V Snožetih - extensive complex archaeological site near Škocjan Caves Regional Park

Snožetih (it means literary On the meadows) is archaeological site located near the village of Goriče - municipality Divača.

Location of archaeological site v Snožeti (geoprostor.net)

The area is largely karst plateau, with some major vrtačas. In the southern part it is slowly declining towards canyon of river Reka. Extensively farmed meadows that cover most of the area are slowly being overgrown with young forest. Some individual small fields can be found in small dolines.

V Snožeti archaeological site is part of a larger archaeological very interesting cultural landscape and its surroundings. In the vicinity there are many prehistoric hillforts (Skocjan, Gradišče near Divača, Stari grad above Famlje), Late Bronze Age cemetery in the village of Brežec and interesting cave archaeological sites (Škocjan Caves complex, Viktorjev spodmol and Korinčeva cave in Dolnje Ležeče).

In years 1986 and 1987 archaeologists made the first archaeological research of all visible mounds. They counted about 40 on the northern side of the road Divača - Vremski Britof and between 15 and 20 on the south side of the road. They dug test evaluation sections in two mounds. Recorded sections showed that in both cases the mounds are made of medium and small surface limestone Karst rubble. During the excavation they found no remains of possible walls inside mounds (Osmuk 1988). In the lower picture you can see locations of both mounds.

Location of partly excavated mounds.

In the section of the mound 2 archaeologists found in the debris of limestone a fragment of prehistoric ladle, which dates to the time of the Neolithic or Copper Age (Mlekuž, 2015). On this basis, it is believed that the area was inhabited even before the start of the hillforts construction and that here the site to look for plane prehistoric settlement with extensive prehistoric filed system.

Drawing of ceramic ladle in mound 2 (Osmuk, 1988).

The area, which was investigated at that time was also scheduled on the list of archaeological sites and protected.

Area of scheduled archaeological site V Snožeti (geoprostor.net(

With usage of LiDAR(laser scanning Earth's surface from the air – whole Slovenia was recorded), we have gained the opportunity to see the structures, which are due to forest cover or non distinctive forms hidden. Dimitrij Mlekuž has further explored the area of V Snožeti and results are, that site is much larger. There are mostly enclosed fields, roads and very probably also individual farmsteads. The area is enclosed by a long wall, which is clearly visible on the north side (see transcript of archaeological traces). In 2015 the Department of Archaeology – Ljubljana also made geophysical survey of some mounds and enclosures. I was told by Dimitrij Mlekuž, who conducted a survey, that in some barrows there is a hint of possible walls. Let's wait for the results and papers.

LiDAR picture and transcription of archaeological features in the area of archaeological site V Snožeti by Mlekuž 2015.

I believe that the border wall of the complex isn't a border of territory of major hillfort in Škocjan. If we look a little to the north and west, there are still archaeological traces of prehistoric fields. Maybe it is a limit of more arable area, which was separated from the area on the other side of outer wall dedicated to free grazing, which in turn extends on the slopes of mountain Vremščica.



The area's prehistoric field distribution and potential settlements continues beyond the upper LiDAR all the way to the edge of canyon of river Reka on the south side.

The whole area of archaeological traces in the area of V Snožeti you can see at the LiDAR image below.

LiDAR picutre of northern part of Škocjan landscape (Jošt Hobič).

Link to full LiDAR pic

With each new discovery I realize that I live in a landscape where the visual records of people's lives in the distant past are preserved at every turn.

If you have any questions post them under comments!

That is for now for now.




References

Mlekuž, Dimitrij: Oblike prazgodovinske poljske razdelitve. Kronika, časopis za slovensko krajevno zgodovino 63/3, 2015, str. 1-16.

Osmuk, Nada: Goriče pri Famljah. Varstvo spomenikov 30, 1988, str. 196–197.