Kastel Fortress it is truly unique on a European scale. Its history dates back to 10 thousand years BC. i.e. times early Paleolithicwhich makes it one of the few places on the entire continent with such deep historical roots. The first major excavations there took place in the 1980s, when flint tools from the Gravettian culture period were discovered, dating to the earliest stage of the Upper Paleolithic.
In recent years, excavations in Kastel have gained new importance thanks to the cooperation of local institutions. The work, co-financed by the local Ministry of Education and Culture and the city of Banja Luka, allowed for the discovery necropolis and a rare ancient coin dating back to the 4th century BC
Boris Radic from the Republican Institute for the Protection of Cultural and Historical Heritage describes the unexpected discovery as groundbreaking. The necropolis does not resemble a typical cemetery – the burial arrangement is not consistent with Christian or Muslim symbolism, and the oldest graves were destroyed by later burials and walls from the 2nd century BC. The age of the cemetery is also not known yet – researchers are still waiting for the results of the analyses.
Despite intensive excavations in the 1980s, subsequent work discovered that Kastel has not been fully explored. The breakthrough came six years ago when archeology and history students began a site cleanup project. To their surprise, it turned out that the area still concealed many unexplored archaeological layers.
“During the first cleanup, we discovered that not everything had been fully explored and we decided to make this place a regular archaeological school, which now serves as a source of practice for students,” explained Boris Radic in an interview with the Sarajevo Times. This project gives students a unique opportunity to learn how different historical layers are mixed together, which makes it much more difficult to identify finds from particular eras.
The fortress was built on the ruins of a Roman settlement known as campplaying a strategic role for the Roman state protecting against invasions of barbarian peoples. Discoveries of pottery from the period Baden culture (3700-2700 BC), pottery fragments culture Vučedol (3000-2000 BC) and traces from the early Slavic period prove the continuity of settlement in this area for millennia.
W 1527 Kastel was captured by the Ottoman Empire, which expanded and later strengthened the fortress in accordance with Vauban’s fortification principles. The last renovation took place in 1868 under the rule of Austria-Hungary. After World War II until 1959, the fortress still served military functions, and from the 1960s it became a place of cultural events and a tourist attraction.
***
Stay up to date and become one of 88 thousand followers of our fanpage – like Geekweek on Facebook and comment on our articles there!
Source: geekweek.interia.pl
