History of Trieste: The Age of Illyrian Castellieri (1500-300 BCE)
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Castelliere of Rupinpiccolo: Ancient Illyrian fortress overlooking Trieste
What Role Did the Illyrians and Their Castellieri Play in the History of Trieste?
The Illyrian tribes shaped the history of Trieste through their castellieri - massive hilltop fortresses built between 1500-300 BCE along the Karst plateau. These ancient settlements, with walls reaching up to seven meters high, controlled all trade routes between the Adriatic Sea and Central Europe. Built from local limestone without mortar, over 500 castellieri once dotted the landscape around Trieste, creating a sophisticated network of fortified communities that established the region's first organized trading system. Today, these impressive ruins still dominate the approaches to Trieste, marking the earliest phase of the city's development as a major maritime trading center.
1. The Peoples of Early Trieste: Illyrian Tribes of the Adriatic
Illyrian artifact discovered in one of Trieste's castellieri
Archaeological evidence paints a clear picture. Three distinct Illyrian tribes made this region their home from the late Bronze Age through the Iron Age. The Histri claimed the coast and nearby heights, their settlements dotting the limestone cliffs from modern Trieste down through Istria. The seafaring Liburni controlled the waters, their sleek ships connecting the northern Adriatic to distant shores. Inland, the Japodes held the mountain passes, ensuring their voice would be heard in any discussion of trade.
These weren't primitive peoples. In their graves, Baltic amber lies beside Greek pottery. Their metalwork shows sophisticated techniques borrowed from Etruscan craftsmen. At sites like Cattinara, layers of artifacts reveal communities deeply connected to the wider Mediterranean world through trade and cultural exchange.
2. Engineering Marvels: The Castellieri of Ancient Trieste
Engineering techniques of Illyrian castellieri walls
The castellieri stand as their greatest achievement. At Rupinpiccolo, where the walls still reach seven meters high, their engineering genius becomes clear. Without mortar, using only the limestone beneath their feet, they created fortifications that have outlasted empires. Two parallel walls of massive stones, the space between filled with smaller rocks and earth – a technique that still impresses modern builders.
These fortresses followed the terrain. At Monte Giove, the builders used natural cliffs as part of their defenses, adding walls only where nature needed reinforcement. They carved channels into the limestone to capture precious rainfall, creating cisterns that could sustain communities through long sieges. Every castelliere had at least two others in view, forming a network that could signal danger or opportunity across miles of territory.
Size mattered. The smallest castellieri spanned barely 200 meters in circumference, just enough to shelter a small community and their livestock. The largest stretched over a kilometer around, encompassing not just homes but workshops, storage areas, and spaces for traders to gather. Each was positioned with careful thought – controlling ancient paths, overlooking harbors, or guarding mountain passes that connected coast to interior.
3. Life in Prehistoric Trieste: Inside the Castellieri
Life in an Illyrian castelliere of ancient Trieste
Archaeological layers tell intimate stories of daily life. In one level, we find delicate bronze fibulae – cloak pins decorated with intricate patterns. Above them lie fragments of black pottery with geometric designs that speak of connections to Greek traders. Higher still, iron tools show how metalworking technology spread through these communities.
The castellieri weren't just military outposts. They were living communities where crafts flourished and trade goods changed hands. At sites across the Karst plateau, archaeologists have uncovered workshops where bronzesmiths created tools and weapons. They've found storage areas filled with pottery from distant lands, and evidence of weaving, leatherworking, and other crafts.
4. Archaeological Discoveries: Uncovering Trieste's Ancient Past
Early archaeological excavations of Trieste's castellieri
Time buried these ancient stones beneath centuries of misconception. Local folklore spoke of Roman forts, of Attila's strongholds, of medieval watchtowers. The true story of the castellieri lay forgotten, waiting for someone to read the clues left in limestone and artifact.
That someone arrived in the form of Carlo De Franceschi, a 19th-century historian whose curiosity couldn't be contained by accepted wisdom. Walking these windswept heights, he saw what others had missed – signs of life far older than Rome. His identification of Nesactium, the ancient capital of the Histri, shattered centuries of assumption. These weren't Roman outposts. They were the homes of peoples who had watched Roman ships arrive as strangers on their shores.
But it was Carlo Marchesetti who truly breathed life back into the castellieri. Between 1883 and 1892, this Triestine archaeologist climbed every promising height, documented every weathered wall. At Cattinara, his careful excavations revealed layer upon layer of human presence. Each stratum told its story – here a bronze pin that once fastened a cloak, there a shard of black pottery with distinctive handles that spoke of ancient craft traditions. Working site by site, artifact by artifact, Marchesetti reconstructed a lost world.
