Papers by Jere Drpić
Annales Instituti Archaeologici, Vol. XVIII No. 1, 2022
This paper focuses on the exploration of the hill section of the Roman road that led from the set... more This paper focuses on the exploration of the hill section of the Roman road that led from the settlement of Incero (the Požega basin) via Stravianis (around Našice) to Mursa (Osijek), which is mentioned in Roman itineraries as part of a regional road, Siscia – Mursa. Earlier researchers of this road report that the ancient road to the road station of Stravianis was routed through the Krndija Mountains, and is usually thought to be near Bedemgrad, i.e. Gradac Našički, as previous research found the largest concentration of Roman finds in its wider area. In order to investigate the spatial characteristics of that section of the route of the Roman road and why it was routed through this particular hilly area of Krndije, this paper applies the methods and tools used by landscape archaeology – more precisely, the capabilities of the geographic information system; within that system, we georeferenced the data from ancient sources, literature, and field surveys. We used the Least Cost Path algorithm to generate optimal routes between "key" points, which enabled the spatial analysis and prediction of the corridor in question. By applying this methodology, we obtained results based on specific spatial analyses, largely confirming earlier assumptions about the route and the location of the Roman road station of Stravianis, but also bring some new knowledge indicating the possibility that Romans could also use an alternative or more direct route towards Mursa that was not considered before.
Radovi Zavoda za znanstveni rad Varaždin, 2022
Via Magna, is a road mentioned by a grant from the 13th century, as communication that connects t... more Via Magna, is a road mentioned by a grant from the 13th century, as communication that connects the cities of Varaždin and Križevci via Kozji Hrbet. Due to the attribute of the Magna, most authors assume its possible ancient origin, which so far has not been possible to concretely investigate based on material remains of the route itself, nor based on historical sources, due to lack of them. Therefore, to gain new scientific knowledge about this road and its route, ie to investigate the presumed ancient origin, we concentrated on 3 essential points the Via Magna route connected; Varaždin, Kozji Hrbet, and Križevci, by focusing on spatial analysis of their geo-traffic potential in optimal connectivity of space. Namely, the paper is based on the assumption that this medieval road layered the earlier Roman road route due to its exceptional importance according to it’s name. Because of that, it is assumed that 3 essential points would be connected by an optimal corridor according to the principles of Roman practicalism, which enabled the most economical (preferably straight) connection, marking important points in space (ancient settlements), while enabling traffic even on the hilly section of the route (Kalnik; Kozji Hrbet), as important characteristics of Roman roads whose transport potential could be inherited in the Middle Ages, and therefore named Magna. Therefore, in lowland areas, we assumed the use of straight, linear tracing between key points, while in the context of tracing mountainous areas, we assumed that the optimal slope of the terrain played the most important role in the tracing strategy. To investigate the previous assumptions, we used a geographic information system as a tool, within which we mapped available data relevant to the subject communication and then spatially analyzed it, based on digital relief models. In doing so, we applied the so-called Least Cost Path analysis, for calculating optimal routes in mountainous areas, and the points to path method, to determine the potential of linear connectivity in the lowland area, between key points. The results of this research show that the optimal route between Varaždin and Križevci marks the Roman period sites, which supports the presumption that the Romans constructed and used it, while Kozji Hrbet shows qualities of the key mountain pass for tracing the optimal road from Varaždin to Križevci that can be crossed with animal carriages. Also, the previously assumed, in a geo-traffic and geostrategic sense, significant position of the ancient Aquae Iasae, in this research is exactly confirmed and marked. Based on the generated data, we, therefore, proposed the route of the Via Magna road and thus the "archaeological corridor" within which it is most realistic to expect possible material remains of this medieval road in the future, which we can say illustrates the presumed ancient origin according to all the given parameters.
