ARHEOLO.KO NAJDI.EE IN LEGENDA O UMRLIH: PRIMER GORENJI MOKRONOG Uro. Bavec Kljuene besede: mitiena krajina, uhan s ko.arico, rekristjanizirana ali sveta krajina, ajdje Eno od znaeilnih in morda najbolj oeitnih materialnih manifestacij smrti je vsekakor grobi.ee oz. pokopali.ee. Pri raziskovanju tak.nih toek je sodelovanje med nekaterimi na videz nezdru.ljivimi strokovnimi podroeji nujno. V mislih imamo predvsem podroeje varovanja kulturne dedi.eine, ohranjanje ostankov ustnega izroeila ob upo.tevanju novih arheolo.kih in fizienoantropolo.kih podatkov. Nekatera stara pokopali.ea ali bolje grobi.ea v agrarnih okoljih osrednje Dolenjske imajo praviloma poseben status. Ponavadi gre za .e znane lokacije, ki jih ljudje oznaeujejo s tipienimi imeni. Tem mestom dajo veasih namensko pridih skrivnostnosti, kar privede do postopne .mitizacije. celotne pokrajine (prim. Roymans 1995). Lokalno prebivalstvo vsak devastacijski poseg na tak.nem obmoeju praviloma sprejme z neodobravanjem in odporom. Zanimivo, da je ta svojevrstna pieteta, ki se ka.e v odnosu do skeletnih ostankov prednikov, zelo spremenljiv pojav, ki ni skupen vsem prebivalcem. Na nekem ozkem vzorenem primeru se lahko giblje od precej.nje indiferentosti do pravega .kulta mrtvih..1 Eemu ta razlika? Zakaj niso v ljudski zavesti vse lokacije s skeletnimi ostanki umrlih obravnavane enako? Zakaj dvesto let opu.eeno va.ko pokopali.ee izginja iz ljudske zavesti, medtem ko se zgodbe o tisoe let starej.em poznoantienem grobi.eu ali stari romanski kostnici ohranjajo? Paradoksalno je dejstvo, da domaeinov na teh mitiziranih krajih celo prisotnost ne vedno najbolj priljubljenih raziskovalcev - arheologov, ne moti.2 Na.a teza je, da dobijo vrednost samo tisti elemen 1 Spremenljiv odnos do skeletnih ostankov pokojnikov, ki se ka.e npr. v prekopavanju grobov, se pojavi .e v visokem srednjem veku in je znan iz pisnih virov (Makarovie G. 1995, 146). Potrjujejo ga tudi rezultati izkopavanj na srednjeve.kem grobi.eu ob cerkvi Sv. Petra (slika 2-3). Za na.o nadaljnjo obravnavo ostaja zanimiva lokacija poznoantienega grobi.ea, kjer je odnos do grobov povsem drugaeen, in ni naklueje, da se veeina legend ve.e ravno na to lokacijo (slika 1). 2 Zdi se, da .sveti znaeaj. tovrstnih najdi.e pomeni spregledan most med nepopularno dr.avno slu.bo (kot so npr. lokalni zavodi za varstvo kulturne dedi.eine) in lokalnim javnim mnenjem, ki bi ga bilo vredno v prihodnosti bolj spopularizirati Uro. Bavec ti (sem sodijo npr. tudi skeletni ostanki), ki sodijo v kontekst povrnitve nikdar povsem izgubljene .stare slave. neke mitizirane pokrajine. Arheologija s sodobnimi metodolo.kimi pristopi tak.no .mitizacijo pokrajine. praviloma preprosto spregleda ali le povr.no citira. Interpretacij skorajda ni. Morda zato, ker imamo lahko precej.en del tega bogatega ustnega izroeila v smislu postavke .resniene preteklosti. v strogem empirienem smislu za diskutabilen. To potrjuje tudi analiza na prvi pogled bogatega ustnega izroeila, ki se ve.e na arheolo.ko najdi.ee Gorenji Mokronog na obmoeju centralne Dolenjske. Védenje o svetem znaeaju doloeenih delov obravnavane pokrajine se v na.em primeru neposredno ohranja le v ledinskem imenu lokacije. Lokacija ob na novo odkritem poznoantienem 232 grobi.eu (slika 1), se imenuje .Orajk. ali .Vrajski breg., kar je nareena izpeljava lokativa imena .v raju. oz. v nebesih (kr.eansko) oz. v poganskem onstranstvu (Sl. SKJ 1985, 311). Ta toponim je torej tista toeka, ki bi jo smeli oznaeiti za .resnieno preteklost. - potrjeno z empirijo arheolo.kih izkopavanj. Kljub prekinitvi izrabe tega prostora v tradiciji (izkopavanja so pokazala, da je grobi.ee easovno ozko omejeno na konec 6. in zaeetek 7. stoletja) so poganski oz. slovanski pri.leki .svetost. te krajine ponovno prevzeli od staroselcev; zatem je mitiena krajina poznoantienega grobi.ea ob vnovienem pokristjanjenju zopet postala del kr.eanske kozmologije. Zanimivo je, da si vse arheolo.ke toeke v prostoru ne .zaslu.ijo. mitizacije. V neposredni bli.ini - ob nekdanji .upnijski