Črnomelj

The Late Iron Age metal finds discovered in 1999 in the hillfort of Semenič above Gaber pri Semiču in Bela krajina, together with the well-known cemetery on Pungart at Metlika, prove that the northern regions of Bela krajina belonged to the Mokronog group of central Slovenia, Dolenjska (Lower Carniola) and Štajerska (Styria). In Dolenjska the group's population was most probably formed by the Celtic Taurisci and the indigenes. The central and southern regions of Bela krajina were occupied by the Vinica group, to which at present only the settlement at Črnomelj and the great cemetery of Stražni dol near Golek pri Vinici can be ascribed. The boundary between the Mokronog and the Vinica groups lay in the territory of Podzemelj, as La Tène pottery from the settlement on the Kučar hill can be closely compared to that from sites of the Mokronog group, while cremation graves on the margin of the great tumulus no. 32 at Brodaričeva loza contained objects typical for the
Vinica group.
The population of the Vinica group has until now been attributed to the Iapodes. But the analysis of some types of grave finds shows that some are identical to those known from the sites of the Iapodes in Lika and in the Una valley, and some are just like those which appear in the Mokronog group. Moreover, numerous finds represent special types, known exclusively or predominantly from the sites of the Vinica group. The author's opinion is, therefore, that we must agree with Jaro Šašel, who in 1983 proposed that the Kolpa valley and Bela krajina (but not, of course, its northern regions) were settled by the south Pannonian tribe of the Colapiani.

The article discusses the grave stele of one Iulia Iucunda, found in Črnomelj in the province of Pannonia (National Museum of Slovenia, inv. no. L 119). The busts of the couple are carved within the main field, whereas the relief frieze bearing the scene of the funerary banquet (cena funebris, German Totenmahl) follows below. It is represented in differentia specifica for that province, as the reclining deceased is absent. The unexpected figure for the funerary banquet is the naked figure at the far left, stepping towards mensa tripes. Considering its posture, it resembles the satyrs (type Askophoros A) or the personifications of the Seasons as the youth. In their left, the figure carries a pedum, with a basket or a bundle (?) hanging down from its bent end. In their other hand, a hardly distinguishable curved object is visible: a sickle or a pruning knife (?). However, the pedum is the standard attribute for both mythological entities, while the sickle is common for the personification of Summer, and the pruning knife for both, satyrs, and Autumn. As both mythological beings share the posture as well as several attributes and the carved figure is mal preserved, it is almost impossible to claim which one of them is shown.However, none of them is represented in the funerary sculpture neither in Neviodunum nor in Siscia, although both are quite popular in the adjacent province of Noricum, in which the comparable figures are dated after the first quarter of the 3rd century. One of the open issues is the dating of the stele, as in the hitherto literature it spans from the late 1st till the beginning of the 3rd century. As the coiffure of the spouse resembles the Severan hair dresses, perhaps mostly the one of Iulia Maesa, and her husband wears a sagum, which was worn by both, military and civilians, especially after the rule of emperor Caracalla, the dating to the first third of the 3rd century seems more plausible.

Komtur nemškega viteškega reda oziroma metliški prošt v njegovem imenu na »svojem« teritoriju pri podeljevanju cerkvenih služb nista imela ovir, zato so bili skoraj vsi duhovniki v metliškem okraju oz. komisariatu, v katerega je cerkvenoupravno spadala Bela krajina, člani nemškega viteškega reda. Prispevek poskuša ponovno odkriti že zdavnaj pozabljene življenjske poti belokranjskih duhovnikov, delujočih v času prvega goriškega nadškofa Karla Mihaela Attemsa. Članek je brati kot dopolnilo in v nekaterih pogledih nadgradnjo članka Bela krajina v vizitacijskih zapisnikih goriškega nadškofa Karla Mihaela Attemsa (1752–1774) v pričujoči številki Kronike. Pri sestavi biogramov so nam bili v pomoč vizitacijski zapisniki, ki se hranijo v Nadškofijskem arhivu v italijanski Gorici, ordinacijski zapisniki iz videmskega in goriškega nadškofijskega arhiva, številne matične knjige iz ljubljanskega nadškofijskega arhiva ter tudi nekateri objavljeni arhivski viri.