4
First Floor
Geological Image
Millions of years ago many animals, mainly sea shells, lived in the Pannonian Sea. The sand hardened into sandstone, and the silt into siltstone and marlstone. The ancient seabed has turned into the diverse relief of today’s Radgonske gorice. Together with the sunny slopes the rocks facilitate growing vines. These rocks also provide the basic building materials for architecture.
The flat country around Radgona was shaped by the Mura and its alluvium. The Mura is an alpine river. Glacial erosion spread huge quantities of stone gravel in the mountain valleys, which the Mura then carried along and deposited further downstream. In this way, vast areas of gravel dams emerged, covering both the Apače and Radenci plains
5
First Floor
First Settlement
The oldest settlement of the area dates back to the end of the Neolithic and the Copper Age. It is substantiated by finds of stone axes and by fragments of ceramics.
The beginning of the settlement in Gornja Radgona dates back to the Late Bronze Age between 950 and 800 BC. The settlement flourished during the Early Iron Age, from 720 to 600 BC. The preserved finds of stone moulds, slag and modest metal objects indicate the development of metallurgy. This, together with the development of trade, caused stratification among a single tribal community in which a ruling class emerged. The inhabitants of the settlement buried their dead under large mounds, which we also know from the surrounding area.
In central Europe, the time between 450 and 350 BC was marked by the Late Iron Age and the arrival of the Celts. In our area, the old order was maintained and even flourished, as evidenced by the discovery of 26 Negova helmets.
Evidence of a Roman settlement is suggested by barrows or tumuli while the Castle Hill was also settled by the first Slavs in the Early Middle Ages.