cerkvi sv. Petra - je bilo odkrito visoko in poznosrednjeve.ko grobi.ee (slika 2). Rezultati izkopavanj ka.ejo, da je bilo grobi.ee konec 18. stoletja dokoneno opu.eeno, kar sovpada z zgodovinskimi podatki, ki ka.ejo, da se je dogajanje ob cerkvi po l. 1870 preneslo v novo .upnijsko (nekdaj podru.nieno) cerkev sv. Kri.a na Trebelnem (Golob 1994, 9). Tu je, kot ka.ejo rezultati izkopavanj, odnos do mrtvih .e precej podoben dana.njemu. Grobove so zaradi pomanjkanja prostora v zadnji fazi pogosto prekopavali. Rotunda sv. Mihaela pa je slu.ila kot kostnica, kjer so dolge kosti in lobanje iz teh prekopanih grobov odlagali. Grobi.ee je namree ume.eeno pod romansko rotundo sv. Mihaela in je, kot ka.ejo rezultati izkopavanj v kombinaciji z nekaterimi topografskimi podatki, zapolnjevalo ves prostor okoli barokizirane cerkve sv. Petra (slika 2-3). Morda se je zaradi pomanjkanja prostora v nekem trenutku spremenila celo lega mrliea v grobu, ki iz starej.e tradicionalne usmeritve vzhod-zahod preide v smer sever-jug (slika 3). Znaeilno in za nas zanimivo pa je dejstvo, da je vse ustno izroeilo, ki se je spletlo okrog obravnavane lokacije, v bistvu vezano na mitizirano lokacijo bli.njega poznoantienega grobi.ea. Imeli smo sreeo, da smo naleteli na gospoda Franca Hoeevarja - me.narja in va.kega kronista iz Mokronoga, ki je prava zakladnica tovrstnih podatkov. Za centralno slovenski in jugovzhodnoalpski prostor je to danes .e prava redkost. Vsi njegovi podatki ka.ejo, kako so lokalni prebivalci neki mitieni krajini postopoma vraeali njen prvotni - oeitno nikoli povsem izgubljen sveti pomen, ki se ka.e v zelo konkretnem odnosu do skeletnih ostankov umrlih iz toeno doloeene lokacije poznoantienega grobi.ea. Romanska rotunda sv. Mihaela (iz prve polovice 13. stoletja) (slika 4), v kateri naj bi po legendi ma.evala Ciril in Metod in naj bi vanjo ..e ajdje hodili., je hkrati kostnica in je .e danes polna elove.kih kostnih ostankov (Hitzinger P, 1863, Arheolo.ko najdi.ee in legenda o umrlih: primer Gorenji Mokronog 19). Kosti so kot element tremendum et fascinans zopet vzbudile .eljo po mitizaciji, sam izvor legende o ma.evanju Cirila in Metoda pa je bolj banalen. Ugotovili smo, da je mitizacija v tem primeru povezana z nekak.no .mitieno slovanizacijo., ki ima izvor v stari, tendenciozni easopisni objavi Aleksandra Kobeta alias Jurija Sodevskega iz prve polovice 19. stoletja (Kobe-Sodevski 1844, 115-116). .e danes izredno .iva legenda, ki so jo domaeini hvale.no sprejeli, se v tem primeru izka.e za reakcijo na realne politiene razmere v prvi polovici 19. stoletja. Tako je pod vplivom takrat nastajajoeega panslavizma v visoko srednjeve.ko romansko rotundo - kostnico sv. Mihaela samovoljno vpeto ma.evanje Konstantina (Cirila) in Metoda - slovanskih apostolov iz 9. stoletja. Ljudsko znanje smemo tu razumeti kot razumsko spoznanje sveta, kot ga do.ivljamo, ne glede na realnost preteklih stanj, kar zopet ni v nasprotju z visoko empirie-233 nim pristopom radikalno konstruktivistiene perspektive (prim. Holtorf C. J. 1997, 80). Globoka potreba po mitizaciji ali .rekristjanizaciji. tak.ne svete krajine je stalna in se ka.e v tem, da domaeini vsako novost, ki sodi v ta kontekst, z veseljem sprejmejo. .e prihod tujca, npr. arheologa, in odkritje grobov sta lahko vzrok za nastanek novega .mitienega konstrukta.. Starinokop J. Peenik, ki je v teh krajih deloval v zadnji tretjini 19. stoletja, je odkril .eudne grobove, zlo.ene iz kamnitih plo.e in jako podobnih rim- skim., ki jih ni nataneno lociral (Peenik J. 1887, 28 in Peenik F. 1989) (slika 5). Njegovo odkritje se je vtisnilo v spomin nekaterih zdaj .e pokojnih domaeinov. Do toene lokacije smo sreeno pri.li le na podlagi informacije, da je stari lastnik tega obmoeja nakljuenim popotnikom in romarjem (po cesti teee znana bo.ja pot) prepovedal opravljanje potrebe po bli.njem gozdieu Vrajku z besedami: .Ali doma tudi po britofu serjete?. Ta razlaga, pogojena s sedanjim oz. polpreteklim spo.tovanjem do umrlih, torej zopet ne izkljueuje resnice