Grains of millet found during archaeological excavations in the northern region of Koroška have been carbon dated back to 1300-1200 BC, which makes them the oldest yet found in Slovenia.

The sediment containing charred millet grains and cereal husks was found at a prehistoric site on the Pigl Hill near the Javornik Mansion in Ravne na Koroškem in what was the oldest known settlement in Koroška.

Finding the millet "was like winning the lottery," Saša Djura Jelenko, the archaeologist who led the excavations at the site, told reporters on 19 March.

The area was recognised as an archaeological site in 1992 and protected as a cultural heritage site ten years later. The most recent excavations there were conducted from 2021 to 2023 in preparation for the construction of a new building next to the Javornik Mansion.

The archeological site where the oldest millet grains in the country have been found. Photo: Klemen Uršnik/Koroška Regional Museum

The grains were discovered as the sediment from the site was analysed in a lab. Two samples were sent to the Poznan Radiocarbon Laboratory in Poland for dating. One was dated to around 800-700 BC, while the other was shown to be from around 1300 or 1200 BC, said archaeobotanist Tjaša Tolar.

Until now the oldest grains of millet discovered in Slovenia dated back to around 900-1000 years BC.

The new finding, which amounts to ten charred grains, is kept by the Archaeology Institute, which also keeps the records on oldest discovered grains.

"For now the millet from Javornik is the oldest in Slovenia. But we need to bear in mind that in the past samples were not always taken from archaeological sites, or at least not as often as today," the archaeologists said.

Neighbouring countries have found grains of millet dating back to the 15th and 16th century BC, said Tolar, who expects that in Slovenia too older grains will be discovered.

Further analyses showed that in addition to millet, the settlers in the region also cultivated wheat and barley.

Pottery fragments found at the Javornik archeological site. Photo: Jožica Hrustel Hercigonja/Koroška Regional Museum

The area where the millet was found was first settled in the early Bronze Age but then abandoned for some 2,500 years. It was settled again from around the 15th and 14th centuries BC in the middle Bronze Age until the late Bronze Age.

In a nearby cave, dating to the early Bronze Age, the archaeologists also discovered a ceramic bottle with traces of lead.

"This could mean that the production or use of lead in the Mežica Valley could be much older than we believed," said Djura Jelenko. Further research is needed to verify that the bottle was not brought to the cave more recently.