REFLECTIONS OF PREHISTORY IN BRONZE Novo mesto in the Early Iron Age (8th– 4th century BC) represents one of the larger centres in Europe at the time. It was dominated by a large hillfort settlement on the Marof hill, which was surrounded by many barrow cemeteries and isolated barrows. Archaeological excavations that have taken place in Novo mesto since the end of the 19th century have so far uncovered fifty three earthen barrows with almost a thousand excavated Early Iron Age graves. These contained numerous archaeological artefacts. These include nine bronze situlae decorated in the Situla Art style, which represents the greatest artistic expression and crowning achievement of Iron Age Europe.

The society that lived in relative prosperity in Dolenjska was extremely socially differentiated. A distinct class of Hallstatt princes that held the reins of leading economic, political, military and spiritual power in its hands also expressed its status through external »glitter«, which was represented by prestigious locally produced and imported metal, glass and amber artefacts. These include small bronze buckets or situlae, which served as tableware. It is posited that they were used at banquets and celebrations to serve intoxicating drink, such as mead or even wine, which was brought along the trade routes from coastal areas, where the grape vine prospered, unlike in Dolenjska at this time. The situlae were decorated with dynamic figural depictions of humans and animals that are always depicted in movement, which is also an essential characteristic of Situla Art.

The term Situla Art is used to denote a form of artistic expression, executed on thin bronze sheet, which flourished in the area of modern northern Italy, Slovenia, Istria, north-eastern and western Austria in the mid 1st millennium BC. Situla friezes were executed on situlae, lids, dagger and sword scabbards, as well as on belt plates, cista á cordoni, helmets, earrings and votive plaques.

The idea of Situla Art developed in the Near East at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. During the period of the floruit of Mediterranean trade, Phoenician trade contacts, the rise of the Greek city states and their establishment of colonies throughout the Mediterranean, contact took place in the Apennine peninsula between Greek civilization and Greek Orientalising Art on the one hand and the Etruscans on the other. They passed it on to the Early Iron Age population in the foothills of the Alps.

The Iron Age brought a fundamental change in the conceptual world of humankind in continental Europe, which on coming into contact with Mediterranean elements also expressed its concepts in dynamic narratives, its own form of script, which in its informative artistic language included mythic and heroic tales, important events and actions. It thus became a chronicler in a time of self-awareness and quest for both personal identity and the identity of society itself in its entirety.

The basic concept of the artistic presentation was initially »drawn« on the interior of the bronze sheet and only then was it executed with small metal chisels and awls on the exterior. Additional beating on the interior produced a shallow relief, which served to further dramatise and emphasis the narrative. All the figures were generally shown in profile, often in stylised form, but with details that indicate their actions and tasks, because they are always represented in movement. The sequentially represented events are shown in the same level, because there is no perspective or proportions.

The narrative and decorations on the situlae are presented in zones in horizontal bands, which are separated from each other by one or two raised cordon.

Several figural decorated bands usually appear on the classic, figural decorated situlae, created in the period of the 6th and 5th centuries BC. These bear rich narratives, which encompass festive processions of people on foot, horsemen and passengers in wagons, duels and hunting scenes, feasts and celebrations with musical and sporting events. At the turn of the 4th century BC the narrative was reduced to a single figural decorated band, whilst the remainder of the situla was covered by repetitive geometric or vegetal decoration. Human figures disappear completely from the latest works of Situla Art and only the procession of horned animals survives.

THE SITULA NARRATIVE OF NOVO MESTO
The situlae found in Novo mesto date to the later period of the creation of works of Situla Art, to the 5th and 4th centuries BC.

The works of Situla Art from Novo mesto display a special feature of this area. Their number bears witness to the economic rise of the society in this region and indicates the existence of a local Situla workshop, which followed the basic trends, but still preserved the narrative and even introduced novel features into Situla Art iconography. The narrative on the situlae was still preserved in three friezes, but at the same time produced the only bronze belt that is known so far, which is entirely decorated in the Situla Art style. It displays net fishing, a hare hunt, an erotic scene and numerous animals, various, birds, a horse and a wolf.

The artistic language of the late situlae is not as rich in comparison to the classical earlier forms, but still reveals, illuminates and aids in the understanding of a whole range of relationships in society. It illustrates events, artefacts and the animal world, as well as offering knowledge, which other archaeological artefacts do not. They depict the passengers in a four-wheeled wagon, a hunter with bow and trained hound, a caravan with horsemen and pack horses, laden with salt or wine skins, as well as horrifying scenes of combat and death.

The eloquent speech of the Novo mesto situlae complements and enriches the treasury of the cultural heritage of the world and draws attention to the indispensible contribution of Dolenjska in the 1st millennium BC to the formation of the common European cultural area. The artistic efforts of the toreutic craftsmen of Novo mesto during the period of the formation of European civilisation and culture have placed Novo mesto side by side with the most important European centres. The Dolenjski muzej (Dolenjska Museum) that keeps this important legacy of ancient artistic craftsmen seeks to present the memory and aesthetic values, which not even centuries have destroyed. They still preserve their former lustre, even though they were created in fragile bronze.