o obstoju nekega preteklega stanja. Navadno izvor legende ni povsem jasen in ga celo empirieni pristop, kot je npr. interpretacija rezultatov arheolo.kih izkopavanj, ne more potrditi ali ovreei. Legenda o prvem misijonu in leseni cerkvi ob njej, za lokacijo katere v ustnem izroeilu ni toenih podatkov, verjetno ni nepomembna.3 Navezava na prej omenjeni panslovanski konstrukt seveda ni nemogoea. Vendar smo z izkopavanji odkrili ostanke jam za kole, ki skupaj sestavljajo neko preprosto ovalno strukturo umetno izravnane povr.ine ob najvi.jem delu izkopnega polja poznoantienega grobi.ea (slika 1). Misel, da so slovanski, morda .e poganski pri.leki prepoznali poznoantieno grobi.ee kot del mitiene krajine, ki jo je potrebno oznaeiti z nekak.no arhitekturo, po nekaterih analogijah ni neverjetna, a je z ohranjenimi materialnimi ostanki .al ne moremo dokazati.4 Je pa stroka (npr. arheologija) v sodelovanju z drugimi vedami sposobna v mnogoeem dopolniti legendo o .pervih kristjanih., ki naj bi bili ob leseni cerkvi pokopani, in s tem priskoeiti na pomoe pri novodobni mitizaciji krajine. Dvajset pokojnikov je bilo polo.enih v plitve jame brez grobne arhitekture in le z osebnimi pridatki (slika 1). Da je .lo za zaprto samoskrbno skupnost, ka.e obrabljenost in deloma celo unikatnost najdenih pridatkov, znaeilnih za konec 6. in zaeetek 7. stoletja. Dva uhana s ko.arico, 3 Podatek mi je posredoval g. Franc Hoeevar, za kar se mu na tem mestu najlep.e zahvaljujem. 4 Funkcija podobnih vkopnih jam, ki so verjetno stojke skromne lesene arhitekture, ostaja zveeina neinterpretirana; najdemo jih npr. na zgodnjesrednjeve.kem najdi.eu v avstrijskem Gusnu (Tovornik V. 1985, 187 in priloga). Uro. Bavec izdelana v bronu, postaneta takoj bolj zanimiva, ee povemo, da je prvega nosila neka vee kot .tirideset let stara .enska pred tisoe tristo leti na desni strani glave kot del lokalne no.e, medtem ko je nekoliko mlaj.a .enska, morda sorodnica zgoraj omenjene (kar ka.ejo antropolo.ke analize), v pribli.no istem easu nosila slab lokalni posnetek neke luksuzne starej.e izvorno bizantinske narebrene oblike uhana, ki v tem nevarnem easu oeitno ni bila vee dostopna. Zanimiva je tudi zgodba o preluknjanih odlomkih dveh poznoantienih ea., ki sami na sebi ne pomenita nieesar. Ee pa vemo, da sta bili polo.eni v naroeje .tiri do pet let starega otroka, sta predstavljivi sliki neke daljne boleeine. Eden od njegovih najblji.jih mu je na zadnjo pot polo.il v naroeje njegovo ljubo igraeo - ropotuljico. 234 Antropolo.ko poroeilo je pokazalo pribli.no enakovreden odstotek .ensk (7), mo.kih (6) in otrok (2). Ee hoeemo, lahko iz suhoparnih podatkov s podroeja fiziene antropologije vedno izlu.eimo detajle, zanimive tudi za .ir.o javnost. Tak.no je npr. dejstvo, da so si bili ti ljudje verjetno v sorodu, na kar ka.ejo nekatere fiziolo.ke sorodnosti - npr. orlovski nos, ki se pojavlja tako pri mo.kih kot pri .enskah. Zanimivo, da jih je najvee umrlo v dobi adultus II (30-40 let), medtem ko starosti maturus II (50-60 let) na vzorcu te sonde ni nihee presegel.5 Mitieno krajino uspe.no dopolnjuje .e arheolo.ki podatek o obstoju poznoantie ne naselbine, ki se je v ustnem izroeilu .e izgubil in se ni ohranil niti v toponimu. Naselbina je bila odkrita ob gradu Obernassenfuss, ali nataneneje: na terasah pod njim (slika 6). Mo.nost, da stika med staroselci in slovanskimi pri.leki ni bilo, izkljueuje .e sam obstoj mitiene krajine. Morda na mestu same naselbine ni sakralnega objekta s svetimi moemi, ki bi bil vreden mitizacije. Sakralne objekte najdemo namree na lokacijah veeine poznoantienih vi.inskih utrjenih naselij, ki imajo svoj poznoantieni izvor veekrat skrit v imenu (npr. Ajdna nad Potoki, Ajdovski gradec). Tudi tu so izjeme, vendar arheologi le redko prebiramo pravljice izpred stotih let. V primeru hriba Vipota pri Celju se je npr. nekoe zapisana zgodba .o votlini, kjer so se skrivali kristjani pred srdom poganov., ki se je z najdbami zgodnjekr.eanske cerkvene opreme potrdila kot zelo verjetna (Seidl 1881, 76). 