Prehistoric Stone Disks from Entrances and Cemeteries of North-Eastern Adriatic Hillforts

Abstract

The paper presents a group of four, approximately 0.5m large, stone disks from entrances or cemeteries of two protohistoric hillforts of north-eastern Adriatic. The disks, having a sparse chronology with the exception of one dated to the Middle Bronze Age, show flat and plain surfaces or covered with sub-circular depressions. One disk shows two larger cup-marks at the centre of both faces. They are interpreted as ritual artefacts based on the association with sacred settlement locations and comparisons with similar coeval stones found mainly close to citadel entrances, burials and thresholds in the Aegean area and Anatolia.

Keywords

• north-eastern Adriatic
• hillforts
• stone disks
• cup-marks
• SfM photogrammetry
• Bronze Age religion