Kratki izvještaj o istraživanjima Short field repor
Annales Instituti Archaeologici XVII, 2021
As part of the activities of the LRR project of the Institute of Archaeology, small archeological... more As part of the activities of the LRR project of the Institute of Archaeology, small archeological excavations were carried out on
the so-far unexplored segment of a stone road at the site of Zverinjak, known from the literature as a Roman road, located
between the villages of Možđenec and Sudovec, a natural pass on the western side of Kalnik mountain. A well-preserved segment
of the stone paving of the road was discovered.
Key words: Kalnik mountain, Zverinjak, Roman road, stone-paved road, mountain pass
Radovi Zavoda za znanstveni rad Varaždin, 2018
Ann. Inst. Archaeol. XVII/2021.,, 2021
Numerous accidental finds in the vicinity of the town of Bjelovar, and also in the area of the to... more Numerous accidental finds in the vicinity of the town of Bjelovar, and also in the area of the town itself, indicated the existence of Roman archaeological sites. The confirmation for this arrived in the form of rescue archaeological research during the construction of the eastern bypass road around the city of Bjelovar in 2017, when the site was discovered at the position called Lug. It was ascertained that this is a larger roman rural settlement, which according to the findings, dates between the 1st and 4th century AD.
Chronique des activités archéologiques de l'École française de Rome, 2020
Les objectifs de la campagne d’octobre 2019 étaient concentrés sur le secteur 6, qui ouvre sur la... more Les objectifs de la campagne d’octobre 2019 étaient concentrés sur le secteur 6, qui ouvre sur la cour centrale et qui n’avait pas encore été dégagé, et sur la terrasse inférieure (secteur 4) qui a été identifiée à la fin de la campagne précédente. L’objectif était notamment de saisir si cette terrasse est contemporaine de la terrasse supérieure et de déterminer la nature de son occupation (productive ou résidentielle)
Prilozi Instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu, 2020
Minor rescue archaeological excavations were conducted in 1990 in the area of the town of Vinkovc... more Minor rescue archaeological excavations were conducted in 1990 in the area of the town of Vinkovci, on the position Šokadija, a part of an ancient residential building where a heating system was discovered. Detailed processing of the archaeological material found in this building
revealed, among other finds, several fragments of hollow short ceramic cones of coarser quality. These objects are related to the elements of a specific way of construction of the wall part of the hypocaust, i.e. wall heating.
Namely, there are several fragments of objects called clavi
coctiles, which in Croatian literature are described as lesser-known types of ceramic spacers, used in thermal complexes throughout the Roman Empire.
Radovi Zavoda za znanstveni rad HAZU Varaždin, br. 29 , 2018
Clay tobacco pipes from the collection of the Archaeological Department of the Varaždin City Muse... more Clay tobacco pipes from the collection of the Archaeological Department of the Varaždin City Museum were found during archaeological research, with one exception, in the wider area of Varaždin County. So, there is a pipe from the city of Lepoglava and two from the cave Vindija. Nevertheless, most of them were found in the area of the historic nucleus of the city Varaždin (27), in the wet ditch of the varaždin fortress colled Stari grad. Also, more of them are a result of the archaeological surveillance in the city itself; In the streets of Branko Vodnik and Petar Preradović, and from the surroundings of the church of St. Florian. All of these pipes belong to the eastern or Mediterranean group, with one exception that we attribute to the west, that is found in the ditch of the Old Town (cat. 1). The east is represented by two main types; Austro-Hungarian and Turkish. Most of the findings belong to the Austro-Hungarian type (cat. 7-30), and within them there is a larger group of Schemnitza pipe from Ban Štiavnica or their imitations (Grades 7-16), with the stamps of the workshops M. Hönig Schemnitz, Bodnar Schemnitz, Leop. Gross Schemnitz, Selmecz. They are to be traced to the 19th century of the pipe group (cat. 18-23) and can be attributed to Austrian workshops, and to the workshop of Josepha Partscha in Theresienfeld due to the stamp of the pipe (cat. 18). The examples (cat. 17) with the stamp LSLESINGER are attributed to the Hungarian workshop in the town of Papa, and the postal code PODRECS (cat. 24) are attributed to the production at the slovak workshop in Podrečany. There is also a group of so called café tobacco pipe (cat. 25-30), which we attribute to the production in Meidling, Vienna (cat. 25), then in the german city Cologne (cat. 26) and slovak Kolin (cat. 27-30). This production in Kolin can be recognized by the typical net decorations, which all date to the half of the 19th century. Turkish type is represented by 5 samples (cat. 2-6). It is a group of pipes that can be attributed to the so-called Borderland-type pipes. They belong to the group of the oldest found pipes of Croatia in the second half of the 17th century, and were used in borderland areas colled Vojna krajina or Militärgrenze, the area under militar rule of Habsburg monarchy, bordering the Ottoman Empire. Chronologically, this whole group of pipes from the Varaždin City Museum with 30 samples covers the period from the very beginnings of smoking in the 17th century, until the end of mass production and production at the end of the 19th century.