6 Naj na tem mestu prekinemo pogovor o legendah ali o arheolo.kih podatkih. Ni na.a .elja, da bi z interpretacijo skeletnih ostankov in arheolo.kih artefaktov spro.ili nov mitieni konstrukt. Ta je bil verjetno vzpostavljen .e takrat, ko smo se na tem kraju pojavili prvie (na.e delovanje je npr. postalo del gostilni.kih govoric). Temeljno vodilo na.ega prispevka je vendarle vzpostavitev novega odnosa do .ivih. Ravno zato se zdi ob ukvarjanju z umrlimi iz kateregakoli easa popularizacija sodelovanja med strokami nujna. 5 Izerpno antopolo.ko poroeilo dr. Petre Leben-Selakove hrani ZVNKD Novo mesto. 6 Za prijazen napotek se na tem mestu najlep.e zahvaljujem dr. Andreju Pleterskemu. Arheolo.ko najdi.ee in legenda o umrlih: primer Gorenji Mokronog Slika 1 / Figure 1: Tloris dela poznoantienega grobi.ea z ostanki vkopov za stojke neke ovalne in kasneje odstranjene lesene konstrukcije (sonda 1) in grobni pridatki iz grobov 2, 5, 7, 14, 18. ¨ A plan of the Late Roman cemetery and the remains of post holes for an oval wooden structure that was later removed (trench 1), as well as the grave goods from graves 2, 5, 7, 14, 18. Uro. Bavec Slika 2 / Figure 2: Tloris dela poznosrednjeve.kega grobi.ea (sonda 3) - faza 1. ¨ A plan of part of the Late Medieval cemetery (trench 3) . phase 1. Arheolo.ko najdi.ee in legenda o umrlih: primer Gorenji Mokronog Slika 3 / Figure 3: Tloris dela poznosrednjeve.kega grobi.ea (sonda 3) - faza 2. ¨ A plan of part of the Late Medieval cemetery (trench 3) . phase 2. Uro. Bavec Slika 4 / Figure 4: Romanska rotunda sv. Mihaela (prva polovica 13. stoletja), foto M. Kapus. ¨ The St Mihael Romanesque rotunda (first half of the 13th century), photo M. Kapus. Slika 5 / Figure 5: Izsek karte iz dnevni.kih zapisov starinokopa Jerneja Peenika. ¨ A section of a map from the daily records of the treasure hunter, Jernej Peenik. Arheolo.ko najdi.ee in legenda o umrlih: primer Gorenji Mokronog Uro. Bavec Slika 6 / Figure 6: Gorenji Mokronog - tridimenzionalni (axonometrieni) geodetski posnetek terena. Vidne so naslednje lokacije: a) .Orajek. s poznoantienim grobi.eem; b) romanska rotunda - kostnica sv. Mihaela, kjer naj bi po tradiciji ma.evala sveta brata Ciril in Metod; c) sistem teras pod ru.evinami gradu .Obernassenfuss.; d) fosilne poti. ¨ Gorenji Mokronog. A three-dimensional (axonometric) geodesic plan of the landscape. The following locations are visible: a) .Orajek. with the Late Roman cemetery; b) the Sv. Mihael Romanesque rotunda . ossuary, where Cyril and Methodius supposedly held a mass; c) the system of terraces below the ruins of the .Obernassenfuss. castle; d) the old routes. LITERATURA GOLOB T. 1994, Umetnostnozgodovinska topografija .upnije Trebelno, Univerza v Ljubljani - Filozofska fakulteta, Neobjavljena diplomska naloga (mentor Komelj M.), 8-25. HITZINGER P. 1863, Stara kapelica pod Trebelnim, Novice gospodarske, obrtni.ke in narodne, 19. HOLFORT C. J. 1997, Christian Landscapes of Pagan Monuments. A Radical Constructivist Perspective, v : Semiotics of Landscape: Archaeology of Mind (Ed. G. Nash), British Archaeological Reports 661, 80-88. KOBE-SODEVSKI J. 1844, Sled Cirilovega obreda (ritus) na Kranjskem, Kmetijske in rokodelske Novice 1 (Ljubljana), 115-116. MAKAROVIE G. 1995, Slovenci in eas. Odnos do easa kot okvir in sestavina vsakdanjega .ivljenja, v: Knji.na zbirka Krt 94, 145-164. PEENIK J. 1887, Slovenec 15 (Ljubljana) 28. PEENIK F. 1889, Karta in opis karte Novo mesto iz prazgodovinske dobe, Dr.avni arhiv Slovenije, Priv. A XXXIX fasc. 2. ROYMANS N. 1995, The cultural biography of urnfields and the long-term history of a mythical landscape (with com ments and reply), v: Arcaeological Dialogues 1995, 2-38. Sl. SKJ 1985 - Slovar slovenskega knji.nega jezika IV, 311. TOVORNIK V. 1985, Die Frühmittelalterlichen Gräberfelder von Gusen und Auhoff bei Perg in Oberösterreich, Teil I : Gusen, v: Achaeologia Austriaca 69, 165-250. AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE AND THE LEGEND OF THE DEAD: CASE-STUDY OF GORENJI