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The paper presents the archaeological find of a medieval sword recovered from the riverbank deposits of the Voglajna near Bežigrad, northeast of Celje (Slovenia). The relatively well-preserved sword with a length of 95.2 cm and a mass of 765 g is part of the original collection of the Celje Regional Museum, to which it came before 1889. The shape and metric characteristics of the blade with a relatively wide fuller (Oakeshott’s Type X or Geibig’s Variant 5b) and the hilt with a short, straight crossguard and almond-shaped/lenticular pommel (Geibig’s combination Type 16 / Var. I (16-15-9-12)) show it to be an early example of swords with pommels of Oakeshott’s Type A, dating to the 11th or the first half of the 12th century. One side of the blade bears the remains of a 20 cm long sequence of inlaid iron marks, which remain indecipherable due to corrosion. The harmony of the parts seems to indicate a preserved original design, presumably produced by one of the sword workshops on the Middle Rhine. The findspot of the sword in the vicinity of Bežigrad, a topographically exposed and strategically important promontory near the intersection of the routes connecting Styria and Carniola, alerts to the possible existence of a military post that supplemented the control functions of the presumed early stronghold of the Margraves of the Savinja March on Zgornji (Stari) Grad in Celje. The find context of the sword places it in the predominant category of water finds, but the internal evidence (condition after conservation) of the weapon and the available data on the particular circumstances of the find do not provide sufficient support to explain the background of its sinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of the rescue archaeological excavations at the prehistoric stone mound in Drinovci (Grude Municipality, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina). The excavations documented a total of five graves that can be placed within two time horizons: the prehistoric (graves 1, 2, 5) and the medieval (graves 3, 4). Grave 1, while badly damaged, was the only one with any finds: a tendril made of spirally coiled double (“infinite”) gold wire, and a deformed specimen with the same typological characteristics in its immediate vicinity. They are the oldest known and published gold finds from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The best analogies to the gold objects from Drinovci come from the middle and early stages of the Late Bronze Age in a wider Central European area. These widely distributed objects show that this cultural region, or its local elites, participated in the already active supra-regional network of exchange and communication. Moreover, the excavations in the space between the graves found potsherds of prehistoric features, largely devoid of narrowly identifiable typological elements. The area of the excavated mound was again used as a burial site in the late Middle Ages, which is a welldocumented but unfortunately still poorly researched practice of this cultural region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is analysis and comparison of visibility patterns (as elements of landscape structuring) between a prehistoric hillfort with a rampart and Early Modern period fortification at Bojnik, a site situated at the mouth of the Zrmanja river. Multi-period archaeological site Bojnik is described in detail which is situated at a prominent location above the position where the Zrmanja river flows into the Novigrad sea. The remains of monumental prehistoric architecture roughly dated to the regional Bronze Age and the remains of a smaller fortification from the Early Modern period were documented. The main purpose of this fortification was the control of the sea route at Novigrad sea and sailing along the Zrmanja river. The research for this paper utilized various kinds of data acquired through archival research, field survey, analysis of small finds, and geospatial analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the analysis of a portion of movable finds gathered during the archaeological research of the manor house near Orahovica in 2017 and 2019. Likewise, this paper brings results of the study of the manor house compared to similar residences in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. The medieval manor house near Orahovica is situated at the foot of the Ružica grad, one of the biggest castles in Croatia. The estate was ruled by numerous prominent individuals, among others, Nicholas of Ilok, who was one of its most notable owners and one of the biggest magnates of the late medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Very few sources mention the manor house, and the ones that do, do not offer any additional information about it. Archaeological excavations began in 2017 and continued in 2019 and 2020. Movable finds discovered mostly include typical late medieval and early modern ceramic finds. Sigismund of Luxembourg, Holy Roman Emperor’s coin minted between 1430 and 1437 is a significant find. Thus far, there are three recognized phases of additions to the main three-room building. The excavations conducted in 2020 revealed structures in the vicinity of the manor house, which point to the existence of a larger complex. In continental Croatia, there are no similar late medieval manor houses known and excavated so far. Research of manor houses in the area of the late medieval Kingdom of Hungary similar to the one near Orahovica enabled the detection of a group of residential and economic complexes which could play an important role in understanding and interpreting the results of further archaeological research of this site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of rescue archaeological excavations conducted around the church of the Birth of St. John the Baptist in Ivankovo near Vinkovci during which 55 graves were excavated. Based on the stratigraphic relationships between the graves and archaeological finds of material culture, this Roman Catholic parish cemetery can be dated to the period from the end of the 13th to the 18th century, i.e. to the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The archaeological finds are scarce and usually include parts of costumes and jewelry (rings, belts, belt buckles, hook-and-eye fasteners, pins, knives), which is common for this period. Aside from the archaeological finds, historical sources also attest to the existence of the parish and the cemetery during the Ottoman rule. The deceased were laid in grave pits, which were usually oriented in the west-east direction. Most graves were damaged by later burials and the skeletons themselves are also relatively poorly (partially) preserved. A detailed bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains from Ivankovo could be conducted on 53 people (10 children, 13 women, and 30 men). Dentoalveolar disease analysis showed a high frequency of caries and ante mortem tooth loss, which suggest poor oral health, but also a diet based on carbohydrates, i.e. grains. High rate of physiological stress indicators (cribra orbitalia and linear enamel hypoplasia), periostitis, and the presence of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis indicate that most residents were in poor health condition. The distribution and morphology of skeletal injuries from Ivankovo assemblage suggest that they were caused by accidents that probably occurred during everyday activities within the community, such as working in the field, with cattle, or in the house. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]