Talks by Jere Drpić
oman urbanism in the north-eastern part of regio X, in Noricum and the Pannonian provinces: towns and secondary settlements. New results and perspectives Pokrajinski muzej Celje, Trg Celjskih knezov 8, 3000 Celje, Slovenia October 20–22, 2022 / Horvat, Jana ; Krajšek, Jre (ur.). Celje: str. 18-18, 2022
Recent discoveries during the rescue excavations and field surveys gave us new important data abo... more Recent discoveries during the rescue excavations and field surveys gave us new important data about the network of various types of Roman settlements between Sava and Drava. Geographically the region of interest is closed by the mountains Kalnik and Bilogora. A Roman rural settlement, Lug, near Bjelovar, is situated in the middle of the region. The analysis of finds from Lug gave us the stimulus to make new geospatial analyses to organize and explore known data from the Roman period. The research allows us to assume the route of the Roman vicinal roads.
Ceste u rimsko doba bile su arterije samog Carstva. Povezivale su provincije i gradove, a bez nji... more Ceste u rimsko doba bile su arterije samog Carstva. Povezivale su provincije i gradove, a bez njih Rimljani nisu mogli niti osvojiti niti zadržati se na područjima kojima su vladali. Rimske ceste stvorile su poveznice po kojima je u razdobljima nakon propasti Carstva organiziran život i osnivana su naselja. Inženjerske i geodetske vještine Rimljana pružile su temelj mnogim današnjim rutama. Interdisciplinarnim pristupom arheološkim istraživanjima, analizom arheološkog materijala uspostavni projekt Život na rimskoj cesti pokušava prikazati kako je organiziran život na rimskoj cesti. Ovom prilikom predstavljamo dio rezultata postignutih u četiri godine projekta. Cilj studije slučaja koja je dio projekta je pokušati utvrditi trasu ceste na relaciji Cibalae-Mursa. Prva faza u tom slučaju je bila utvrditi tzv. dnevnu dozu kretanja u okolici Murse. Uz nova rekognosciranja korišteni su i podaci iz literature.
This presentation presents the results of research on potential Roman roads across the Kalnik Mo... more This presentation presents the results of research on potential Roman roads across the Kalnik Mountains, using Least Cost Path analysis within the GIS. It is a part of thematic seminar of project Life on the Roman road.
Clavi Coctiles iz Cibala; naslov je tematskog seminar koji je održan u okviru projekta; „Život na... more Clavi Coctiles iz Cibala; naslov je tematskog seminar koji je održan u okviru projekta; „Život na rimskoj cesti-komunikacije, trgovina i identiteti na rimskim cestama u Hrvatskoj od 1. do 8. st. (HRZZ, UIP-05-2017-9768). Predavanje donosi osnovne informacije o dosada u hrvatskoj znanstvenoj literature nepoznatim konstrukcijskim elementima rimskog sustava zidnog grijanja, u stranoj literaturi poznatijim pod nazivom Clavi Coctiles. Nakon ovog seminara publicirati će se i rad pod istim naslovom u koautorstvu sa dr.sc. Ivanom Ožanić Roguljić.
