Pezdirčeva njiva v Podzemlju / Pezdirčeva njiva in Podzemelj

Podzemelj in Bela Krajina region have long been recognised as one of the key and best-researched Iron Age centres of the Dolenjska Hallstatt culture. The recently excavated large cemetery at Pezdirčeva njiva, situated on the north-western slope beneath the hillfort on Kučar, opens a new chapter in the study of this centre and the wider Dolenjska region. Burials at the site begin only in the 5th century BCE and continue uninterrupted until the early 1st century BCE. This monograph provides the first comprehensive publication of modern excavations of graves belonging to the Vinica cultural sphere, which until now had not been systematically analysed. The volume brings together the results of several years of fieldwork directed by Otmar Kovač and the author, and presents detailed documentation of more than 180 graves with rich assemblages of grave goods. The finds are illustrated on 85 plates, and a large-scale plan of the central part of the cemetery is included as an appendix. Analyses of funerary practices, costume, weaponry, pottery, and jewellery are complemented by a wide array of scientific studies assembled in Chapter 10. The monograph incorporates the results of pedological and geoarchaeological research (A. Prijatelj, H. Grčman, R. Turniški) and conservation–archaeometallurgical examinations of non-ceramic finds (N. Nemeček, M. Petrič, P. Fajfar, B. Šetina Batič, M. Nečemer). Additional contributions address textile remains (M. Gleba), archaeobotanical samples (T. Tolar), lithic finds (R. Brajkovič), and amber (M. Golec, Z. Golec Mírová, L. Kučera, J. Martínek). A particular strength of the monograph lies in its cultural and chronological synthesis, which situates Pezdirčeva njiva within the broader development of the Iron Age centre at Podzemelj and clarifies the structural and temporal differences between Late Hallstatt and Vinica-period graves. This comprehensive and interdisciplinary work significantly advances our understanding of settlement dynamics in Bela Krajina, from Podzemelj to Vinica, and provides new insights into cultural processes unfolding along the southeastern Alpine region during the Early and Late Iron Age.