Izvor-Ričina Cave in the Bronze Age – space and function

Abstract

The paper presents the results of archaeological excavations at the Izvor-Ričina Cave (entrance-2). The excavations documented a cultural layer that, based on its characteristics and content, is not associated with more intensive occupation activities. Instead, it formed as a result of occasional or shorter-term (seasonal) activities of human communities during the Bronze Age, on the plateau directly in front of entrance-2. This, along with certain documented physical characteristics of the deposit itself, suggests that even in the Bronze Age, the Izvor-Ričina Cave had hydrographic features similar to those of today, thus limiting the potential for more significant use of its space.
The analysis of collected pottery fragments indicates that its space was most intensively used during the Late Bronze Age, although several collected fragments can be attributed to earlier Bronze Age periods. The Late Bronze Age period corresponds to the time of intensive development of most hillfort-type sites in the observed area of Tropolje, where we also find the best analogies for the materials from Ričina. Notably, two hillforts stand out: Veliki Gradac above Privala and the hillfort in Korita, which are located in close proximity to the cave, thereby positioning the cave within their actual territorial reach. This indicates that the Ričina was used by the same communities that gravitated towards these hillfort sites in different periods of the Bronze Age. Additionally, during speleological research of the cave complex, surface finds were collected from the area of entrance-1, the publication and analysis of which are also included in this work. The area of entrance-1 was similarly not used intensively in the past, while the analysis of ceramic fragments collected from its surface showed that they belong to the period from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Modern Age.