a small cylindrical well, also closed in by a slab: these, however, never contained more than a single cinerary urn. The great majority follow the usual type of the Italian necropoli of the first iron-age, with some local variations. The pottery is almost entirely made by hand and baked at the open fire, and in the form of a double truncated cone with reversed neck. The meagre decoration is strictly geometrical, either scratched or in relief.. Among the ornaments found the most numerous are bracelets with linear ornamentation, clasps of the " Certosa" type, and hair-pins: numerous objects found demonstrate the attention paid to the refinements of the toilet even by such a savage people as the Histri. That intimate relations must have existed with Southern Italy is shown by the character of some of the objects found, e. g., a conical helmet in the form of a pileus, like many figured on Apulian vases; three vases of pale-red earth, unvarnished, ornamented with geometrical forms in brown and red of a manufacture known only to Apulia and Calabria (VII. to IV, cent. B.C.); as well as many vases of smaller size. Sig. Orsi concludes that the Istrian necropoli date between the fifth and second century B.C., there being no evidence of Roman influence, which began to spread in Istria after 177 B.C., when the country was annexed to Cis-Alpine Gaul.— P. Orsi in the Bullettino dell'Instituto, February, f885. From Steven Denison Peet, The American antiquarian and oriental journal, Volumes 29-30, Jameson & Morse, 1907, p. 298: "Castellieri" of Trieste, Etc. As castellieri are known in Italy walled places on heights of from 100 to 500 meters, corresponding somewhat to the German "Burgwalle" and "Burgb rge." They are particularly numerous in Istria, — of 573 castellieri known, 126 belong to Trieste, 74 to Görz, 383 to Istria, and 20 to Carniola. Of these Carlo Marchesetti has investigated 524. The results of his careful studies are given in his I castellieri preistorici di Trieste e della Regione Giulia (Trieste, 1903). These castellieri contain remains of all periods from the Neolithic Age to the time of the Romans, and the oldest are attributed to the "Illyro-Veneti." They seem to have first been built close to the sea, as on the Quarnero islands, and then to have followed the heights inland. The people who built these earliest castellieri were in the Neolithic Age, although somewhat acquainted with copper and bronze. About 1000 B.C., an invasion of Illyrians from Carniola into northern Italy took place. These immigrants were in the Bronze Age and had some knowledge of iron, lived in castellieri and burned their dead. They left behind them huge necropoli, only a few of which (Sta. Lucia, Caporetto, S. Canziano, etc.) have been explored. This Illyrian culture, according to Marchesetti, had three periods: 1, 1000-800 B.C. (Hallstatt objects); 2, 800-600 B.C. (great independent progress in native industry); 3, 600-400 B.C. (Etruscan influence) With the invasion of the Celts comes the introduction of the La Tène culture and the downfall of many old caslellieri settlements. Against the Romans the castellieri people long and stubbornly defended themselves, until in 182 B.C., the founding of Aquileia marked the final conquest of Istria. The Romans, however, made use of the sites to build new and stronger castellieri which they garrisoned with their soldiery. During the Middle Ages the castellieri were often used as places of refuse; to-day only their ruins are left, and these Marchesetti urges the people and governmental authorities to preserve, as far as possible. Lissauer, whose review (Mitt. d. Anthr. G. in Wien. 1904, p. 87) is the basis of this note, evidently considers Marchesetti's archaeological work of great importance. General articles:
Specific writers:
Specific hillforts:
Hillforts or ancient fortifications in Istria's surrounds:
Related Prehistoric Sites Dolmen (a prehistoric monument consisting of two or more upright stones supporting a horizontal stone slab found especially in Britain and France and thought to be a tomb / burial chamber):
Portal tomb:
Tholos / cairn - a round building of classical Greek date and style, or a circular tomb of beehive shape approached by a horizontal passage in the side of a hill.):
Tumulus / zugurat / mound
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Created: Thursday, September 24,
1999; Last Updated:
Thursday, 12 August 2010 |
