Project type: post-excavation processing of the archives of archaeological sites

Client: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia (ZVKDS)

Agreement: PG 10-68/2016

Project leader:  Assoc. Prof. Alenka Tomaž

Project duration:  30.09.2016–30.09.2022

Description:

The archaeological site of Čatež-Sredno polje is one of those archaeological sites that would probably not have been discovered, recorded and archaeologically investigated for a long time if Slovenia had not started on a large-scale highway construction project, which also included the Krška vas – Obrežje highway section with the exit for Brežice and the associated roundabouts. The site was discovered in 1998 and archaeologically investigated in 2002.

On the site, numerous Roman traces were found, which can be attributed to a short-lived military marching camp. Some of the structures can be attributed to the Bronze Age, and in addition to them, individual Eneolithic or Copper Age pits were discovered. The oldest and most numerous were settlement structures, which testify to the intensive Neolithic settlement of the area.

Due to the remains of a large Neolithic settlement, rich collection of preserved material culture, as well as the series of radiocarbon dates, Čatež-Sredno polje represents one of the key sites for understanding the Neolithic in the territory of Slovenia.

Between 2016 and 2022, an extensive project of post-excavation processing of the archive of the archaeological site was carried out with the participation of IAD colleagues, which resulted in the publication of a scientific monograph in the Archaeology on the Highways of Slovenia series of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (https://www.zvkds.si/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/aas_98_catez_sredno_polje_s.pdf).