Rasto Božič
Mesto situl
“Then he stepped to the kiln and stroke a fire. The smoke came out of the side opening, the flame bursted out. Again he reached into his bag, tossed a fist of pitch, wooden chips and salt into the kiln. He crossed the fingers of his hands on his chest and bent down his head. A loud hush came out of the kiln; the fire blazed up in the kiln, the gods hearkened. The village stepped into the Iron Age. Rasto Božič
Rasto Božič was born in Novo mesto (1959) where he still lives and works as an independent journalist and amateur archaeologist. He studied archaeology on Ljubljana’s Faculty of Arts and spent most of his studying years on field. After fourth year he found himself in media. First he spent seventeen years as an editor of a local radio station. Five years ago he felt the need to try out the life of an independent reporter. Being a reporter for several magazines and newspapers with the status of freelance journalist he found some time to resurrect his love towards archaeology. He’s been a member of Slovene archaeological society since 1982. From the accompanying text
The City of Situlas is an archaeological-historical-fantastical story, which can be read as a novel about time and space or as linked up short stories. Throughout twenty chapters this story deals with traces of the first presence of a man on Novo mesto and wider Dolenjska region and places these traces into broader Slovene and European space. The author origins from actual scientific data; the chapters are wrapped around a certain archaeological found and take into consideration the historical facts; they comment them and upgrade them with a touch of imagination.
The reader walks unobtrusively through all archaeological periods, from the Stone Age up to early -Middle Age or more exactly to the establishing of Novo mesto city.
by
The purpose of the book is to complete often dull scientific explanations, to make the reader become fond of archaeology as a colourful and wide science about us, people, and the last but not the least to present the rich archaeological heritage to broader audience in a new, interesting manner.
The book is accompanied with notes, quotations the scientific literature and sources and artistic black-and-white photography of talented Novo mesto’s photography master Boštjan Pucelj.
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