Roads and rivers 2 posters of paricipants by Jere Drpić
The topic of this paper is a segment of the old mountain road between the villages of Možđenec an... more The topic of this paper is a segment of the old mountain road between the villages of Možđenec and Sudovec. Today, the road is mostly located beneath a recently built modern road, and small segments are separated from it. Over the western edge of the hilly area of Kalnik, this mountain pass is the shortest route that connects the area of the Bednja river valley in the vicinity of Novi Marof with the city of Križevci. Although this road has long been known in the literature as a well-preserved Roman road with curbstones and pavement, it has never actually been archaeologically documented. Recent archaeological research has changed that. By cleaning the recently covered northern segment of the road and removing vegetation from the southern part of the old road, archaeologists have uncovered new knowledge about the structure and construction of this road. Also, with field inspection in the wider area around the road, they documented traces of possible Roman roads, mentioned before in the literature.
Conference organization by Jere Drpić
CONFERENCE CALLS by Jere Drpić
Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to announce the organization of a scientific conference "Eating ... more Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to announce the organization of a scientific conference "Eating and drinking along ancient roads and rivers: Study opportunities, archaeological sources and open issues about diet habits" (Roads and rivers 3). The conference will be held in Zagreb, Croatia 11 - 12 November 2021.
Please see the attached file for more details.
Talks and Exhibitions by Jere Drpić
Ivana Ožanić Roguljić - Presentation of the results of the project Life on Roman Road (HRZZ UIP-0... more Ivana Ožanić Roguljić - Presentation of the results of the project Life on Roman Road (HRZZ UIP-05-2017-9768)
Katarina Šprem - Roman Roads in Istria - an example of Least Cost Path analysis
Jere Drpić - Potential Roman mountain roads and Least Cost Path analysis case study; Kalnik Hills
Conference presentations by Jere Drpić
6th International conference on the Roman Danubian provinces:Roman roads and crossroads, Belgrade and Viminacium, 1st–5th November 2022, 2022
The area of today’s NW of Croatia (Roman southern Pannonia) was crossed by the main road along th... more The area of today’s NW of Croatia (Roman southern Pannonia) was crossed by the main road along the Drava valley corridor, known from Roman itineraries. Other directions that had to relate to it in the further road network to the south, are not mentioned, which certainly does not mean that they did not exist. From the Drava valley area the shortest connections to the southern lowland areas (Čazma-Ilova plateau), leads throughout Kalnik and Bilogora mountains, which connect but also separate these two lowland areas. The connecting aspect of these mountains is in the natural corridors that intersect them. It is assumed that the Romans, known for their practicality and development of road networks, spotted the potential of these natural corridors for linkage and use them as optimal for connection. Therefore, to determine these optimal corridors that could be used by Romans, we used a geographic information system as a tool, to map known Roman sites in the selected area, and interconnected them using least-cost path analysis. Further on, we compared these results with data provided by earlier researchers to single out the most potent routes that the Romans could use, thus predicting possible positions of material remains of roads in the future.
Sessions by Jere Drpić
The traditionally well-trodden geographical contexts for novel approaches and theoretical Roman a... more The traditionally well-trodden geographical contexts for novel approaches and theoretical Roman archaeologies of the provinces usually centre around North-western Europe (particularly Britain) and a few other areas of the Mediterranean litoral like Egypt, Syria, North Africa, and Iberia. Roman South-eastern Europe is somewhat understudied in comparison, and rarely a region of interest to non-local archaeologists. The Roman scholarship of this region has generally been more concerned with the traditional foundation elements of archaeology, like typologies and other supposedly atheoretical approaches, accompanying a heavy focus on epigraphy, military movements, and Imperial activities. Our understanding of this region in Antiquity has accordingly suffered, despite its great archaeological potential.
