Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 2031e2039
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Journal of Archaeological Science
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas
Dating of 4th millennium BC pile-dwellings on Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia
a, *
Katarina Cufar
, Bernd Kromer b, Tjasa Tolar c, Anton Velus
cek c
a
University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Wood Science and Technology, Rozna dolina, Cesta VIII/34, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Heidelberg Academy of Sciences, Institute of Environmental Physics, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
c
Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of Archaeology, Novi trg 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
b
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 9 December 2009
Received in revised form
9 March 2010
Accepted 17 March 2010
We present absolute dates of seven late Neolithic pile-dwellings on Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia. They
were settled from ca. 3600 to 3332 (10) and from 3160 to 3071 (14) cal BC, as shown by investigations
of wood using dendrochronology and radiocarbon wiggle-matching. We defined eleven periods of
intensive tree felling (and building activities) and one major settlement gap (when no trees were felled)
from 3332 to 3160 cal BC. A major settlement gap presumably also followed after 3071 cal BC (i.e., after
the end date of the investigated sites). Our investigations included over 2500 pieces of wood, mainly
from the piles on which the dwellings were built. Among important wooden artefacts were a wheel with
axle (one of the oldest preserved wheels in the world) and two dugout canoes, all from the settlement
phase from 3160 to 3100 cal BC. As shown by parallel studies, the economy in the sites was characterized
by copper metallurgy, skilful wood processing and use, cultivation of domestic plants, gathering of wild
plants, animal husbandry, hunting and fishing. The settlements were contemporaneous with a number of
sites in the north of the Alps, the younger ones coincided with the lifetime of the Neolithic Iceman (Ötzi).
Since Ljubljansko barje has a strategic position at the crossroads between western central and (south)
eastern Europe the presented absolute dates provide a basis for their comparison with other dated
contemporaneous sites (in the west), to revise the chronology of similar sites in the (south) east (which
are not yet exactly dated), and to evaluate their interconnection and roles in cultural development in
prehistory.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Neolithic
Ljubljansko barje
Slovenia
Absolute dates
Dendrochronology
Radiocarbon
Wiggle-matching
Waterlogged sites
1. Introduction
Prehistoric pile-dwellings SE of the Alps are important for
understanding the cultural interaction between north-western and
south-eastern Europe at the time of their existence. However, their
exact dating is crucial to be able to compare them with contemporary sites in the surrounding regions. Archaeological timbers, often
well preserved in wetlands, have the potential to provide exact dates
when the trees were felled (e.g., Haneca et al., 2009). Dendrochronological dating is only possible if adequate reference tree-ring
chronologies are available for the region, tree species and period of
interest. When they are not available, it is necessary to check
whether a teleconnection exists and whether a dating can be made
with remote reference chronologies. When even this is not possible,
radiocarbon analysis can be used for absolute dating of the wood.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 386 1 320 3645; fax: þ386 1 423 50 35.
E-mail addresses: katarina.cufar@bf.uni-lj.si (K. Cufar),
bernd.kromer@iup.uniheidelberg.de (B. Kromer), tjasa.tolar@zrc-sazu.si (T. Tolar), anton.veluscek@zrcsazu.si (A. Velus
cek).
0305-4403/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.03.008
Dating can be especially precise when several sequentially spaced
14
C dates are obtained and calibration can be performed with the aid
of the wiggle-matching methodology (e.g., Kromer, 2009).
Ljubljansko barje is a 180 km2 large floodplain in central
Slovenia, situated at the SE edge of the Alps (Fig. 1). It has a strategic
position at the crossroads between the Danube and the Po river
lowlands and between the Eastern Alps and the Balkans and is
known for its prehistoric pile-dwellings, which were first discovered in 1875. Since then, several archaeological excavations have
taken place in the area and approximately 40 pile-dwelling sites
cek, 2004a). The settlements were
have been documented (Velus
not accurately dated for a long time after their discovery and exact
dating was badly needed to evaluate their role in cultural development and interactions between western and south-eastern
Europe in the late Neolithic.
In 1995, interdisciplinary research supervised by the Institute of
Archaeology of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian
Academy of Sciences and Arts started excavations with the aim of
systematically collecting wood for dendrochronological and
radiocarbon dating. Since then, numerous dendrochronological
(University of Ljubljana) and radiocarbon (Heidelberg Academy of
2032
K. Cufar
et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 2031e2039
Fig. 1. The location of (a) Slovenia in Europe and (b) Ljubljansko barje in Slovenia. (c) The 4th millennium BC pile-dwellings on Ljubljansko barje from the oldest to the youngest:
snja pri Bistri (CB), Spodnje mostisce (SM), Stare gmajne (SG), Veliki Otavnik (VO), and Blatna Brezovica (BB).
