Interesting archaeological finds from Notranjska on show
Postojna, 8 December - An exhibition presenting the archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska and related photographic material has opened in the Notranjska Regional Museum in Postojna. It covers a period that saw a population boom that turned the areas into a lively place for life and trade.
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Eva Horvat/STA
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Valter Leban
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Valter Leban
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Valter Leban
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Valter Leban
Postojna
An exhibition on archaeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the south-central region of Notranjska at the regional museum in Postojna.
Photo: Valter Leban
Dubbed In the Spiral of Time: Notranjska in the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, the exhibition presents the life of the people who populated the area between the Snežnik, Nanos and Slivnica mountains at that time.
"It takes us more than 3,000 years back, to the end of the Late Bronze Age, somewhere between the 11th and 9th centuries BC," archaeologist Alma Bavdek, the curator, told the STA as the exhibition opened on Friday.
At the beginning of this period, this karst region was still sparsely populated, and then it was settled by newcomers from the west, from Kras or perhaps even from the Friuli region in modern-day Italy, she said.
As the population increased in the 9th century BC, many settlements were strategically established on the high ground. By the 8th and 7th centuries BC, at the beginning of the Early Iron Age, there were already more than 70 settlements there.
As the museum wrote on the occasion, the Notranjska-Kras community in the 8th and 7th centuries BC was well-organised, had a unique material culture and was in contact with the communities in the southern Alps and the Histri, Liburni and Iapode peoples.
Most of the information about the community can be obtained from the objects placed in graves, while little is known about their settlements, as Notranjska and Kras are still the least archaeologically researched region in Slovenia, said Bavdek.
On display are the remains of pottery and various objects made of bronze and iron, including large, luxurious half-moon clips decorated with long chains, which are typical of the Notranjska costume from that era. Also interesting are large, crescent moon-shaped bronze earrings with embossed pellets.
The prehistoric objects, conserved and restored by Peter Križman, are accompanied by pictures, photographs, drawings, illustrations, lidar images, and documents from the archaeological research of the area.
Bavdek, who has been exploring Notranjska for 33 years, dedicated the exhibition to archaeologist Mehtilda Urleb, 93, who worked at the museum in 1955-1990, and who significantly contributed to the knowledge about the history of the region.
The exhibition will be on display until 15 September 2025, and will be modified several times in the meantime to add new items from the museum's prehistoric collection and withdrawing some. A showcase will eventually be set up for visitors to bring archaeological objects that they have found while hiking around Notranjska.