Grasisce above Grgar (Slovenia) a fortified settlement from the Early Iron Age

The Grgar Basin and the valley of Cepovanski dol represent a natural passageway from the Vipava Valley to the valley of the River Idrijca, the upper Soca Valley and further westwards to the plateau of Banjska planota. In the Iron Age, the hillfort on the isolated hill of Grasisce above Grgar played an important role on this passageway. Its strategic location enabled control over the lines of communication, while the fertile plain below provided subsistence. The rescue archaeological investigations conducted on the northern slope of Grasisce in 2005 revealed a stonework rampart associated with two retaining walls, as well as a stone-faced retaining terrace on the gentler north-eastern slope. The recovered small finds show that the hillfort was inhabited in the Iron Age, but before that also in the Bronze Age and later occasionally in the Roman period. Additional evidence of habitation are the finds that came to light during the earthworks conducted in 1977 on the south-eastern slope and the surface finds from the central part of the hillfort collected in 1978, 2001 and 2005.