Croatia
May to June 2025
Instructor: Jenny Botica
Students travelled to Croatia for a four-week field school to Zagreb and the village of Gorjani in the Osijek-Baraja area. The field school focused on analyzing and recovering archaeological materials from Gora/Gara, a medieval fortified settlement. The remains of Gora/Gara are in the immediate vicinity of the present-day Gorjani village. In an interdisciplinary project, students worked with the Croatian Conservation Institute (CCI) in analyzing materials for one week at lab space in Zagreb, at the Institute for Anthropological Research. The following three weeks were spent excavating with the CCI team at the site of Gora/Gara.
Students gained experience in laboratory, conservation, recording and excavation procedures specific to human remains, masonry and metal objects. Students contributed to research that seeks to understand medieval lifeways, burial practices, settlement and social organization and architecture of this region.
History:
First recorded excavations at the site occurred in the late 19th century, and the CCI started systematic archaeological research in 2017. Geophysical research points to a preserved urban structure of a medieval settlement, unimpacted by later development. Gora/Gara is a larger urban settlement with a parish church, a Dominican monastery and a developed defense system. It experienced its peak during the second half of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century. With the arrival of the Ottomans, the remains of the medieval Gora/Gara were demolished and used to build new structures. The area has been excavated in search of valuables.
Gora/Gara has long been a crossroads of significant traffic routes since prehistoric times. Due to the location, this area became one of the most important centers in the former Vukovska County. Its development was closely tied to the Gorjanski noble family, one of the most powerful noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary.