Field Survey of the Kutina — Dobrovac Natural Gas Pipeline Route

U terenskom pregledu trase plinovoda Kutina – Dobrovac koja prolazi područjima istočne Moslavine i zapadne Slavonije otkriveno je 30 arheoloških nalazišta koja, na osnovi prikupljenih površinskih nalaza, pripadaju razdobljima prapovijesti i srednjeg vijeka. Posebno su brojna kasnosrednjovjekovna nalazišta, među kojima se izdvajaju dva gradišta u dolini Pakre kod Kuknjevca, što ukazuje na važnost ovog područja u obrani granice od Turaka tijekom 15. – 16. stoljeća. Na najvećem broju nalazišta prikupljeni su ulomci keramičkih posuda, opeka i kamenih artefakata koji su omogućili njihovo okvirno kronološko određenje, dok će buduća zaštitna istraživanja preciznije defi nirati granice samih nalazišta.In a field survey of the Kutina – Dobrovac natural gas pipeline route, passing across Eastern Moslavina and Western Slavonia, on the basis of collected surface finds, 30 archaeological sites were discovered, belonging to prehistory and the Middle Ages. Mostly they are situated on the slopes of the hills of Moslavačka Gora and Pakračka Gora, or on mild elevations along rivers or streams (Map 1). Only rare finds were known from these areas until recently. In the Posavina part of the region, near Kutina and in the valleys of the rivers of Ilova, Pakra and Bijela, all sites are situated on mild elevations, often in meanders of smaller streams (Fig. 1). Only north of Banova Jaruga the sites are situated on the southeastern slopes of Moslavačka Gora, reaching the rivers of Pakra and Bijela. South-east of the Brezine settlement and all the way to Dobrovac the natural gas pipeline route passes the southern slopes of Pakračka Gora, stretching along the northern periphery of the Pakra River valley. The transverse is cross-cut by a series of streams fl owing from the north towards Pakra and representing the borders of sites, which were found in a large number in this part of the region, and which are abundant in surface finds (Fig. 2–4). At the majority of sites, surface fragments of pottery, tiles and stone artefacts were collected that enabled their chronological determination, while future rescue excavations will define the borders of the sites more precisely. The large number of sites is by no means surprising, bearing in mind the prominent geographical location of Eastern Moslavina and Western Slavonia, as well as the Ilova, Pakra and Bijela valleys that linked Posavina and Podravina. At 25 out of 30 discovered sites, finds were documented that can be dated in the Middle Ages period, followed by 10 sites from the Iron Age and 8 from the Bronze Age. The smallest number of sites from the Neolithic/Aeneolithic periods were detected – only 2 (Tab. 1). The majority of prehistoric settlements belongs to the Sopot and Lasinja cultures and to the Late Bronze Age, as the Virovitica group was distributed in Podravina; while in Posavina the Barice–Gređani group existed. In the Late Iron Age the Iassian community settled in the territory of Eastern Moslavina and Western Slavonia, whose material heritage was completely unknown until recently. The densest settlement was documented in the Middle Ages, particularly in the Late Middle Ages, as the demarcation line between the “rest of Croatia” and the Ottoman Empire passed across this area. This is verified by hill-forts and fortifications in the Pakra (Kuknjevac–Luke, Kuknjevac–Đelovi) and Bijela valleys, but also by numerous smaller lowland settlements whose inhabitants probably participated in the defense and supply of the border. The results of the field survey of the Kutina – Dobrovac natural gas pipeline route suggest the existence of a large number of archaeological sites, fully unknown until the present day. Although the field survey results rely on collected surface finds, most of the sites can be chronologically defined, and future archaeological rescue excavations shall largely contribute to an even better understanding of settlement in Eastern Moslavina and Western Slavonia, where no archaeological excavations have been conducted until the present time