MOKRONOG Uro. Bavec Key words: mythical landscape, basket earrings, Christian landscape, indigenous romanised population A cemetery is certainly the most characteristic and perhaps also the most conspicuous material manifestation of death. Cooperation among select, seemingly incompatible professional fields is a necessity in the investigation of such sites. This largely refers to the field of preserving cultural heritage and oral tradition, whilst taking into account new archaeological and physicalanthropological data. Certain ancient cemeteries maintain a special status in the rural areas of the central Dolenjsko region. These locations are known to the local population and as such are designated by specific toponyms. A breath of mysteriousness is sometimes deliberately bestowed upon these sites which consequently leads to the gradual .mythization. of an entire landscape (e.g. Roymans 1995). Each and every intervention, which damages such a region, normally encounters disapproval and resistance from the side of the local inhabitants. It is fascinating that this peculiar piety should expressed towards the skeletal remains of the ancestors. It appears to be a mutable phenomenon that is not collective. In this specific case it ranges from extreme indifference to a genuine .veneration of the dead..1 Why do some sites of human burials receive special consideration in local consciousness, whilst others do not? How is it possible that a 200 year old village cemetery can vanish from local.s consciousness, whilst oral traditions of a thousand year older Late Roman cemetery or a Romanesque ossuary survived? It is paradoxical that even the presence of the somewhat less popular researchers, such as archaeologists, in these 1 The capricious relationship to the skeletal remains, which is often exhibited in the digging up of graves, was already present in the Middle Ages and is also referred to in the written sources (Makarovie G. 1995, 146). The practice is also reconfirmed in the results from the excavations of the Medieval cemetery by the church of St. Peter . Figure 2-3. In the continuation, the site of the Late Roman cemetery, where the relationship to graves takes on an entirely different manner, is of some consequence. It is certainly not a mere coincidence that most legends refer precisely to this location . Figure 1. Uro. Bavec .mythicized. localities does not seem to be considered an intrusion by the locals.2 It is suggested here that the only elements that gain in value are those (including skeletal remains), which conform to the context of reinstating the .old glory. of a .mythicized. locality, which was never entirely lost. If archaeology only applies contemporary methodological approaches, it will simply overlook or inadvertently cite such .mythization. of the landscape. Interpretations are all but omitted. This may be because a large part of this rich oral tradition, denoting .real past., is considered debatable in a strictly empirical sense. This is also confirmed by analyzing the seemingly rich oral tradition concerning the Gorenji Mokronog archaeological site in the central Dolenjsko. Only the toponym of the locality direct 242 ly retains the .sacred status. of certain parts of the discussed landscape. The area around the newly discovered Late Roman cemetery . Figure 1, is referred to as .Orajk. or .Vrajski breg., which is a dialect form of the locative name .v raju., in heaven (Christian), in the pagan otherworld (Sl. SKJ 1985, 311). This toponym is a point which can be defined as .real past., and which is confirmed by the empiricism of archaeological excavations. In spite of settlement discontinuity in this area (the cemetery dates to the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th century), the incoming pagan population appropriated the .sacred status. of the area from the existing population; the mythic space of the Late Roman cemetery once again became a part of Christian cosmology when the region was Rechristianized. It is interesting that not