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Vela Spila
(big cave) A Stratified Prehistoric Site
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Vela
Spila - 180 Panorama view
85sec
@ 56.6Kbps |
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Vela
Spila is situated above Vela Luka on locality known as Pinski rat
at an elevation of approximately 130 meters. The cave itself consists
of an elliptically shaped cavern that measure 40 meters in lenght,
17 meters in hight, and is approximately 40 meters wide. There are
two openings in the roof of the cave which were caused by collapse.
Unfortunately, the time frame of these two collapses is still undetermind.
Daylight shines through these openings as well as the cave entrance
and this permits research to be conducted without the need of artificial
lighting. Results of past excavations have revealed traces of human
occupation from the earliest phases of the Neolithic through the
Copper, Bronze, and Iron ages, including brief visits by Greek and
Roman individuals. The first excavations were condacted by Marinko
Gjivoje in 1950 and one year later Grga Novak continued the explorations.
At this point it was already apparent that there were cultural connections
between Vela Spila and the finds from Grapceva Spilja on the island
of Hvar. It was clear that populations were involved in inter-island
contact and trade. Since 1974, excavations were carried out regularly
by Grga Novak, and after his death in 1978, continued by Bozidar
Cecuk.
Material recovered from Vela Spila includes the earliest Impresso
Neolithic pottery with polished stone axes and even two juvenal
burials found in this Impresso context. The Middle Neolithic phase
is represented by the newly termed "Vela Luka Culture" with its
stylistic colored painting on the pottery which reflects a very
regional speciality. At the end of Neolithic time, we have the Hvar
Culture with its polished and often incised two burials, detected
and excavated in situ. In Copper time in Vela Spila we could find
at least three diffrent culture which are reflection of mixture
between the old and the new population.
Survey on the island has revealed an extensive use of the hilltops
in prehistory. It has not yet been determined if these were used
for habitation or merely as a means of communication and control
of land areas on the island and the neighboring waters. Dozens of
gomila, or tumuli, have been found that are associated with these
hilltop structures. Most of these structures range in time from
the Early Bronze through the Late Iron ages - (The
Archeological Collection of finds from the locality of Blato plain
and surrounding hillforts). Numerous Greek finds have been located
in the recent Radic/Bass survey of the island. These works have
revealed a long and extensive history of the island of Korcula.
Many different cultures have left evidence of their occupations
on the island and it is belived that much more evidence will be
gathered in the near future that will naturally add to the intricate
and interesting finds from Vela Spila and the Island of Korcula.
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The Neolithic
phase of Vela Spila shows all signs of belonging to the Vela Luka,
culture and finds include finely fashioned painted and polished
shards alongside shards with rough surfaces, scored with triangles
and grid-like motives; this paper is the first to document these
new facts more comprehensively. Decorated ceramics from the central
period of the Neolithic is very similar in its decorativeness
to that from the Apulian coast. Settlement was highest towards
the end of the Neolithic, that is, during the Hvar culture and
finds include an abundance of finely polished black objects, with
engravings, engraved canals, canelures and applications. Especially
noteworthy is the discovery of thousands of shards, painted red
and decorated with a variety of spirals, intricate forms derived
from hybrid spiral-linear ornaments, meanders, series of straight
and broken ribbons, linear shapes ending in rhombuses, hanging
and standing triangles, semi-circles, etc. The basic characteristic
of the Eneolithic is that the settlements of the old population
continued to exist to the same extent, but most decoration disappeared
and vessels became uniform in shape and size. The most popular
vessel was fashioned with a stepped extended shoulder, decorated
with a series of vertical scores imitating canelures from the
earlier phase. Shards from the beginning of the Bronze Age were
decorated with grooves and incrustations and are often characteristic
of the Cetina culture, however, this papei does not include data
on later periods. Due to its strategic position along a frequented
thoroughfare, Vela Spila is significant when analysing links and
ties between the coasts on either side of the Adriatic. The discovery
of graves also lends new insight into the daily lives and spiritual
lives of those who settled the cave.
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Vela
Spila (web site)
Vela Spila - Photo Gallery
Upper Paleolithic
Mesolithic
Early Neolithic - Impresso culture
Middle Neolithic - Vela Luka culture
Late Neolithic - Hvar culture
Eneolithic phase of Hvar culture
Early Bronze Age - Cetina culture |
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more information and details, please, do not hesitate to contact
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Vela
Luka - 180 degree Panorama from the locality of Vela Spila
69sec
@ 56.6Kbps |
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