Prehistoric settlement at Ribnica near Brežice (south-east Slovenia)

The archaeological site of Ribnica near Brežice has been known to the general public since the mid-1950s as the location of the Roman roadside station Romula. Between 2001 and 2004, extensive archaeological excavations took place on the site because of the planned construction of the Ljubljana – Obrežje highway; among other things, it proved that this location was attractive not only to the Romans, but also to settlers in prehistory, the Middle Ages, and modern times. The earliest archaeological remains at Ribnica date to the Eneolithic period, followed by the Bronze Age settlement and a few pits from the La Tène period. Among the prehistoric finds, those from the Bronze Age are the most numerous, while those from the Eneolithic and the La Tène period appear only sporadically. Although two decades have passed since the excavations at Ribnica, the research results have not been published yet. In this paper, we provide an overview of the prehistoric remains discovered in Ribnica near Brežice.