Hocevarica (HOC), Maharski prekop (MP), Cre
Sciences) analyses have been performed. All this has provided us
with the first absolute dates of the pile-dwelling settlements, from
the oldest, dated to approx. 4600 cal BC, to the youngest ones from
the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC (e.g., Veluscek and Cufar,
2002; Velus
cek, 2006). With the exception of the oldest one from
4600 cal BC and few Early Bronze Age settlements, all other sites
can be dated to the Late Neolithic (Eneolithic in Slovenian terminology) period, when copper metallurgy played a crucial role in the
society (Velus
cek, 2004a).
This article is devoted to a group of lakeshore pile-dwellings of
the 4th millennium BC. Culturally, the oldest settlement belongs to
the “Furchenstich” horizon, while the others are contemporaneous
to the Baden culture, which dominated the central Danubian area
(e.g., Kalicz, 1991; Forenbaher, 1993).
The objectives of this study were:
- to perform excavations on prehistoric pile-dwellings of Ljubljansko barje and to collect wood for dating by means of dendrochronology and the radiocarbon wiggle-matching methodology,
- to assess the time of existence of the pile-dwellings and to
reconstruct possible construction phases and repairs on them,
- to discuss the selection of wood species for building timbers
and their importance for better understanding of the
surrounding environment, and
- to obtain information on the occupation and abandonment of
the Ljubljansko barje and relate it to occupation in the
surrounding areas.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Archaeological sites
Between 1995 and 2007, we performed archaeological excavations at seven wetland sites: Hocevarica (HOC), Maharski prekop
snja pri Bistri (CB), Spodnje mostis
(MP), Cre
ce (SM), Stare gmajne
(SG), Veliki Otavnik (VO), and Blatna Brezovica (BB). They were all
located at the southern edge of Ljubljansko barje (Fig. 1, Table 1).
K. Cufar
et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 2031e2039
2033
Table 1
Dendrochronologically investigated 4th millennium BC pile-dwellings on Ljubljansko barje with the year of their discovery, years of archaeological research, years when
dendrochronological investigations were used at the site, type of excavation, and total number of wood samples collected.
Site code
Site name
Discovery
Archaeological research
Archaeology &
dendroechronology
Type of research
HOC
Ho
cevarica
1992
1995, 1998
1995, 1998
MP
Maharski prekop
1953
1970-1977, 2005
2005
CR
SM
SG
snja pri Bistri
Cre
Spodnje mostis
ce
Stare gmajne
2003
1876
1992
2003
1996, 1997
1995, 2002, 2004,
2006, 2007
2003
1996, 1997
2002, 2004,
2006, 2007
VO
BB
Veliki Otavnik Ib
Blatna Brezovica
2006
1942
2006
1953, 2003
2006
2003
Rescue excavation in the
drainage ditch (1995, 1998)
Excavation e trench (1998)
Excavation (1970e1977)
Re-excavation (2005)
Rescue excavation in the drainage ditch
Underwater research (in the river)
Rescue excavation in the
drainage ditch (2002, 2004)
Excavation e trench (2006, 2007)
Underwater research (in the river)
Excavation (1953)
Re-excavation (2003)
The wooden dwellings were built on piles that were pounded in
the ground. Copper metallurgy played an important role in the
economy of all sites. The dwellers produced moderately decorated
black or dark grey pottery and used mainly stone tools. They were
skilful in wood processing and using it for constructional purposes,
dugout canoes, charts (Fig. 2), and other products. Their economy
was based on the cultivation of domestic plants, gathering of wild
cek, 2004a).
plants, animal husbandry, hunting and fishing (Velus
2.2. Archaeological excavations
We used various strategies to collect the wood: (1) re-excavation, (2) rescue excavation and (3) underwater archaeology (Table
1). Re-excavation of previously investigated sites was made to
collect wood that had been documented during previous excavations and was then reburied. Rescue excavations included documentation and excavation of wood and other remains
(archaeological artefacts, remains of plants and animals, etc.) in
drainage ditches on terrain currently used for agricultural
production. In Hocevarica and Stare gmajne, we additionally made
trenches with dimensions from 8 to 15 m2 for acquiring macrobotanical and other remains. Techniques of underwater archaeology were applied at the sites Spodnje mostis
ce and Veliki Otavnik
Ib (Fig. 1; Table 1), where samples were taken from piles found in
the river beds. In this case, most of the wooden parts (mainly
vertical piles) were still in situ, but the cultural layer had been
destroyed by erosion.
