The master’s thesis had two objectives. The first was to develop a model that allows the assessment of the archaeological potential of caves and can be used as a tool to guide field research in a given area. The second objective was to establish guidelines for non-invasive and systematic archaeological observation and documentation of karst caves within a specific landscape. The proposed method was tested on the example of Bela Krajina.
Based on a review of all available data, the caves in the study area were classified into groups according to their predicted archaeological potential. This assessment relied primarily on the records of the Kataster jam Jamarske zveze Slovenije as well as accessible literature and sources. Field surveys were conducted at 57 of these locations. In addition to 11 cave sites already documented in archaeological databases and literature prior to the study, 21 new cave sites were identified.
Systematic and targeted field surveying of caves revealed that the actual number of cave sites is significantly higher than indicated by previous research.
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