Istria on the Internet - Archeology

Arrowheads 7000 years old found on the St. Mihovil hill.

Pre-history was imprisoned in the hill

[Izvor: © Večernji list, 28.8.2006 - http://www.vecernji-list.hr/newsroom/regions/istra/619238/index.do.]

BALE – In the Archeological Museum in Pula, the archeologists presented 8000-year old findings that came from the Neolithic period that were found on the St. Mihovil hill near Bale. On the hill that is about 600 feet above sea level, the archeologists discovered parts of ceramic and various Neolithic and Bronze period articles by digging test areas of a certain size. They discovered a large amount of arrowheads, which were made by the prehistoric inhabitants 5000 years BC. The leaders of these excavations, custodian Romuald Zlatunic and archeologist Djula Kodaci-Terlevic, said that the value of this discovery can be compared with the discovery of the fishing village found this summer in the area of Karigadur in Liznjan.

The hill of St Mihovil was also hiding the remains of not only Bronze-period architecture, but also some artifacts from the Middle ages, including the remains of a Benedictine monastery. All this speaks of continuous inhabitation of this hill starting from the early Neolithic period through the Middle ages. There are 14 such locations in southern Istria, which could be used as tourist destinations in the future. On the hill of St. Mihovil they found fragments of ceramics indicating their origin was from the "nakovske" (Nakovian?) culture, while the arrowheads are made of quartz and a special type of stone which come from the Italian Alps region. Some are made from obsidian, which are also not found in Istria.

This information is essential in researching the trade routes or migration of pre-historic people. Based on the outline of the pre-historic concentric walls with two rings on the St. Mihovil hill, it is assumed that there was a village inside these walls. Due to the importance of this discovery the excavations will continue for the next couple of years, stated Kristina Djin, the president of the Archeological Museum of Istria. This year the work was financed by the funds from the Ministry of Culture, which will be also tapped for funding for next year.

These ancesters, hunters of large animals, cooked meat, since animal bones were found in in the area that has been of interest to the archeologists for the last 10 years. Since then it was believed that there could be found remains from the pre-history, a time when Istria looked completely different. For example, there were no Brioni Islands since it was all land.

Main Menu