The designed thematic archeological and botanical trails, which we offer in the web and mobile app »Kaštelir« (https://map.kastelir.eu/), can be enriched with experiential ethnological, botanical and other educational workshops. Just as the oldest researchers of hill forts, among which Carlo Marchesseti (1850-1926) from Trieste is worth mentioning, knew that ancient Istria and the Karst can only be truly understood if they indulge in the magic of travel, so we can now indulge in new experiences and tourism program. In a modern and interactive way, they can take us to a time when the first knowledge of collecting and preparing edible wild plants and other culinary ingredients, dry stone walling techniques, ways of shaping clay and making pottery, ways of its artistic decoration and painting, old music and others mystical rituals about the nature and souls in the afterlife. We paid special attention to hill forts with areas with rich, but less researched sites.

Materials / studies on the creation of tourist experiences, programs and products:

• Bratina, Patricija; Brezigar, Barbara (2019) Koncept ureditve notranje in zunanje info točke v Štanjelu - Strokovna izhodišča in gradiva za prezentacijo in interpretacijo prazgodovinske in povezane dediščine Štanjela in Krasa na osnovi arheoloških in drugih podatkov/virov. Projektno gradivo
• Kolenc, Nataša (2020) Koncept prezentacije in interpretacije prazgodovinske in povezane dediščine Štanjela in Krasa za obiskovalce s predlogom načina umestitve v razpoložljive zunanje in notranje prostore. Projektno gradivo
• Prašnikar, Astrid (2018). Oblikovanje in izdelava idejne zasnove turističnega paketa / doživetja ter soavtorica scenarija za promocijski film z besedilom. Projektno gradivo.
• Fakin Bajec, Jasna (2021) Oblikovanje in izdelava turističnih produktov in turističnih paketov ter strategije trženja le-teh: Dežela prazgodovinskih gradišč – kaštelirjev, projektno gradivo.
• Prunk, Špela (2020) Delovno gradivo za izdelavo idejne zasnove prazgodovinske posode/sklede kot spominka – projekt Kaštelir: izbor keramičnih najdb. Projektno gradivo.
• Fakin Bajec, Jasna 2020. Delovno gradivo za pripravo prazgodovinske jedi. Projektno gradivo.

You can get to know the products better and experience them - experiences:

• by watching short presentation films - links,
• by exploring Štanjel (Komen) with the help of AR app and digital guide Aviko: interpreted tour THROUGH ŠTANJEL, THROUGH TIME - link,
• by exploring the fort Rašpor and the info-interpretation center in Račja Vas (Lanišče)
• by exploring the fort Ozida and the info-interpretation center in Mošćenička Draga
• by exploring the fort Kašler Korte and the info-interpretation center in Korte (Izola)
• by visiting the exhibition HIDDEN ŠTANJEL - link,
• by tasting the prehistoric dish ...
• by purchasing a souvenir - Dom na Krasu ..
• by travelling through the Land of Hill Forts

The reconstructed prehistoric dish, prepared according to the recipe of the Primorska "mineštra", is enriched with old cereals - spelt, home-grown vegetables (carrots, leaves and celery tubers), herbs (savory, rosemary, parsley) and lamb, sheep and pig meat. Selected caterers from the Karst and Istria offer it in a reconstructed prehistoric ceramic bowl with a wart-shaped applique, which combines a pinch of Karst and Istrian soil, water, the power of fire and the skill of local hands.

We formed the interpretation of the former nutrition on the basis of remains on ceramic bowls, plant pollen, seed remains, burnt animal bones, and reconstructions of pots, stoves and other kitchen tools. We know that the peoples of that time were already roasting the meat of domesticated animals (goats, sheep, pigs) and fish, growing old cereals (wheat, barley, millet, spelt) in the fields, and gathering forest fruits in the nearby forests (hazelnuts, raspberries, blackberries, wild apples), animal eggs and honey, they ate grapes and wild plants as well. They brewed beer from barley, made cheeses, sweet honey liquor and other delicacies, and baked bread in simple bread ovens, at least since the Neolithic. This way of preparing food was preserved even during the Bronze and Iron Ages. It was only with the arrival of the Romans that the way of farming, the preparation, and distribution of food changed radically.

RECIPE FOR PREHISTORIC DISH "MINEŠTRA":

200 g of carrots
100 g of celery stalks
600 g of celery tubers
250 g of spelt
olive oil
3 liters of cold water
500 g of goat meat
800 g of lamb meat
100 g bacon
3 sprigs of rosemary
3 sprigs of savory
3 cloves garlic (25 g)
25 g of parsley
800 g of chickpeas

PREPARATION:

Cut the carrot, tuber and stalka of celery into smaller pieces and place together with the spelt in a larger pot. Quickly fry everything in olive oil. Then pour the ingredients with 2 liters of cold water. Add water during cooking if necessary (approx. 1 liter). If we have fresh herbs (rosemary, savory), we use them together with vegetables. Dried herbs are added at the end of cooking. When the spelt is half cooked (approx. half an hour, depending on the type of spelt), add sliced goat meat, lamb meat and 80 g of bacon. Cook everything together until the meat separates from the bones (approx. 1 hour). Ten minutes before the end of cooking, add the cooked chickpeas. Then add the mince (ie. a mixture made of 20 g of bacon, chopped garlic and parsley, which were previously mixed) to the »mineštra«.

The recipe was prepared by members of the Association for the Development of Agriculture and Tourism - Planta in cooperation with dr. Jasna Fakin Bajec. The ingredients can be adapted to your tastes, care must be taken to use foods of local origin, which were already known in the time of the hill forts.