2.3. Wood for dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating
We collected a total of 2541 samples of wood (Table 2). They
were taken from all preserved wooden finds, regardless of their
form, size or wood species. The precise geographic coordinates
were first determined for each of the wooden finds on the ground
plans of the dwellings and then 10e20 cm long samples were cut
for analysis. In the laboratory, they were smoothed and observed
under a stereo microscope for tree-ring counting, wood identification, and dendrochronological analysis. The preservation of the
wood was sufficient for such investigations, although its structure
and characteristics had changed due to water-logging over
et al., 2002, 2008b).
millennia (Cufar
Microscopic wood identification was done with the aid of
standard identification keys (Schweingruber, 1982). Furthermore,
for each of the samples we noted whether the bark and the last ring
below it were preserved and whether the last ring was completed
(indicating that the tree was felled after the end of vegetation
period). We then counted the number of tree-rings and the number
of sapwood rings (if the sapwood could be differentiated from the
heartwood).
In all oak (Quercus sp.) and ash (Fraxinus sp.) samples containing
45 or more tree-rings, their widths were measured with the aid of
a LINTAB movable table, stereo microscope and the TSAP/X or TSAPWin programmes. The tree-ring series (ring widths vs. time) were
visually and statistically cross-dated and compared with each other
by calculating the t-values according to Baillie and Pilcher (1973).
All the series that demonstrated visual and statistical (t-value >
3.5) agreement were combined into floating undated oak and ash
chronologies. Further comparisons showed that the ash chronologies of different sites could not be cross-dated with other ash or oak
chronologies, so we did not use them in the next steps of this study.
Since there are so far no absolutely dated reference chronologies
for the prehistoric period in Slovenia, we attempted to date the oak
chronologies with south German references (Billamboz, Tegel,
Herzig, personal communication). These attempts were not
successful, so we also prepared samples of wood for radiocarbon
analysis.
Following the composition of the tree-ring chronologies, wood
samples containing at least 40 g of wood were selected from each of
the chronologies for radiometric radiocarbon dating. Because the
wood (especially sapwood) was poorly preserved (see, e.g., Cufar
et al., 2008b), we had to take 5e20 tree-rings from the outer
heartwood to obtain the required mass of wood. The positions of
the selected tree-rings were exactly documented on the chronologies. After the first 14C dates had been obtained, we collected
additional samples optimally to match the wiggles on the calibration curve. We thus obtained a series of closely sequentially spaced
14
C dates (Table 4, Fig. 3).
Calibration of the 14C dates was done with the aid of the wigglematching methodology, which uses the non-linear relationship
between the 14C age and calendar age to match the shape of the 14C
calibration curve. In our case, the 14C dates were calibrated using the
“sequence” option of the OxCal 3.10 program using the IntCal04
calibration curve (Reimer et al., 2004). OxCal calculates the calibrated
age and its confidence intervals for the midpoint of the youngest treering sample, based on an optimal match of all the radiocarbon dates of
the samples of the section (Galimberti et al., 2004).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Wood species and oak chronologies
From a total of 2541 wood samples, oak (Quercus robur and
Quercus petraea) and ash (Fraxinus excelsior) represented 41% and
36% of all samples, respectively (Table 2). The remaining wood
K. Cufar
et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 2031e2039
2034
Fig. 2. Artefacts from the Stare gmajne pile-dwelling (after Veluscek, 2009): (a) a crucible made of quartz-feldspathic siltite (34th century BC); (b) a shaft-hole axe made of
metaultramafite (34th or 32nd century BC); (c) a wooden wheel (second half of the 32nd century BC or earlier); (d) restored remains of yarn (second half of 32nd century BC)
probably made of the fibres of plants from the family of grasses (Poaceae).
belonged to alder (Alnus glutinosa), maple (Acer sp.), hornbeam
(Carpinus betulus), hazel (Corylus avellana), beech (Fagus sylvatica),
poplar (Populus sp.), willow (Salix sp.), elm (Ulmus sp.), silver fir
(Abies alba) and yew (Taxus baccata). Only 18% of oak and 11% of ash
had more than 45 tree-rings, which, on the basis of our observations, is the minimum number for performing statistically
confirmed cross-dating. If the tree-ring series are shorter, they are
less appropriate for building chronologies (e.g., Haneca et al., 2009)
although they have research potential for studying wetland occupation (e.g., Billamboz, 2003).
