The Hills. Episode 1 - From the Eastern Alps to the Savinja Valley.

Описание: Welcome to the mysterious and majestic world of the Early Iron Age near the Eastern Alps! In this video I’d like to walk you through several hilltop settlements and hillforts located in Styria - both in its Austrian and Slovenian parts.

You will learn why small Austrian villages such as Strettweg (Murtal) or Burgstall (Sulmtal) have such great meaning for everyone fascinated by prehistory. You will see what people’s lives may have looked like in the area of modern Maribor, and you will travel a little along the ancient Amber Road. You will also get familiar with hilltop settlements in the area of modern Celje. And finally, we’ll try to analyze what could have caused the decline of Styrian hillforts on the edge between the 6th and 5th centuries BC.

All field footage, drone shots, and museum/site photos in this video are my own. Alongside maps and reference images, I want to give you the feeling that we’re discovering these places together. I hope you enjoy the journey - and come away with a few new ideas along the way 🙂

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:32 Falkenberg: Secrets Above the Valley
06:25 Sulmtal: A Hidden Realm of Princes
16:23 Along the Drava: Where Cultures Met
19:46 Poštela: Watching the Plains, Guarding the Dead
22:54 Near the Amber Road: Hillforts in Its Shadow
26:38 Rifnik: High Above, Open to Distant Worlds
30:18 Hom: The Mystery of the Lost Settlement
38:33 Between Earth and Sky: What Were the Hillforts For?
49:29 Sources & Credits
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Museum footage: Some visuals in this video were filmed or photographed in museums in Austria and Slovenia. Huge thanks to the curators and teams who preserve and present this heritage. Featured museums:

1. Universalmuseum Joanneum — Archaeology Museum at Eggenberg Palace (Graz, Austria)
2. Regional Museum of Celje (Pokrajinski muzej Celje) — Celje, Slovenia
3. Lower Carniola Museum (Dolenjski muzej) — Novo Mesto, Slovenia

Warm thanks to Oksana Lozynska (Instagram: @best_ever_ksu) for her beautiful illustrations created for this episode!
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The video includes a brief AI-generated illustrative scene, near the end.