Modern archaeology has refined our understanding further. We now know the builders of these fortresses adapted their techniques to local materials and terrain. Along the coast and southern Istria, they raised massive stone walls that still impress today. Inland, where different resources dominated, they created earthen ramparts crowned with wooden palisades. At sites like Monte Ursino and Fontana del Conte, archaeologists have discovered how these ancient engineers solved the problem of building on uneven ground, creating stable platforms that have outlasted empires.
The ALTOADRIATICO project has mapped an intricate network of power and influence. Over 280 castellieri in Italian territory, another 50 in modern Slovenia – each positioned with careful thought for defense and control. They cluster along the coastal ridges overlooking the Gulf of Trieste, ancient sentinels still keeping their watch. Fewer settlements dot the flatlands between parallel ranges of hills, suggesting a people who preferred command of the heights.
Recent discoveries have illuminated how these hilltop communities connected to the sea below. At Stramare di Muggia, near where the River Ospo meets the bay, archaeologists have found one of Trieste's first ports. Here, beneath the watchful eyes of multiple castellieri, ships once sheltered in a protected inlet near fresh water springs. Similar discoveries near the Timavo springs paint a picture of a sophisticated maritime culture that understood the value of safe harbors.
The artifacts tell intimate stories. A piece of kiln, preserved in Trieste's museums, speaks of craftsmen who knew how to shape clay into vessels. A bronze hairpin, carefully worked with decorative globes, suggests the personal adornments of someone who lived in the 7th century BCE. Each fragment adds another brushstroke to our portrait of these ancient peoples.
Even the construction techniques reveal their secrets to careful study. What was once thought to be simple collapsed walls has proved to be sophisticated engineering. The builders created stable platforms by interleaving stone and earth, developing techniques that modern archaeologists are still working to fully understand. At Rupinpiccolo, where ancient walls still stretch 250 meters around the hilltop, two entrance gates suggest a community that balanced defense with the needs of trade and daily life.
These discoveries have transformed our understanding of ancient Trieste. What were once mysterious piles of stone have emerged as the remains of a sophisticated culture that controlled this crucial corner of the Adriatic for nearly a thousand years. The castellieri weren't just fortresses – they were the foundation stones of a society that understood how to use geography to its advantage, a people who saw the potential in this meeting point of sea and mountain paths.
5. Maritime Trade in Ancient Trieste: The Castellieri Network
Geography dictated their choices. The castellieri overlooking what would become Trieste's harbor didn't just watch for enemies – they monitored trade. Every ship seeking shelter from the fierce Bora wind would have to pass beneath their walls. Every merchant carrying goods between coast and interior would need their permission to proceed.
This wasn't just about control. The castellieri created secure spaces where traders could meet and exchange goods safely. Their elevated positions protected merchants from raiders while offering clear views of approaching weather or trouble. Many of these ancient trading posts grew into medieval towns, their modern streets following paths worn by Bronze Age feet.
6. Shaping Trieste's Territory: The Illyrian Legacy
The influence of these fortified settlements reached far beyond their walls. At key points along the coast, smaller outposts facilitated maritime trade. The discovery of Liburnian ship designs – so advanced that Romans would later copy them – shows how sophisticated their maritime technology had become. Interior castellieri controlled access to resources like metal ores and timber, creating a complex economic network.
Their real genius lay in creating a system where each settlement played its part. Coastal castellieri managed maritime trade. Highland fortresses controlled inland routes. Together, they transformed a challenging landscape into an organized territory where commerce could flourish.
7. From Illyrian to Roman Trieste: A Time of Transition
The Romans couldn't ignore such a well-organized region controlling vital trade routes. In 177 BCE, their legions finally conquered these lands. By then, many castellieri had stood for a thousand years. The Romans were practical people – they didn't destroy what worked. Instead, they absorbed these ancient fortresses into their own system. Many castellieri became Roman settlements. Their paths became Roman roads. Their trading networks fed into Roman commerce.
8. The Living Legacy: Ancient Trieste Today
Preserving Trieste's ancient Illyrian heritage
Today, more than 500 castellieri dot the landscape around Trieste. Some, like Rupinpiccolo, still impress with their massive walls. Others have melted back into the limestone that birthed them, visible only to trained eyes. Yet their influence persists. Modern roads follow their ancient paths. Towns stand where they once guarded crucial passes. Even Trieste's modern port operates in waters they once watched over.
Stand atop Monte Giove today. The view hasn't changed much since Illyrian sentries watched these waters. Below, massive container ships enter the harbor where Liburnian trading vessels once sought shelter. Inland, trucks rumble along roads that follow paths these ancient peoples first marked out. The Illyrians saw what we still see – that this meeting point of sea and mountain routes could become something special. In building their castellieri, they laid the foundations for what Trieste would become.
Walk the ruins of a castelliere. Touch stones shaped by Bronze Age hands. Look out across the territories they once controlled. These weren't just fortresses – they were the seeds from which a great trading city would grow. Their builders are gone, but their vision lives on in every ship that enters Trieste's harbor, in every trade route that passes beneath their ancient walls.