BorderArch-Styria

The EU project “Register of archaeological sites along the Austrian-Slovenian border / Register arheoloških najdišč ob avstrijsko-slovenski mejni črti” (BorderArch-Steiermark) was a follow-up project to the EU project InterArch-Steiermark, funded by the program European Territorial Cooperation Slovenia-Austria 2007-2013.

It focused on the regions on both sides of the border between Styria and Eastern Slovenia. They share a common history through the millennia but the area was inaccessible to research for a long time due to modern borders. The project created a digital register of about 1,400 archaeological sites, some of which, such as Bubenberg/Hoarachkogel hill above Spielfeld (Novine pri Šentilju) or Platsch hill (Plački vrh) are split by the border. Another goal of the project was to support the monument authorities in the protection of such split sites.

In twelve months, the project team explored the region from the air, on the ground and even underground with archaeological excavations and geophysical surveys. The results of the research on the common archaeological heritage are managed in a database and can be accessed through the website www.interarch-steiermark.eu. The field research on the Bubenberg and Platsch hills was published in a joint publication.

The final conference “Archaeology, heritage management and tourism on the border / Arheologija, spomeniško varstvo in turizem ob meji,” which took place in the cultural hall of the municipality of Wagna and in the Pavel house in Laafeld near Radkersburg on March 13 and 14, 2015, provided information about the results of the project and about the shared archaeological heritage to a wide audience. The conference promoted the exchange of best practices between professionals from both countries and made people from the border region aware of their significant archaeological heritage and its benefits for tourism.

Project partners:

• Joanneum Universal Museum / Univerzalni muzej Joanneum
• Univerza v Ljubljani (Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za arheologijo) / University of Ljubljana (Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Archaeology)
• Zavod za varstvo kulturne dediščine Slovenije / Monuments Office of the Republic of Slovenia

Text: Dr. Marko Mele