THE ‘CENTRAL ORAVA’ MICROREGION DURING THE LATE HALLSTATT TO MIDDLE LA TÈNE PERIOD

We bring results of archaeological excavations of two hilltop fortified sites – Nižná, Ostražica, and Podbiel, Biela Skala (district of Tvrdošín, northern Slovakia) and systematic long-term surface prospection of their environs within the ‘Central Orava’ microregion. The findings at Ostražica show the continuity of the material culture tradition of the so-called ‘Orava group of the Lusatian culture’ (OLC) and the ‘pre-Púchov stage’ (PPS) from the stage Ha C2 or Ha D1 to Lt C1, the period correlated with the earliest significant occupation phase of Ostražica hilltop. Several new contemporary habitation areas and zones with scarcity or absence of artefactual evidence were detected by prospection. They were interpreted as economic hinterland of the local, almost exclusively, agro-pastoral communities. The concentration of sites around the hilltop covers approximately 200 ha and includes residential areas, fields, and pastures (determined by a combination of archaeological excavation, prospection and GIS-based analysis – slope analysis, path distance analysis, and Travel time using Tobler’s hiking function). A similar situation is expected at Biela Skala. Positions (areas and zones including the area of the burial ground) that have been evaluated as negative by repeated surveys limit the extent of settlement complexes and represent their possible boundaries, which might be sporadically exploited for hunting or collecting raw materials. The results of our study help to understand the lives of human societies inhabiting the mountain and/or marginal zones of Iron Age Central Europe.