Field research of the Institute

Nova Bukovica-Sjenjak

Since 1997, the Institute of Archaeology in Zagreb, in collaboration with the Nova Bukovica Municipality and the Slatina Local History Museum, has carried out systematic archaeological research at the prehistoric site of Nova Bukovica – Sjenjak. The archaeological site is situated in the Croatian Podravina region, 7 km south-east of Slatina and around 15 km south-west of the Drava river.

The site in Nova Bukovica was discovered in an archaeological field survey carried out in 1976 in the Slatina area by K. Minichreiter from the Regional Department for Protection of Cultural Monuments in Osijek. The systematic archaeological investigations at Sjenjak in Nova Bukovica, managed by Dr K. Minichreiter, now working at the Institute of Archaeology, began in 1997. This is a Late Bronze Age (Urnfield culture, Ha A-B phases), as well as a Late Iron Age site (latter half of the 2nd and the 1st century BC, phases LT C2-D). The total area excavated so far covers almost 3500 square metres, but this is only a minor part of this complex site. A number of archaeological features were discovered, mostly dug into the ground (to date over 1200 stratigraphic units were documented, that is, more than five hundred sunken features or structures), bearing testimony to the existence of an above-ground settlement from the La Tène period. The La Tène settlement was erected on an earlier settlement, dated to the Late Bronze Age, but also, so it seems, on structures dating from an earlier horizon of the Late Bronze Age.

From the very first season of investigations, the archaeological site at Sjenjak proved to be a source of rich and varied movable and immovable finds. Among those, large pits abounding with ceramic finds, remains of above-ground houses preserved in floor-plan, and larger sunken structures can be singled out in particular, as well as valuable finds of bronze, iron, amber and glass.