Report on archaeological, geophysical and palynological prospections in the Kupres polje/Bosnia and Herzegowina, 2009–2011

Abstract

During the campaigns in 2009 to 2011 now five grave mounds and parts of their wider surroundings have been prospected geomagnetically. The results obtained are mixed: While in the mound „Strljanica“ only late medieval tombs were observable, in the geomagnetic picture of the mound „Uzur glavica“ a massive stone packing seems to be visible, which has possibly surrounded a grave chamber. On the other hand, the prospection of the smaller grave mounds yielded no useful outcome. Interesting results were observed in the GPS based topographic recordings: With them it could be demonstrated that the mounds had been built on small natural elevation, so that the mounds appear more imposing. In the same direction point the locations of the mounds, which could be determined by GPS surveys. According to these findings, it can be assumed that the mounds had been built with far-reaching visibility in mind, which implies in turn that this visibility was not hindered by the larger stretches forests. In this context, the analysis of the view shed of the „Velika gradina“ is interesting, as it seems to suggest that care was taken that they were not mutually visible. Finally, the discovery of numerous small grave mounds on the eastern slopes of the Kupreško polje has to be regarded as another important result.