Piling up time: Late Urnfield and Early Iron Age hillforts of the Kupa region and cultural memory
Résumé
An interesting group of Late Bronze / Early Iron age hillforts featuring large earthen mounds can be defined in the lower Kupa region (Central Croatia). Apparently, this tradition is related to the contemporary culture of neighbouring west-central Bosnia and Herzegovina. These large mounds (on average 5 to 6 meters high and some 40 meters in diameter) are interpreted as ployvalent structures with both strategic and symbolic function. Considering their monumental character, large mounds are analysed as material results of memory practices (rather than as static identity markers). From this perspective, the Late Urnfield / Early Iron Age appears as a period of major change in the attitude of past societies towards time and cultural memory.