Croatia, 13-19 November

What a relief to be able to leave gloomy English rain behind and get a snowy sneak peak of the capital of Croatia. In mid-November it was finally time to visit the Institute for Quaternary Palaentology and Geology in Zagreb. I was greatly looking forward to sampling faunal remains from Vindija for radiocarbon dating. The site is an impressive cave in the north of the country, extensively excavated in the 1970s and early 1980s. Apart from yielding substantial archaeological material, the site is best known for its Neanderthal remains. The layers of late Neanderthal occupation have long provided material for debate. Maybe sometime we will be holding the key to untangling the history of this breathtaking site and its former occupants. Until then, I thank Prof Ivor Karavanić and his student Mia Čujkević Plečko for bringing me here, even though the snow has already disappeared again. The lab awaits me...

Prof Ivor Karavanić (right) and Mia Čujkević Plečko (left) before the ascent to the Vindija

cave

Below: Drilling cut marked faunal remains for radiocarbon dating at the Institute of Quaternary Palaeontology and Geology, Zagreb.