Table 2
Number of samples of oak, ash and other species for each of the sites and the
percentage of collected, dendrochronologically measured and cross-dated oak
samples. Other species were: alder, maple, hornbeam, hazel, beech, poplar, willow,
elm, silver fir and yew. For site names see Fig. 1 and Table 1.
Site code
Number of samples
Total
HOC
MP
CR
SM
SG
VO
BB
Oak
Measurements of tree-ring widths were therefore performed on
samples of oak that had more than 45 tree-rings but only half of
them (9% of the total) were cross-dated (Table 2). They were
assembled into eight chronologies, two for Stare Gmajne (SG-old
and SG-young) and one for each of the other sites (Table 3). Crossdating (when t-values > 3.5) showed which chronologies overlap in
time (Table 3). Finally, the overlapping chronologies MP-QUSP1, CRQUSP1, SM-QUSP121 and SG-old could be joined into a composed
chronology LJU4M-old. The chronologies SG-young and VO-QUSP1
were joined into LJU4M-young (Table 3, Fig. 4). The positions of
HOC-QUSP1 and BB-QUSP1 could not be defined using the crossdating procedure. We attempted to date the individual chronologies of sites and the two composed chronologies of Ljubljansko
barje with south German references but the dating was not
successful.
3.2. Calibrated
Share of total (%)
Ash
Other
species
Oak
Oak
measured
Oak
cross-dated
361
234
124
690
932
30
170
57
82
61
401
334
17
87
213
67
25
151
409
6
55
91
85
38
138
189
7
28
16
35
49
58
36
57
51
5
20
19
20
21
37
11
4
11
14
7
9
37
8
2541
1039
926
576
41
18
9
14
C dates and tree-ring chronologies
In the next steps, the chronologies were dated with the aid of 14C
dates calibrated with the wiggle-matching procedure (Table 4,
Fig. 3). The radiocarbon dating of 8 samples of wood (Table 4) with
known positions in the LJU4M-old chronology and their wigglematching with OxCal 3.10 (Fig. 3, white circles) helped to set the
last ring of the chronology to 3342e3322 cal BC (2s interval, 95%
probability), i.e., 3332 10 cal BC. Such a narrow interval (10
years) could be obtained because we knew the distances (in years)
among the individual 14C dates. If we had calibrated each individual
K. Cufar
et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 2031e2039
2035
to 4499 21 BP (Table 4). The position of BB-QUSP1 is also estimated based on visual comparison with LJU4M-young chronology
(end date 3071 cal BC).
3.3. Occupation of sites and building activities inferred from dated
tree-ring chronologies
Fig. 3. Calibration using the “sequence” option of OxCal 3.10. Compare Table 4.
14
C BP date from the Table 4, we would have obtained much wider
intervals of dating (e.g., 3890e3675 cal BC for sample Hd-22139; in
Cufar
and Kromer, 2004).
The further 3 samples for which we obtained 3 radiocarbon
dates (Table 4, Fig. 3 black circles) helped us to set the last ring of
the LJU4M-young chronology to 3123e3096 cal BC (2s interval,
95% probability), i.e., 3109 14 cal BC.
Since the end dates of the composed chronologies LJU4M-old
and LJU4M-young were defined, we could also define the end dates
of all chronologies cross-dated with them (Table 3, Fig. 4).
In addition to the samples described above, we also obtained
three radiocarbon dates for Hocevarica (HOC) (Table 4) and their
wiggle-matching helped to set the last ring of the chronology
(HOC-QUSP1) to 3656e3636 cal BC (2s interval, 95% probability).
This indicated that HOC-QUSP1 was the oldest of all. Since the
statistical parameters of its matching with other chronologies (e.g.,
MP-QUSP1, Table 3) were not significant, we matched the chronologies visually and estimated the end date of HOC-QUSP1 as ca.
3547 BC (Fig. 4).
The youngest chronology of Blatna Brezovica (BB-QUSP1) could
also not be statistically significantly matched with other
chronologies (Table 3). Its age was estimated by one sample dated
We could define the end date for each of the chronologies (year
cal BC on the right of the chronologies, Fig. 4), indicating the year in
which the youngest tree-ring was formed. Since in our study, most of
the samples contained the bark and the last ring below it, we could
assume that the end date of the chronology more or less corresponded to the final phase of site occupation. Based on the durability
of oak wood, we can assume that constructions made from it could
last for approximately a decade. However, despite this, according to
our observations repairs were very frequent and they may have
already started 1e2 years after the constructions were made.