all archaeological sites within the area have .earned. mythization. A cemetery dating to the High and Late Middle Ages was discovered in the direct vicinity to the former parish church Sv. Peter . Figure 2. Results from the excavation indicate the cemetery was finally abandoned toward the end of the 18th century. This coincides with the historical data, which indicates that activity by the church was transferred to the new parish, and formerly subsidiary, church of Sv. Kri. at Trebelno after the year 1870 (Golob 1994, 9). Results from the excavations suggest a rather similar relationship to the deceased as at the present time. Due to a scarcity of space, graves were often dug up during the final phase. The Sv. Mihael rotunda, where long bones and skulls from these graves were then deposited, served as an ossuary. The cemetery is situated on the slope below Sv. Mihael, a Romanesque rotunda. Excavations, in combination with certain topographic data revealed that, it occupied the entire area surrounding the baroque style church of Sv. Peter . Figure 2-3. The scarcity of space may also have been the reason why the orientation of the inhumation was adjusted from an older and traditional East-West orientation to a North-South orientation . Figure 3. A characteristic and significant fact is that any and all oral tradition that concerns the above location is essentially bound to the .mythicized. site of the nearby Late Roman cemetery. It was by a stroke of luck that Franc Hoeevar, the parish clerk and a village chronicler, was encountered; he contributed a treasure trove of such information. Today, this represents quite a rarity in central Slovenia and the south-eastern Alpine region as a 2 It seems that the .sacred nature. of such sites represents a bridge between unpopular state offices (e.g. local institutions for the preservation of cultural heritage) and local public opinion, which would be worth promoting in the future. An Archaeological Site and the Legend of the Dead: Case-Study of Gorenji Mokronog whole. His entire collection of information illustrates how the local inhabitants gradually restored the initial . and evidently never entirely lost . .sacred status. to a mythic landscape. This was based upon a very specific relationship to the skeletal remains of the deceased from a precise location at the Late Roman cemetery. According to the legend, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius held a mass in the Romanesque rotunda Sv. Mihael (from the first half of the 13th century), and to which .ajdje. (indigetnous romanised population) would also pay visits; at the same time, it served as an ossuary and even today is filled with human skeletal remains (Hitzinger P, 1863, 19) . Figure 4. These bones, as an element tremendum et fascinans, instigated the desire for .mythization. once again, while the origins of the legend concerning Cyril and Methodius are more commonplace. 243 In this case, mythization is connected with same kind of the .mythic Slavicization., which originated in the tendentious newspaper articles of Aleksander Kobet alias Jurij Sodevski of the first half of the 19th century (Kobe-Sodevski 1844, 115-116). The still living legend from Gorenji Mokronog exhibits a reaction to real political conditions in the first half of the 19th century, which were reflected by the local people. Thus, under the influence of the nascent Pan-Slavism, the mass held by Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, 9th century Slavonic apostles, was arbitrarily attributed to the Sv. Mihael Romanesque Rotunda. This is not in opposition to the highly empirical approach of radical constructivist perspectives, because this defines folk traditions as .knowledge and meaningful understanding according to cognitive and practical (that includes social) viability in the world as we experience it, not according to correspondence to a (past) reality. (see Holtorf C. J. 1997, 80). However, the deep need to mythicize or .Christianize. such a sacred landscape is