A new wave of local and internationally produced research (often in collaboration) is embracing theory and applying frameworks. Building theoretical and archaeological capacities in the next generations of scholars in this region is crucial to future success. We invite papers with the aim of furthering this trend in areas of research including (but not limited to):
- Local languages and interaction with theory
- Application of new methodologies and theoretical approaches to the region
- Nationalism and politics between modern and ancient identities
Uploads
Papers by Jere Drpić
the so-far unexplored segment of a stone road at the site of Zverinjak, known from the literature as a Roman road, located
between the villages of Možđenec and Sudovec, a natural pass on the western side of Kalnik mountain. A well-preserved segment
of the stone paving of the road was discovered.
Key words: Kalnik mountain, Zverinjak, Roman road, stone-paved road, mountain pass
revealed, among other finds, several fragments of hollow short ceramic cones of coarser quality. These objects are related to the elements of a specific way of construction of the wall part of the hypocaust, i.e. wall heating.
Namely, there are several fragments of objects called clavi
coctiles, which in Croatian literature are described as lesser-known types of ceramic spacers, used in thermal complexes throughout the Roman Empire.
Talks by Jere Drpić
Roads and rivers 2 posters of paricipants by Jere Drpić
Conference organization by Jere Drpić
CONFERENCE CALLS by Jere Drpić
We are pleased to announce the organization of a scientific conference "Eating and drinking along ancient roads and rivers: Study opportunities, archaeological sources and open issues about diet habits" (Roads and rivers 3). The conference will be held in Zagreb, Croatia 11 - 12 November 2021.
Please see the attached file for more details.
Talks and Exhibitions by Jere Drpić
Katarina Šprem - Roman Roads in Istria - an example of Least Cost Path analysis
Jere Drpić - Potential Roman mountain roads and Least Cost Path analysis case study; Kalnik Hills
Conference presentations by Jere Drpić
Sessions by Jere Drpić
A new wave of local and internationally produced research (often in collaboration) is embracing theory and applying frameworks. Building theoretical and archaeological capacities in the next generations of scholars in this region is crucial to future success. We invite papers with the aim of furthering this trend in areas of research including (but not limited to):
- Local languages and interaction with theory
- Application of new methodologies and theoretical approaches to the region
- Nationalism and politics between modern and ancient identities
the so-far unexplored segment of a stone road at the site of Zverinjak, known from the literature as a Roman road, located
between the villages of Možđenec and Sudovec, a natural pass on the western side of Kalnik mountain. A well-preserved segment
of the stone paving of the road was discovered.
Key words: Kalnik mountain, Zverinjak, Roman road, stone-paved road, mountain pass
revealed, among other finds, several fragments of hollow short ceramic cones of coarser quality. These objects are related to the elements of a specific way of construction of the wall part of the hypocaust, i.e. wall heating.
Namely, there are several fragments of objects called clavi
coctiles, which in Croatian literature are described as lesser-known types of ceramic spacers, used in thermal complexes throughout the Roman Empire.
We are pleased to announce the organization of a scientific conference "Eating and drinking along ancient roads and rivers: Study opportunities, archaeological sources and open issues about diet habits" (Roads and rivers 3). The conference will be held in Zagreb, Croatia 11 - 12 November 2021.
Please see the attached file for more details.
Katarina Šprem - Roman Roads in Istria - an example of Least Cost Path analysis
Jere Drpić - Potential Roman mountain roads and Least Cost Path analysis case study; Kalnik Hills
A new wave of local and internationally produced research (often in collaboration) is embracing theory and applying frameworks. Building theoretical and archaeological capacities in the next generations of scholars in this region is crucial to future success. We invite papers with the aim of furthering this trend in areas of research including (but not limited to):
- Local languages and interaction with theory
- Application of new methodologies and theoretical approaches to the region
- Nationalism and politics between modern and ancient identities