Furthermore, we observed that in certain years or 1e3 year
periods, larger amounts of trees were felled and piles with the same
end year were located near to each other. Based on this, we
assumed that building activities took place on the dwelling at
a time when larger amounts of trees were cut. This could be
particularly observed at Spodnje mostisce (SM) and Stare gmajne
(SG), where we collected larger amounts of wood (Table 2). On this
basis, we could estimate the time of occupation and the building
activities at each of the sites. Individual trees felled in the years
between building phases possibly indicated repairs to the
constructions. Because we collected the wood from narrow ditches
or small trenches we did not obtain enough data to reconstruct the
exact ground plans of the dwellings.
The oldest settlement was Hocevarica with the end date of the
oak chronology estimated to 3547 10 cal BC. Previous investigations have shown that this was the second phase of the settlement,
and
which had already appeared in the late 37th century BC (Cufar
Kromer, 2004).
Soon after Ho
cevarica was abandoned, the Maharski prekop
pile-dwelling was settled on the other side of Ljubljansko barje. The
samples indicate an occupation that lasted more than 20 years and
ended around 3489 10 cal BC (Figs. 1 and 4).
Sixty years later, Spodnje mostis
ce, located less than 200 m
away from Maharski prekop, was occupied. We recorded several
building phases, which ended around 3428, 3409, 3373, and
snja pri Bistri was inhabited,
3353 10 cal BC. At the same time, Cre
in the opposite south-western part of Ljubljansko barje. Only one
building phase was recorded here, with an end date of
3409 10 cal BC, which coincided with one of the building phases
at Spodnje mostis
ce. At Stare gmajne, in the south-western part of
Ljubljansko barje, we recorded one phase of occupation, with an
end date of 3332 10 cal BC. After this, Ljubljansko barje was
probably abandoned for approximately 170 years.
Table 3
Cross-dating parameters (t-values) and overlapping of the chronologies. The t-value is not given if the overlap is less than 50 years or when t < 3. For the codes, see also Table 1
and Fig. 4.
Chronology
HOC-QUSP1
MP-QUSP1
CR-QUSP1
SM-QUSP123
SG-old
SG-young
VO-QUSP1
BB-QUSP1
Time span
Length
Maximal replication
t-Value/Overlap (years)
Cal BC
years
(No. of samples)
MP-QUSP1
139
173
137
206
175
177
132
75
16
25
17
49
6
118
11
13
3685e3547
3661e3489
3545e3409
3558e3353
3506e3332
3285e3109
3239e3108
3145e3071
10
10
10
10
10
14
14
14
4.9/57
5.1/70
CR-QUSP1
SM-QUSP123
4.3/137
3.7/98
4.7/154
SG-young
8.8/131
2036
K. Cufar
et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 2031e2039
Fig. 4. Tree-ring chronologies of oak (QUSP) from Ljubljansko barje. Cross-dated chronologies of settlements MP, SM, CR, SG-old, SG-young, and VO, and most probable positions of
HOC and BB (for legend of codes see Table 1 or Fig. 1). The numbers on the right represent the cal BC year of the last (youngest) tree-ring. Below: composed chronologies: LJU4M-old
(MP, SM, CR, SG-old) with the last ring set at 3332 10 cal BC and LJU4M-young (SG-young, VO) with the last ring set at 3109 14 cal BC. Arrows show the years of intensive tree
felling, indicating building phases at settlements.
After this gap, we recorded several renewed building activities
at Stare gmajne (SG-young), from 3160 to 3109 14 cal BC (Fig. 4).
This period was characterized by intensive building activities that
took place in 10e15 year intervals all over the site (Veluscek, 2009).
The end date of Stare gmajne coincided with that of Veliki Otavnik
Ib (last ring 3108 14 cal BC), located about 1 km away (Figs. 1 and
4). Visual matching of an ash chronology from Stare gmajne (not
presented here) suggests that the settlement continued for some
years after 3109 14 cal BC. The Blatna Brezovica site, located less
than 500 m away from Stare gmajne, was the youngest of all and
was abandoned around 3071 cal BC.
After 3071 BC, Ljubljansko barje probably remained uninhabited
for the next 300 years. The next phase of occupation was recorded
cek and Cufar,
at Parte-Is
cica in the 29th/28th centuries BC (Velus
2002).