permanent and is reflected by the fact that the local people accept each new element that fits into this context. Already the arrival of strangers (archaeologists) and the discovery of graves can cause the construction of a new .mythic construction.. The treasure hunter J. Peenik, who operated in the area during the last third of the 19th century, discovered .strange graves, lined with stone slabs and very similar to Roman graves. (Peenik J. 1887, 28; Peenik F.1989) . Figure 5. His discovery was imprinted in the memories of certain now deceased locals. The precise location was rediscovered on the basis of information that the old landowner refused to allow stray travelers and pilgrims (a well-known pilgrimage route follows the road) to obey the call of nature in the Vrajk woods with the words: .Do you also urinate on cemeteries at home?. This interpretation of the respective present reverence for the deceased does not exclude the truth of the existence of a former state. The common origins of the legend are so equivocal that even an empirical approach, such as an interpretation of results from archaeological excavations, cannot confirm or refute their genesis. The legend that refers to the first mission and a wooden church nearby, yet eludes a specification of a precise location, is most likely of little importance.3 A correlation with the above mentioned Pan-Slavic structure is of course impossible. Nonetheless, excavations revealed the remains of post holes at the upper part of the excavated area of the Late Roman cemetery, that in conjunction form a sim 3 I would like to thank Mr. Franc Hoeevar for providing this information. Uro. Bavec ple oval structure with an artificially leveled surface . Figure 1. It is feasible according to certain analogies that the Slavic or even the pagan newcomers acknowledged the Late Roman cemetery as part of a mythic landscape and felt the need for some sort of an architectural structure to distinguish. However, the preserved material remains are insufficient proof.4 The combination of one discipline (e.g. archaeology) with other disciplines is fully capable of fulfilling the legend of the .first Christians., who were supposedly buried by the wooden church, and thus contributes to the modern mythization of the landscape. Twenty individuals were placed in shallow graves, without any elaborate mortuary construction, and furnished with grave goods . Figure 1. The worn condition, and 244 partially also the uniqueness, of the discovered artifacts, characteristic of the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th centuries indicate, that the society was a closed and self-sufficient one. The significance of two bronze basket earrings immediately increases with the additional piece of information that they were worn by a 40 year old woman on her right side as an integral part of a local attire 1300 years ago; at the same time, a somewhat younger woman, perhaps even a relative of the above mentioned woman (as indicated by the anthropological analyses), wore an inferior local imitation of an older, an elaborate ribbed-shaped earring whose origins derived from the Early Byzantine period, which was evidently not available anymore during this perilous age. Likewise also the story of the perforated fragments of two Roman glass beakers, which in themselves are inconsequential. When one is equipped with the additional information that they were laid in the arms of a 4 or 5 year old child they become a reflection of some remote anguish. One of his nearest and dearest placed his favorite toy . a rattle . in his arms for his final journey. The anthropological report determined approximately equal percentages of women (7), men (6) and children (2). Of course we deal with a small sample size with an incomplete mortuary population. However, more engaging details for the wider public can always be extracted from among the tedious information presented by the field of physical anthropology. For instance, the fact that they were related to