Arheološki vestnik (Arh. vest.) 50, 1999, str. 7-8 50 Years of Arheološki vestnik Slavko CIGLENEČKI The fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the first individual and central Slovene archaeological review commemorates a significant achievement for Slovenia and the Slovenian archaeological profession, and furthermore it substantiates the continuity of systematic efforts that reach back to already the second half of the 19th century. The origins of the publication coincide indirectly also with the emergence and recognition of the first generation of archaeologists following the Second World War, and thus also with the beginnings of more broadly based organization of archaeological efforts in Slovenia. The review, conceived by J. Korošec and now with chief editors (S. Brodar, J. Šašel, F. Leben, D. Božič, S. Ciglenečki), has pursued its primary mission from its very beginnings: to present the current Slovene region, cleaved between the eastern alpine world on one side and the western Balkans on the other. Furthermore, it has attempted to sustain its initial concept of publishing shorter archaeological scientific studies and reports, while at the same time remaining open to archaeologi-cally auxiliary professions. Invariably, the concern was to represent all archaeological issues in the review, and that the space dedicated to critique and further discussion remain open so as to avoid developing merely into a journal for individual currents or reflect only the particular inclinations of individual editors and editorial staff. The concern was to present the entire Slovene archaeological profession, its initial and primary purpose. The second significant task was incited by the emergence of the need to inform the professional public abroad of our research efforts, consequently special emphasis was granted to the provision of an exhaustive translation of abstracts or the articles in their entirety. The review has thus become an indispensable instrument for researching the wider eastern alpine region and the western part of the Balkans. The anniversary of this review seems the appropriate moment to look back in critical self-reflection over research determinations and elucidate the current results, as well as point out any breaches and issues. Thus the editorial staff requested consequential Slovene archaeologists to contribute, in their respective fields of specialty, critical reviews of the current stance in the profession, including synoptic presentations of the current results and detailed bibliographies, translated in their entirety. The discussed period approximately incorporates the time following 1965, when such reviews covering the periods ranging from Prehistory to the Early Middle Ages were published in Arheološki vestnik 15-16, 1964-1965. These synthetically based articles are intended to portray what is comprehended up till now, and to caution as to any gaps and to propose viable corrections in trends wherever necessary. They are also to point out any particular shifts in research trends, challenge research results with investigations elsewhere and promote an incessant critical approach to research determinations. The majority of articles requested from the various authors were acquired during the extended term that was at our disposal. One exception is a presentation of the Paleolithic period, as the author considered an exhaustive review of the cultural cave site at Divje babe I, of essential importance for understanding the Paleolithic period in Slovenia, more preferable. Another exception is a presentation of Roman Provincial artistry during the Roman period, as this was largely already published only shortly before in a publication concerning monuments from Šempeter (J. 7 Kastelic, Simbolika mitov na rimskih nagrobnih spomenikov, Šempeter v Savinjski dolini, Ljubljana 1998). The review is also open to contributions that exceed the upper chronological limit which was set in the beginning (approximately 1000 AD). This limit was quietly transgressed already years ago, although the number of such discussions or reports remained trivial. Thus it was our desire to present in this anniversary edition a more detailed review of such archaeological investigations. As the author is currently overburdened, the article will be published in the following number. 50 let Arheološkega vestnika stroketdpoefft fiWgtPicajisdijaiw prea^amo sjziikofffiduieetlPven sistematičnega dela, ki s svojimi začetki sega sicer že v drugo polovico 19. st. Začetek izhajanja sovpada posredno tudi z nastopom in uveljavitvijo prve povojne generacije arheologov in tako z začetkom širše organiziranosti arheološkega dela v Sloveniji. Vse od nastanka je revija, ki jo je v življenje priklical J. Korošec, pod glavnimi uredniki (S. Brodar, J. Šašel, F. Leben, D. Božič, S. Ciglenečki) zasledovala svoje osnovno poslanstvo: predstavljati sedanje slovensko območje, vpeto v vzhodnoalpski svet na eni in zahodni Balkan na drugi strani. Prav tako je skušala ohranjati prvotni koncept, po katerem naj bi bile v njej objavljene krajše arheološke znanstvene študije in poročila, odprta pa naj bi bila tudi za pomožne stroke, v kolikor zadevajo arheologijo. Ves čas je bila prisotna skrb, da bi bila v reviji zastopana celotna arheološka problematika, prostor pa odprt kritikam in diskusiji, da se ne bi razvila zgolj v glasilo posameznih struj ali odražala le nagnjenja posameznih urednikov in uredniških odborov, ampak predstavljala vso slovensko arheološko stroko, kateri je prvenstveno tudi namenjena. Kot druga pomembna naloga se je nakazovala potreba po informiranosti tuje strokovne javnosti o našem delu, zato je bil dan poseben poudarek izčrpnim prevedenim povzetkom ali celovitim prevodom. S tem je revija postala nepogrešljiv instrument za raziskovanje širšega vzhodnoalpskega prostora in zahodnega dela Balkana. Jubilej revije se zdi primeren trenutek, da se ozremo po opravljenem delu in s kritično samorefleksijo osvetlimo dosedanje rezultate, nakažemo vrzeli in probleme. Uredniški odbor je zato povabil k sodelovanju v tej številki uveljavljene slovenske arheologe, da na področjih svojih spe- sk