Numerous building phases are presumably due to repairs that
were necessary because of limited wood durability and due to
needs to enlarge the settlements. However, dendrochronological
research cannot explain the reasons for larger gaps between
building activities, as for example between 3332 10 and
3160 14 cal BC. This gap could be due to a lack of preserved
archaeological wood or more likely due to an occupation hiatus on
Ljubljansko barje.
3.4. Characteristics of society and life on the pile-dwellings as
inferred from archaeological finds
The collection of wood and other finds that was evaluated in
parallel interdisciplinary investigations has helped us to obtain
information on prehistoric society, its life in wet environments and
its contacts with other settlements.
Interdisciplinary investigations were performed at locations at
which cultural layers were sufficiently preserved, such as
snja pri Bistri (Velus
cek, 2004b), Cre
cek et al.,
Hocevarica (Velus
2004), Stare gmajne (Veluscek, 2009), Maharski prekop (Bregant,
1996) and Blatna Brezovica (Velus
cek, 2009). They included
investigations of archaeological artefacts (pottery, tools), metal
Table 4
Radiocarbon dating. The samples of wood are sorted according to their positions on
the calibration curve and dendrochronological matching with LJU4M-old or LJU4Myoung tree-ring chronologies (compare Fig. 3). (AnaNrHd e sample code of the
radiocarbon laboratory in Heidelberg, Nr(LJU) e sample number of the laboratory in
Ljubljana, (*) position on chronology estimated visually).
AnaNrHd
NrLJU
22 139
22 305
20 765
18 856
21 329
18 785
18 787
19 354
19 357
18 784
27 697
22 911
27 938
22 385
24 497
HOC-34
HOC-56(1)
HOC-56(2)
SM-564(1)
SM-242
SM-564(2)
SM-619
SM2-56(1)
SM2-56(2)
SM-26
SG-745
SG02-406
SG-499
SG02-441
BB-03-48
d13C
28.37
29.47
29.19
27.76
29.34
28.65
25.66
25.52
25.37
27.09
26.8
27.86
29.8
27.52
28.16
14
C BP
4867 26
4825 25
4748 26
4813 55
4620 32
4703 32
4733 29
4740 31
4766 34
4697 31
4552 22
4489 16
4589 26
4547 17
4499 21
Cross-dated with
LJU4M-old*
LJU4M-old*
LJU4M-old*
LJU4M-old
LJU4M-old
LJU4M-old
LJU4M-old
LJU4M-old
LJU4M-old
LJU4M-old
LJU4M-old
LJU4M-young
LJU4M-young
LJU4M-young
LJU4M-young*
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et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 2031e2039
objects and smelting equipment, botanical remains (pollen, macrobotanical samples, wood), remains of animals (domestic and wild
mammals, birds, fish), and other finds. At the Spodnje mostis
ce and
Veliki Otavnik Ib sites, which are underwater (in the river), the
cultural layer is eroded, so interdisciplinary research was very
limited.
The remains of pottery are important, because the typology
served to estimate the age of the settlements before dendrochronology was introduced to Ljubljansko barje (e.g., Parzinger, 1984).
At Ho
cevarica, black and dark grey pottery prevailed (Fig. 5). The
characteristic shapes were, for instance, a bowl with a large banded
handle and ladle with a solid handle. Some fragments were decorated with furrowed incisions, an ornament that suggests that the
settlement belonged to the Retz-Gajary culture after Dimitrijevic
(1980) or to the horizon of pottery with furrowed incisions, characteristic of Transdanubia in nearby Hungary (Kalicz, 1991;
Velus
cek, 2004b).
At the slightly younger Maharski prekop, very moderately
decorated black or dark grey pottery with many shapes similar to
those at Ho
cevarica was found. We also observed some differences:
for instance, vessels with handles were absent, furrowed incisions
were lacking, and plastic decorations were present. At least some
individual vessels therefore indicate contacts with the Boleráz
cek, 2009).
group of the Baden culture (e.g., Parzinger, 1984; Velus
Pottery assemblages from Stare gmajne, which resemble the
pottery from other studied settlements, strongly indicate contacts
with groups of the Baden culture in the central Danube area and
those from the Caput Adriae, the eastern Adriatic coast and the
cek,
Alpine world in the second half of the 4th millennium BC (Velus
2009).
Nevertheless, the differences in pottery of the entire second half
of the 4th millennium BC proved to be too small to be used for
dating. Dendrochronology could not confirm the previous relative
(and absolute) dating of the sites based on the typology of the
pottery (Parzinger, 1984).
