Hillfort - Kaštelir - Castelliere
 Archeology

Aerial view of Monkodonija hillfort (Source)

A hillfort (or 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.]

On the Istrian peninsula some 400 fortified settlements have been identified, dating from the Bronze and Iron ages, which bears witness to the population density on the peninsula at the time. They were mostly circular, ellipsoidal and surrounded by defensive walls. Larger hill-forts were even encompassed by several rings of walls. A special building technique was used where large stone blocks were laid without a bonding agent (dry wall). Today most of the hill-fort settlements are recognized as circular towns which later developed on their foundations. Today's toponyms – gradina, gradinje, gradište, gračišće, kaštelir (after the Italian term castelliere), are pinpoints for some of these remnants.

Alternate names:  kaštelir / kasteljer (Istrijanski), castelieri (Istroveneto), castellieri (Italiano), gradine (Hrvatski)

General articles:

Other readings:

  • Marchesetti, "I castellieri preistorici di Trieste e della Regione Giulia", Trieste 1903

Specific hillforts (castellieri) and related sites:

  • Anđeo (?) - near Poreč (Parenzo),
  • Barban (Barbana) - Bronze Age hillfort
  • Barbariga - tumulus
  • Beram (Vermo) - one of the oldest continuously populated settlements in Istria. Explorations of the prehistoric necropolis on the south slopes of Beram have shown with certainty that during the iron age a settlement already existed here. A conical hill above a fertile valley was an ideal place for a hillfort type settlement which lasted until 8th century B.C., surrounded by a simple rough wall following the terrain configuration. Over the ruins of these walls Roman forts and medieval castles were later built. A radial street pattern founded in some ancient times has been preserved in Beram to this day. The Beram necropolis was explored in 1883. by three arcaeologists, independently one of another: Carlo Marchesetti, Karl Moser, and Andrea Amoroso, who altogether explored over 170 graves, and deposited the findings in museums of Vienna and Trieste.
  • Brijuni / Brioni - fortified Bronze Age settlement on the homonzmous hill norht of Verige Bay, with preserved walls, entrance and necropolis. The hill-fort population buried their dead under the stone tumulus in a grave of stone slabs. Such graves with skeleton burials in a bent position were found on the surrounding hilltops Ciprovac, Antunovac and Rankun. In the mid Bronze-Age (14th century B.C.) which is when the necropolis at Gradina is dated, cemeteries were located along the settlement fortifications, and beside individual burials in stone graves there are also family graves.
  • Brtonigla (Verteneglio) - a picturesque hilltop medieval town on the foundation of the prehistoric hillfort
  • Buje (Buie) - hillfort of St. Peregrin
  • Červar Porat (Cervera) - remains of a hillfort are above the town.
  • Ćunski (Ciunschi), Lošinj Island)
  • Dvigrad (Duecastelli)
  • Elleri - near Muggia
  • Ilovik (Asinello) Island - on the hill of Straža
  • Krkavče / Castel S. Pietro / Carcase) - just outside the villate lie the remains of a prehistoric hillfort and the famous Carcase stele, on which has been carved the figure of a man, said to date from the La Thene period (2nd-lst century BC). Non lontano dall'abitato paese si possono vedere i resti di un castelliere preistorico e una famosa stele, detta di Carcase, su cui è scolpita la figura di un uomo e che si vuole risalga all'età di La Thene (II-I sec. a.C).
  • Kunci Hillfort
  • Labin (Albona) - a Liburnian hillfort of which nothing remains visible. 308 Meters altitude.
  • Lim (Leme)
  • Marcana (Marzana) - ruins of a hill fort and ancient graves on Ovcjak hill, west of the village.
  • Medulin (Medolino) - prehistoric hillforts can be found on the hill Vrčevan and Cape Kašteja (Punta Kateja).
  • Monkodonja (Moncodogno), near Rovinj (Rovigno) - inhabited from 12-18th centuries, B.C. -
  • Montursino - near Vodnjan / Dignano d'Istria
  • Mutvoran Hillfort
  • Nesactium (Nezario, today's Vizace) - at the bottom of the hillock Glavica, in the vicinity of Valtura (Altura)
  • Pićan (Pedena)
  • Pizuge (Picugi / Pizzughi) - near Poreč (Parenzo)
  • Pula (Pola) - developed out of a hillfort dating 18th-10th century, B.C.)
  • Roč (Rozzo)
  • Vrčin (Monte Ursino)
  • Žamask (Zamasco / Zumasco) - near Motovun (Montona)
  • Zrenj (Sdregna / Stridone) - in nearby Salez (Sale) is the large hillfort of St. George (Opatija)

Hillforts or ancient fortifications in Istria's surrounds:

  • Trieste (Trst) to Rijeka (Fiume) and their environs -
    • Claustra Alpium Iuliarum
    • Trstat (Tersato) -  The Trsat hillfort is just a few steps from the Church of St. George and bears witness to the rich past of the city of Rijeka (Fiume) which spread over both banks of the Rječina (Fiumara) River. It dates back to the Illyrian tribe of Yapod in prehistoric times, was passed on to the Romans who built their fort on this site, and passed on to numerous owners, each of whom left their individual mark on the fortification. The appearance and usage of the hillfort was shaped through the centuries by the Frankopans, the Habsburgs, the Captains of Bakar and lastly by Count Laval Nugent. The hillfort has a unique view of the town and Kvarner Bay. During the summer, it is the today the cultural and artistic center of Rijeka, hosting art exhibitions, concerts, theatrical performances and other types of entertainment. An audio-cassette about the history of the hillfort is available on the site. Source

Related Prehistoric Sites

Artificial mound / tumulus / zigurat:

  • Barbarija (8) - near village of Toranj, on the estate of the Dragonera Roman Villa close to the coast
  • Uvala Maric (3) - on the estate of the Dragonera Roman Villa close to the coast

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):

  • Tramuntana (2) - near Beli, Island of Cres / Cherso

Portal tomb:

  • Tramuntana - near Beli, Island of Cres / Cherso

Tholos / cairn (1. a round building of classical Greek date and style, or 2. a circular tomb of beehive shape approached by a horizontal passage in the side of a hill.):

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Created: Thursday, September 24, 1999; Last Updated: Sunday, 20 July 2008
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