engleski

Excavation of the Kopila hillfort near Blato on the island of Korčula - preliminary report

For nearly two centuries experts have been intrigued by a collection of early Corinthian vases (7th/6th century BC) and bronze and silver fibulae which are kept at a museum in Dubrovnik. It is known that these objects were found somewhere at the location of the hillfort Kopila near the town of Blato on the island of Korčula. However, the exact location of the findings, that is, of the necropolis, has remained a mystery until a couple of years ago. The goal of the excavations, which commenced in 2012, was to locate the necropolis and obtain as much information as possible on burials during a virtually unknown protohistoric period. Previous smaller-scale research has shown that the necropolis consisted of a number of simple stone tombs – with each tomb having a great amount of skeletons. So far research has been carried out only at one damaged tomb, while an approximate location was established for three tombs according to the points where great amounts of broken vases and other damaged material were found. The damage is a result of the devastation of the excavation site caused by the digging of unknown „researchers“ from the 19th century, as well as by the clearing of the greater area for the purposes of wine-grape planting. Among the grave goods found in the tombs there were numerous hellenistic wine cups, a lot of iron weapons, bronze and silver jewellery and small glass and amber beads. Locally-produced coarse pottery was found exclusively outside of the centre of the necropolis, at its supposed edge, more specifically within a layer whose top forms the original protohistoric soil level. All of the objects which were found in 2012 and 2013 are from the period from the 4th to 1st century BC. So far no older objects and structure were found. After Octavius' military expedition and the extermination of the population of Korčula from 35 to 33 BC there were no more traces of life at Kopila. A dry-stone structure with 1 meter in height incites particular interest in the researched area. It is supposed that this is edge of one of the tumuli, which has 10 m in diameter. A tomb, which was probably plundered and destroyed in the 19th century, was discovered at the approximate centre of this structure. So far only one partially damaged tomb was excavated. In it was found a greater number of children's skeletons, several hellenistic wine cups and children's jewellery consisting of several hundreds of small beads and parts of amber necklaces of different type and colour. The hillfort of Kopila is located at the edge of the fertile Blato Field - at a height allowing one to control navigation through the Pelješac Channel and the area between Vis and Hvar. Kopila should therefore be considered as one of the key points of navigation and goods trade in the middle part of the Adriatic coast during the centuries preceding the beginning of Roman rule over the eastern Adriatic coast.

Kopila ; Korčula ; Hellenism ; Late Iron age

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