Copper metallurgy played an important role at all sites and it
seems to have been introduced in the area for the first time in the
36th century BC at Hocevarica, where the remains of a crucible,
a drop-shaped piece of copper and a flat copper axe were found
cek, 2004b; Trampu
z Orel and Heath, 2008). Fragments of
(Velus
crucibles have also been found at other sites. At Stare gmajne, for
instance, two complete crucibles were found, one made of clay and
one of stone (Fig. 2a) (Velus
cek, 2009).
Fig. 5. Fragment of a pitcher from Hocevarica. The rich incised decoration on the outer
surface is characteristic of the period of the “Furchenstich” horizon in the SE Alpine
region.
2037
The stone tools discovered show exploitation of local raw
materials. Tuffs and tuffites originating not far from Ljubljansko
barje were, for instance, used for axes and other tools. Imported
materials were certainly used as well. Polished stone artefacts, such
as two flat axes, for example, were made of HP metaophiolites,
which can be found in north-western Italy, a few shaft-hole axes
were made of serpentinites, which might have originated from
central Austria and of metaultramafites (Fig. 2b), which might have
come from areas more to the east. These finds indicate that Ljubljansko barje played a key role as a place of mediation between the
Po lowland and the Danubian area and between the Eastern Alps
and the Balkans (Bernardini et al., 2009).
Remains of mammals indicate that animal husbandry and
hunting played an important role in all settlements. The studies of
the remains of domestic animals indicate that stock-raising (both of
cattle and small stock) was probably primarily oriented to the
cek et al., 2004). It was concluded,
production of meat and fat (Velus
for example, from the bones of domestic pigs at Hocevarica that
slaughtering occurred late in the autumn and at the end of winter
(Toskan and Dirjec, 2004). This indicated that the sites were settled
all year around. Game, particularly roe deer and red deer, were also
important sources of meat and fat.
The pile-dwellers on Ljubljansko barje grew barley and two
types of wheat (Triticum monococcum and dicoccum). Poppy and
flax seeds were also detected (Tolar et al., 2010). Large amounts of
pips of the wild grape vine have been found in all settlements (Jeraj
et al., 2009; Tolar et al., 2008).
The pile-dwellers needed large amounts of wood to build their
dwellings. The wood was cut in the more or less nearby forests. We
mainly investigated the remains of piles on which dwellings had
been built. The upper parts of the constructions were not
preserved. At Maharski prekop, the wood also came from a double
enclosure, which protected the settlement, being similar to what
has been found at some lakeshore settlements in the pre-Alpine
regions in western and central Europe of this period.
The selection of wood species used for piles indicates that the
settlers preferred oak with durable heartwood, which possibly
grew on drier terrain at the edge of the floodplain. Such selection
and skilful use of wood for different purposes shows that they were
aware of the wood properties. In addition to oak, they also used
large quantities of ash. Among the main reasons for this is that ash
was very abundant and the amount of more durable oak was
limited. In addition, ash presumably grew closer to the piledwellings, since it can grow on more swampy terrain than oak. Ash
also has good stump regeneration (coppice) which made it possible
to cultivate more timber, with a short rotation. They achieved the
most desirable diameter (ca. 10 cm) in short period of time (10e15
years). The dwellers also frequently used the wood of alder, which
is a typical species of occasionally flooded terrains (e.g., Cufar
et al.,
1997; Cufar
and Velus
cek, 2004).
The piles usually contained the bark. The last ring below the
bark normally contained the entire latewood, which indicates that
the trees were felled after the vegetation period, i.e., in autumn or
winter. Only occasionally did we observe a discontinuous band of
the first earlywood vessels, indicating that the trees had been felled
in early spring. All this supports the assumption that the sites were
also occupied in winter.
In addition to the piles, we found some wooden artefacts. In
Ho
cevarica, a bow made of yew (Taxus baccata) was found
cek, 2004b). The most valuable of all is the prehistoric wheel
(Velus
(Fig. 2c) with axle from Stare gmajne (dated between 3160 and
3100 cal BC) (Velus
cek et al., 2009a). It is among the oldest wooden
wheels in the world (Bakker et al., 1999; Hartmann, 2006; Ruoff,
2006). Its design and elaboration again shows that the piledwellers were very familiar with the properties of wood and that
2038
K. Cufar
et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 2031e2039
they were skilful in wood processing. Two dugout canoes from the
same settlement phase represent the oldest canoes in the area
(Velus
cek et al., 2009b).
