Preliminarni rezultati arheoloških istraživanja palasa Starog grada Sokolca u Brinju

Abstract

On the hillside in the middle of the Brinje field is the Old Town, known as Sokolac. The medieval fortress was built in the 13th century, and its present feature dates back to the beginning of the 15th century. It consists of an irregular oval core arranged around the rectangular yard. The remains of the entrance tower are on the west side, while the eastern one is defined by a multi-storey building with a chapel. On the south side, there is a massive roundel. The whole hillside was surrounded by a defensive wall fortified by semicircular towers and a square entrance tower. It was built by the princes of Krčki who held it until the first half of the 16th century when the Military Frontier took over the fortress management. When the army left this area, the fortress was left to decay. This article presents the preliminary results of archaeological research conducted since 2014. Researches have contributed to new cognitions about the time of the fortress construction, as well as its development phases. This research activities have found the remains of a prehistoric settlement dating back to the late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Today's visible fortress was preceded by a rectangular object from 12th or 13th century. At the end of the 14th century, the fortress slowly takes on the visible contours and at the beginning of the 15th century, an object with a substructure and a chapel was built on the east side. In 1530, the Imperail Army took over the authority of the fortress and modifies the eastern side and built an outer defensive ring with semi-towers and bastions.