Podzemelj – železnodobno središče v Beli krajini v luči novih raziskav

The present paper is focused on archaeological research at the Iron Age centre at Podzemelj. Recent research at the southern summit of the Kučar hillfort and the discovery of a burial ground at Pezdirčeva njiva, at the western foothill, significantly complements our knowledge about the development of the Iron Age in the Bela krajina region. At the outset, the article showcases all of the past archaeological research on both the settlement and the associated burial grounds. Within the first, the latest settlement excavations at the southern summit of the hillfort Kučar unearthed two phases of the Hallstatt period settlement. For the first time, the remains of a defensive embankment were investigated, most probably the remnants of an enclosing wall of this part of the settlement. Traces of the Late Iron Age phase were also identified in this area. At the cemetery, which has not yet been explored in its entirety, two clusters of graves were discovered, with the first one dating to the Late Hallstatt period and the second belonging to the Vinica group to the Late Iron Age. The research on both locations within the prehistoric Podzemelj complex is still ongoing and will be comprehensively presented in the near future.V prispevku predstavljamo železnodobno središče v Podzemlju. Kronološki pregled starih raziskovanj naselja in pripadajočih grobišč dopolnjujemo s predstavitvijo prvih rezultatov novih naselbinskih izkopavanj na južnem vrhu Kučarja, kjer sta bili odkriti dve stopnji halštatske poselitve. Prvič so bile raziskane ostaline obrambnega nasipa, najverjetneje ruševine zidu, s katerim je bil južni vrh obdan šele v mlajši fazi. Na tem območju so bile ohranjene tudi sledi poselitve iz mlajše železne dobe. Raziskave na južnem vrhu Kučarja in odkritje grobišča na Pezdirčevi njivi na zahodni strani naselja pomembno dopolnjujejo naše vedenje o razvoju železnodobnega središča v Podzemlju. Na grobišču, najverjetneje planem, ki še ni v celoti raziskano in zamejeno, sta bili odkriti dve skupini grobov, ki ju datiramo na sam konec halštatskega obdobja in v mlajšo železno dobo, pri čemer slednja nedvomno sodi v viniško kulturno skupino. Obe raziskavi sta še v teku in bosta celovito predstavljeni v prihodnjih letih