From the first archaeological surveying to excavation initiative

Due to the lack of archaeological research in Kočevska region, in 1910, the head of the then Regional Museum for Carniola (the present-day National Museum of Slovenia), Josip Mantuani, PhD, sent his colleague, Jernej Pečnik, to conduct the first archaeological survey. Mr Pečnik reported on soil heap under the forest slope in Gorenje that the locals considered to be a burial mound. The research then came to a standstill for the next 14 years. That is, until 1924, when Mantuani received a message from Josef Eppich, the priest in Stara Cerkev, that he intends to dig up the barrow with the help of voluntary workers, especially teachers and students. In order to avoid possible excavation errors, Mantuani decided to head the works himself, and Professor Deuetling from Munich, was also present.

On the origin of the appellation: from the “Chicken Mount” to the “Mount of Giants”

At the time of the excavation, the barrow had two owners, the ownership was shared by the proprietors Josef Kren and Josef Kresse. People called it the “Hühnerbühel” – i.e. “The Chicken Mound”. In a report that he published in the Newsletter of the Museum Society for Slovenia, Mantuani wrote the following about the appellation given to the barrow: “The expression is undoubtedly very old, therefore it was no longer clear to our generation and a few coming before it what it means and so they have tailored the expression in such a way that it should mean a small hillock where chickens would wander off. The term was originally undoubtedly known as the “Hünenbühel”, i. e. the “Mount of Giants”. The belief that people living in prehistorical times were giants was, as Mantuani notes, generally widespread in the 1920s. However, this can be attributed to the size of barrows that led the inhabitants to conclude that giants were buried in them.

Excavation and findings

On 23 July 1924, Mantuani’s team undertook the excavations, which lasted four days. On the third day of excavations, archaeologists discovered a grave or a sandy bed with burnt remains of a dead person circled by stones. Together with the circumference, it was 2 m long and 90 cm wide. The ash was not found only at one point, but was strewn all over the sandy bed. In the grave there were no additions, such as clay vessels, tools, weapons or jewellery that would testify to the gender of the deceased and that could help to determine the age of the barrow. The stone circumference determined the orientation of the grave, namely it was oriented so that the dead person’s head would face towards the east and his or her legs towards the west. Often several corpses were buried in the barrows at several levels, yet the barrow in Gorenje only contains a single grave.

Immediately before the start of the excavations, the barrow measured 21.5 metres in length and 5.9 metres in height with an inclination angle of 25°. Mantuani found that the barrow was taller and steeper at the time of its formation, and its original circumference was approximately three metres smaller.

The barrow today

Today, almost a hundred years after the excavations, the mound is even lower and wider. The area of the mound was arranged some years ago by the villagers of Gorenje. Next to the bench for resting and socializing, an information board was also erected by the Forest Service of the Republic of Slovenia, Regional Department Kočevje.

Sources:
– Gottscheer Kalender
– Gottscheer Zeitung
– Register kulturne dediščine. Ministrstvo za kulturo RS. https://gisportal.gov.si/
– Simonič, Ivan. 1971. Zgodovina mesta Kočevja in Kočevske. V 500 let mesta Kočevje.
– Velušček, Anton. 2011. Spaha. Založba ZRC.

Do you know the legend about the origin of the oldest church in the Kočevje region? Do you know that there is a bell with a mysterious inscription? More in the article about the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Stara Cerkev.

The post The Mount of Giants: The Prehistoric “Tomb” in Gorenje (Obrern) appeared first on Gottscheer blog.

With most of the others, the weather does not play an important role. The temperature inside them is always between 8 and 10 degrees Celsius and since the ceiling is water-proof, it doesn’t matter when you decide to explore them. These small hidden gems that are strewn across the entire Kočevska region, that is. Now they give shelter to animals, while in times of yore they also provided shelter to people. The karst floor in the Kočevska region is reminiscent of Emmentaler cheese or a sponge-like structure. 

Currently, there are 12,589 caves registered in Slovenia, but according to the online cave database additional 300 are discovered each year.

The speleologists recorded the Koblarska cave, known also as the Long cave (cat. No. 949), in 1927, while the first cave sketch was drawn by M. Bukovec two years later. The cave was (re-)discovered in the 19^thcentury when K. Moser dug out bones of eight individuals. After him, many people have explored it, and in 1995 a systematic research was conducted by the following four individuals: Pavel Jamnik. Petra Leben-Seljak, Janez Bizjak and Brane Horvat. We can say it was re-discovered since remains of bones of 13 persons and a heap of shards of crockery, whose origin dates back to the Bronze Age, were found in it. According to the author of the article that was published seventeen years ago in the Archaeology Journal, the Koblarska jama cave that branches out in four sections, was a prehistoric cult place and a burial ground. That is, a place discovered by the people already in the times of the Neolithic, if not sooner. They buried their dead in rocky niches. According to the authors, man chose it as a burial ground exactly for its niches that could evoke the notions of the return to Mother Earth.

According to ancient people’s belief, the caves and their entrances were symbolically reminiscent of the womb, the vulva. The cave that is located near a forest road and therefore easily accessible is not classified among the longest, neither among the deepest, but – in right weather – it certainly is among the most beautiful. It is distinguished by dripstone pillars, the above-mentioned interplay of water and the floor offering a magnificent show when the lighting is right.

Not far away from the Koblarska jama cave lies the Black cave (cat. No. 2934). It is one of six Slovenian caves bearing this name. A vast, mostly horizontal cave, whose entrance is secured with an iron grate conceals black stalagmites, stalactites and pillars. Unfortunately, many of them are covered with inscriptions or broken. The recognisable colour stretches all the way until the end of the 258-metre long “tunnel”. Towards the end of the 19^thcentury, inscriptions were found on the walls, and that is why they assume that it served as a shelter for people.

The geologists attempted to prove the source of the dark layers using different methods, i.e. by researching lumps of calcareous sinter, insoluble remains and polished grindings. The analysis has shown that the sample from the Black cave near Kočevje contains organic matter. However, black layers are most likely the consequence of cave visits, perhaps already from prehistoric times onwards. Otherwise, the geologists don’t rule out the possibility of forest fires, charcoal burning activity in the vicinity, humic materials from the ground, activity of the micro-organisms and/or air pollution that can under certain climatic conditions penetrate far into the interior of the cave.

The exploration of caves requires appropriate footwear, a torch and company. However, the Underground Cave Protection Act stipulates that the caves must be protected and that we should not damage them (i.e. never break dripstones or leave inscriptions on them), and should preserve the cave living world and therefore handle them in such a way that the cave and the cave world are in no way compromised. 

Sources:
– Jamnik. P, Leben-Seljak P., Bizjak J., Horvat B: The Koblarska jama cave in the Kočevska region – a prehistoric burial ground and cult place, anthropological analysis of skeletal remains with an adjoining description of burial gifts; Archaeological Journal (Arh. vest.) 53, 2002, pp. 31-49
– 4. Slovenski geološki kongres, Ankaran, 8.-10. oktober 2014.

More interesting facts about Kočevska (Gottschee) region in our other posts i.e.: https://www.kocevskibrlog.com/kocevje-little-bombs/

The post The Koblarska cave (Koblarska jama) and the Black cave (Črna jama) appeared first on Gottscheer blog.