3.5. Connection of Ljubljansko barje pile-dwellings to other
contemporaneous sites
Many contemporaneous (dendrochronologically dated) piledwellings existed around lakes and peat bogs in Switzerland, SW
Germany, SE France and northern Italy (Lake of Zürich, Lake of
Constanz, Federsee, Lake of Chalain, Palù di Livenza, etc.) (e.g.,
Becker et al., 1985; Schlichtherle and Wahlster, 1986; Pétrequin
and Martinelli, 2004).
et al., 1998; Billamboz, 1996, 2003; Cufar
On the other hand, settlements from eastern and south-eastern
Europe are not as a rule exactly dated, so it is difficult to include
them in comparisons.
Among the Alpine sites, those which were contemporaneous
with the lifetime of the Alpine Iceman (Ötzi), who died between
3320 and 3050 cal BC (e.g., Kutschera and Müller, 2003), are
particularly interesting. Jacomet (2009) made an overview and
comparison of archaeobotanical data for several villages from the
surroundings (radius ca. 100 km) of the place where the Iceman was
found. They existed during his lifetime, and Jacomet (2009)
reconstructed the use of plants and daily life in them in general.
It was shown that even on exactly dated sites, comparisons can be
difficult if recovery methods are not standardized.
The dating of prehistoric sites is not possible without dendrochronology supported by radiocarbon wiggle-matching, if no
adequately long and replicated reference chronologies are available
2007; Haneca et al., 2009). A Slovenian reference tree(e.g., Cufar,
ring chronology for the 4th millennium BC does not yet exist. The
majority of the investigated pieces of wood in our case had a low
number of tree-rings and they could not be used for dendrochronology or we could only construct short chronologies. Although the
chronologies are dated by radiocarbon, we could not exactly date
them by means of dendrochronological teleconnection with remote
references, for instance those from Germany (e.g., Becker et al.,
1985). Future improvement and extension of Slovenian prehistoric chronologies should increase the likelihood of their teleconnection. Such teleconnection is already possible in the case of
the 540 years long, well replicated, modern Slovenian oak chronology, which can be successfully cross-dated with chronologies
et al.,
within a radius of up to 700 km around Ljubljana (Cufar
2008a).
4. Conclusions and future prospects
The presented dating of Ljubljansko barje tree-ring chronologies
is so far the most accurate in the region. It has enabled us to assess
settlement activities from ca. 3600e3071 cal BC, and an occupation
gap from ca. 3332e3160 cal BC.
The dating fulfilled one of the basic requirements for comparisons of Ljubljansko barje with other archaeological sites. Comparisons with other Alpine sites could help to answer what role
Ljubljansko barje had in the cultural development of the wider
region. Located at the crossroads between west and east, it should
be particularly interesting in this respect. Ljubljansko barje sites
could also serve as a link to establish a revised absolute chronology
for regions in eastern and south-eastern Europe that are not yet
exactly dated. Examples of dendrochronological and 14C dates from
Ljubljansko barje have already indicated that a revision of the time
of existence and interpretation of the mid 3rd millennium BC
Pannonian cultures, e.g., the Late Vu
cedol and Samogyvár-Vinkovci
cultures, is needed (Veluscek and Cufar,
2003).
Using the well replicated modern Slovenian oak chronology
(time span A.D. 1456e2003) also confirmed that it could be a good
reference point for developing dendrochronological dating in the
regions SE of Slovenia, for which it does not yet exist (Cufar
et al.,
2008a).
Possible settlement gaps also deserve more attention, since
occupation hiatuses have been detected on many places in westcentral Europe in the 4th millennium BC (e.g., in Switzerland, SE
France and SW Germany). They have been ascribed to climatic
changes (towards a cooler and wetter climate), which seem to have
been particularly turbulent in central Europe between 5550 and
5000 cal BP (Magny and Haas, 2004). The period from ca.
3332e3160 cal BC, when apparently no human activities (cutting of
trees) took place on Ljubljansko barje, is particularly interesting for
us. Future investigations should clarify whether this was a period of
a settlement gap and whether it coincided with settlement gaps in
other areas around the Alps.
Acknowledgements
The research was funded by the Slovenian Research Agency,
programmes P4e0015 and P6e0064, project J6-6348-0618 and the
young researchers’ programme. We thank Martin Zupan
ci
c and
Luka Kr
ze for their help in the laboratory, Andre Billamboz, Franz
Herzig, and Willy Tegel for their great support with attempts at
dendrochronological dating of our chronologies and Tamara Korosec for preparing the figures. We are grateful to three anonymous
reviewers and to the editors of the journal, whose valuable
comments have helped us to improve the original version of the
manuscript.
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