each other; whereupon physiological affinities were also detected, e.g. aquiline noses, among the men as well as the women. It is also interesting that the majority died during the adults II age (30-40 years), while no cases were detected from this sample exceeding the matures II age (50-60 years).5 The mythic landscape is also successfully supplemented by the archaeological information concerning the existence of a Late Roman settlement, already absent in oral tradition and not denoted in the toponym. The settlement was discovered near the castle Obernassenfuss, or more precisely, on the terraces below . Figure 6. The chance that there was no contact between the indigenous population and the Slavic newcomers is resolved by the mere existence of the mythic landscape. And yet there is no sacral structure with sa 4 The function of similar pits, which probably represent post holes for a modest wooden structure, for the most part have yet to be interpreted; they are present, for instance, at the Early Medieval site of Gusen in Austria (Tovornik V. 1985, 187 and addition). 5 Dr. Petra Leben-Selak.s comprehensive anthropological report is kept at the ZVNKD, Novo mesto. An Archaeological Site and the Legend of the Dead: Case-Study of Gorenji Mokronog cred powers at the very location of the settlement worth mythization. Ecclesiastical structures are found at the majority of Late Roman upland settlement sites, which often furnish their Late Roman origins in their names (e.g. Ajdna above Potoki, Ajdovski gradec). There are always exceptions, although archaeologists rarely read stories from centuries ago. In the case of the .Vipota near Celje. hill, the story written long ago .concerning a cave where Christians hid from the wrath of pagans. was credibly corroborated by the find of an Early Christian church accoutrements (Seidl 1881, 76).6 Let us conclude this discussion concerning legends or archaeological data. It is not our intention to create a new mythic structure with the interpretation of skeletal remains and archaeological artefacts. This was probably already established with our first visit to the site itself (perhaps our ventures became the subject of a tavern gossip). 245 The main objective of this article is to contribute a new perspective to the living, precisely for this reason it seems that the promotion of the collaboration between disciplines is essential in taking an interest in the dead, from any point in time. REFERENCES see page 240 BESEDA O AVTORJU Uro. Bavec, arheolog, po diplomi na Univerzi v Ljubljani je od leta1992 deloval kot samostojni kulturni delavec, kasneje je bil kustos za arheologijo v Posavskem muzeju Bre.ice, zadnjih nekaj let pa opravlja delo konservatorja za nepremieno dedi.eino na Zavodu za varstvo kulturne dedi.eine v Novem mestu. Specializacijo - mikroregionalne poselitvene .tudije: Sv. Jakob nad Dov.kim (B.A.R 1988), Velike Malence (VS 1997), aplicira na podiplomski .tudij, ki posredno zadeva varovanje arheolo.ke dedi.eine. Sodeluje tudi na mednarodnih teeajih in simpozijih, ki zadevajo dokumentacijo in rekonstrukcijo kulturne dedi.eine (npr. CEU Summer University Hungary - Poland 1998). ABOUT THE AUTHOR Uro. Bavec, an archaeologist, after attaining his degree at the University of Ljubljana in 1992, he worked as an independent cultural worker, he then became the archaeological curator of the Posavski Museum in Bre.ice and more recently he works as a conservator of cultural heritage at the Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Novo mesto. Specialization . microregional settlement studies: Sv. Jakob above Dov.ko (B.A.R 1988), Velike Malence (VS 1997), applies to his post-graduate studies which indirectly concerns the preservation of the archaeological heritage. He takes part at international courses that concern the documentation and reconstruction of cultural heritage (e.g. CEU Summer University Hungary . Poland 1998). 6 I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Andrej Pleterski for his kind information. 246