1. Shifting tin imports into the broader Eastern Mediterranean region during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages (ca. 2000-900 BC)Wayne Powell, K. Aslihan Yener, Cemal Pulak, Ryan Mathur, Gojko Barjamovic, Boris Kavur, Martina Blečić Kavur, Nicola Ialongo, David Gilman Romano, Jay Stephens, 2026, original scientific article Abstract: Lacking substantial local tin deposits after 2000 BC, the Eastern Mediterranean depended on the importation of large quantities of tin from extraneous sources. Situated roughly equidistant (ca. 3000 km) between the large tin deposits of Western Europe and Central Asia, both localities have been proposed as potential sources of tin metal used in Eastern Mediterranean bronze production. However, such speculation must be substantiated. Herein, we assert that the application of a central-tendency-based approach to the comparison of tin isotope analyses of artifact assemblages with those of tin ores is an effective approach to differentiating between Central Asian and European tin sources in both pure tin metal and tin alloys. We apply the TIA approach to the reinterpretation of existing tin isotope analyses of tin ingots and introduce a large body of new evidence drawn from tin isotopes analysis of ancient (2000-900 BC) bronze artifacts from the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, Tell Atchana in the Amuq Valley of Turkey, the eastern part of the northern Adriatic/Istria and Kvarner (Croatia), Egypt and Peloponnese, Greece. A general chronological trend from high δSn in artifacts dating to 2000-1600 BC to moderate values in the Early Iron Age (1100-900 BC) indicate a gradual shift from tin dominated by Central Asian imports to tin derived from European deposits. These changes in the movement of tin are mirrored in other traceable commodities such as Baltic amber and glass.
Keywords: Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Bronze Age, Iron Age, tin
Published in RUP: 20.02.2026; Views: 171; Downloads: 7
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2. Show me your sword and i know where you come from--- remarkable Celtic swords in the South-Eastern AlpsFlorian Mauthner, Boris Kavur, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: A few decades ago, Styria, spanning Austria and Slovenia, was seen as a marginal area in early Celtic expansion. Isolated grave finds suggested a dispersed and culturally mixed landscape, echoing the region’s transitional topography between the Eastern Alps and the Carpathian Basin. However, discoveries over the past twenty years have transformed this view. Newly identified cemeteries reveal a dynamic Celtic presence during the 4th century BC, marked by cultural consolidation and distinctive regional craftsmanship. Among the most striking evidence are elaborately decorated swords and scabbards from Lt B2 graves, demonstrating advanced blacksmithing and welding. Our study focuses on these artefacts to argue that Styria hosted an active regional group of Celtic sword-makers, initially influenced by Pannonian models but soon developing unique local artistic and technological traits.
Keywords: Celtic weapons, decoration, Styria
Published in RUP: 17.02.2026; Views: 136; Downloads: 3
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5. Osor, insularity and its surroundings : the creation of a regional identity caught between the global economy and local subsistenceMartina Blečić Kavur, Boris Kavur, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: When observed from a broader perspective, in the 1st millennium BC, the regions of the Adriatic underwent structuring processes that affected many domains. On a political level, this was marked by the emergence of municipal and even state-like institutions; on a social level, it involved both the affirmation of elites and the development of specialized classes of craftspeople and traders. Lastly, in terms of settlements, it entailed the more intensive hierarchization of agglomerations in the region and the creation of special forms of public infrastructure within settlements. In this paper, we discuss the settlement of Osor, which transformed during this period from a prehistoric settlement into a major proto-urban center of the northern Adriatic. Its location within the landscape and long-distance trade networks, reinforcing its insularity, shaped an economy and identity that was unique due to its cosmopolitan character and distinctive form – even in comparison to geographically close centers such as the Histrian Nesactium.
Keywords: Osor, Iron Age, insularity, economy, identity
Published in RUP: 26.09.2025; Views: 623; Downloads: 14
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10. Dama in bojevnik? : grobova 11 in 19 iz mlajšeželeznodobnega grobišča Slatina pri CeljuŽiga Jevšnik, 2023, master's thesis Keywords: vzhodna Slovenija, Celje, Slatina, Kelti, švicarski slog, srednji laten, arheologija, magistrske naloge
Published in RUP: 05.10.2023; Views: 3108; Downloads: 72
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