INGREDIENTS KNOWN IN THE AREA DURING LIFE IN HILL FORTS

MEAT: Sheep, goat, pig, cattle (not dominated by wild animals, this was during the Stone and Copper Ages).
FISH: Fish, shellfish.
CEREALS: Different types of wheat, barley, millet, spelt.
LEGUMES: Lentils, peas, beans, chickpeas.
VEGETABLES: Leek, carrots, kohlrabi tuber, cabbage.
FOREST FRUITS, BERRIES: Blackthorn, dog-rose, blackberries, raspberries, wild strawberries, blueberries, cornelian cherries, sorb fruits, chequers, cherries, hazelnuts, wild apples and pears, walnuts, figs, grapes.
EDIBLE WILD PLANTS, HERBS: Karst savory, thyme, oregano, sage, elderberry (flowers and strawberries), jujube, sage, nettle.
DAIRY PRODUCTS: In the time of hill forts, goat's and cow's milk was also used for secondary products, they made cheese and cottage cheese.
DRINK: wine (domestic and imported Greek, Italian - in any case only red wine), beer brewed from barley, honey liquor, fruit wine (eg. cider). They did not know spirits.

Mainly to feel and understand the generosity of nature, the importance of land and water, the importance of joint creation and to remind the valuable pottery knowledge of our ancestors, who lived in our territory during the Bronze and Iron Ages. To remember them and pay respect to them. To revive, protect and preserve this rich and neglected heritage for future generations. So that we would appreciate it and be proud of it. Because it is a part of every human being, a part of mankind.

The stove was temporarily placed in the garden of the Kobdilj Tower - the Tower at the Gate of Štanjel, with the aim of staging a reconstruction of a prehistoric stove. As such a stove is exposed to adverse weather conditions, its durability is endangered especially in winter. Therefore, as part of the project, it was placed inside the tower - as part of the exhibition HIDDEN ŠTANJEL, a model of a prehistoric stove, which will have an educational purpose.

Working material - types of dishes from the archaeological contexts of prehistoric hillforts in the Karst and Casellieri in Istria

BOWL DESCRIPTION: An attempt to reconstruct a prehistoric bowl
Selected sample no. 1.
The dish is GLAZED and meets all the conditions for NUTRITIONAL PURPOSES.

Volume at least 0.5L - 0.7L; Height 6-7cm; Width 17-18cm
Exterior: coarse-grained unglazed brown
Interior: glazed with semi-matte TRANSPARENT glaze, COLORED WITH PIGMENTS.

Materials used: Clay: Fuchs-ton schwarz S 4015, 1000-1180; Glaze: translucent matte Samson Kamnik; Pigments: dark brown Kili D5288 and Botz hellgelb 9042

Production: From full volume. Interior polished with stone due to protruding coarse particles in the clay. On the outer surface, prints of sessile twigs.

Baking: First baking at 1120 * C; Glaze baking at 1050 * C

Packaging: the base is tree bark: a bowl and bark are symbolically connected by a copper wire, between which a scroll is inserted with a description of how the dish was created, alongside the contents of the prehistoric "story" and added logos.

DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY OF THE PRODUCT FOR CONTACT WITH FOOD
Ceramic bowl – glaze migration test
Test performed by: National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food; Chemical testing record no. 2131b-21/87905-21/48631; Date of sample result: 7 June 2021; Test number: 21/48631

Demonstration of the dish manufacture

The bowl will be used as a souvenir from the project area in sustainable tourism. The special social welfare institution DOM NA KRASU Dutovlje and its residents were actively involved in the development of the souvenir within the Kaštelir project. As part of the project, they were trained to be able to make bowls independently in their workshops, under the mentorship of two working work instructors. They fill them with various additives such as herbs, candle holder, etc. The souvenir is available in Dom na Krasu and in tourist information centers, shops and restaurants; their purchase price is returned in full to the institution. This gave the project an extremely important social and humanitarian note.

The residents of Dom na Krasu add a special message to each bowl, which reads: "The residents of Dom na Krasu breathed life into prehistoric bowls and souvenirs, weaving their indelible trace into them by kneading and shaping clay. Just as our ancestors did, who also lived in our territory during the Bronze and Iron Ages. We applied Karst soil to the bowls - a pinch of home-made lumps from the local hill forts, which is the most you can take from our places with you around the world. Let it remind you again and again of the generosity of nature, the importance of land and water, and the value of pottery knowledge throughout history. Thank you for recognising our efforts to notice, protect, revive, cherish, and preserve this rich but overlooked heritage for future generations. It is a part of each of us, a part of humanity."

Contacts for the purchase of bowls as a sustainable tourist souvenir: Dom na Krasu, Dutovlje 128, Dutovlje

Contact person: Martina Ćiković, martina.cikovic@domnakrasu.si

New knowledge and research on the culture of life in the Bronze and Iron Ages can be offered by thematic festivals, where the content is intertwined with archaeological findings, but presented in a creative and modern way. They take us into the world of spiritual culture, where music, fine arts, dance, rituals, cuisine and other spiritual elements connect nature with culture, earthly life with afterlife, reason with magic, the past with the present. The celebrations were formed in the distant past, they were associated with the worship of nature, which changed according to the time of year. Because people were very connected to nature and feared that nature would not wake up, they worshiped natural forces with special rituals, which were especially mysterious during the summer and winter solstice and the spring and autumn equinoxes.

FESTIVAL ARCHIVE

• ŠTANJEL - GLEDANICA,
• KORTE - IZOLA
• CROATIAN PART OF ISTRIA