Bodnjik - Družetić, kampanja 1994

Abstract

The 1994 research of the eneolithic hillfort settlement of Bodnjik, resulted in interesting data on the architecture of this period (for results of 1992 campaign, see Glasnik SAD 9). Passing over the plentiful pottery finds, a few remarks concerning building patterns and spatial organization of the settlement will be noted on this section. A preliminary analysis of architectural remains at the Bodnjik hillfort, implies a presence of two solidly built houses. Before building, the soil was leveled by remnants of contemporary features. The subfloor construction of crosswise beems and logs then followed. Further, this construction was packed with a mixture of clay and chaff, and covered by a thin layer of clay. The walls were massive constructed of trimmed beams, logs and wattle-and-daub. One of the houses contained a domed oven. Semi-dugout porched areas were found along the houses. The porch and roof construction was supported by beams, and reinforced by baked clay weights. Size of the houses could not be estimated with certainty - the excavated area implies they could not bee larger than 5 x 5 m, being in accord with known data on the Central Balkans' houses of this period. A small scale survey at the nearby hill of Torine (its northern slope descending to the Bodnjik foothill), have confirmed the presence of a settlement - 'suburbium', contemporary with the Bodnjik houses. A dark red almost purple soil of an externally clayey character was noted above this area at the village road curve, on the Belešić elevation. The clay contains a lot of small and large quartz blocks on the surface. A geological team have examined this location a few years ago, and confirmed the presence of copper and zinc concentration, albeit insufficient for a modern exploitation. Soil samples from this spot were taken. The position of the Bodnjik/Torine area with its natural resources can be thus delineated as a single entity. This implies that prehistoric settlement of Bodnjik could represent an independent economic unit. Only a small part of it was unearthed in 1992 and 1994. It is certain that detailed microregional analyses, survey, and test excavations of the area, as well as the large-scale excavations at Bodnjik, might yield valuable data on the economy and settlement organization of the Early Eneolithic of the Central Balkans.