The Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Early Iron Age in Slovenia have been well studied, thanks to the many published sites, especially necropolises in the Dolenjska region. Until a decade ago, regional chronological phases were based mainly on the comparative chronology of individual Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age groups and on comparing individual regional phases with the contemporaneous phases of neighbouring regions especially in Italy, the Balkans and central Europe. New in-depth studies of necropolises, including the eponymous site in Ljubljana (Dvorišče SAZU), and a series of completely new radiocarbon dates from different Slovenian regions have enabled major advances in our understanding of the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age.

In our presentation, we aim to present new findings on the beginning of the Early Iron Age in Slovenia or to shed light on the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. Particular attention will be paid to the appearance of iron funerary attires, especially jewellery (fibulae, bracelets, necklets, pins), which mark the so-called ‘Iron Horizon' as early as the Ha B3. During the 9th century BC, somewhere in the 850/820 BC, a number of changes, innovations and the beginning of the Iron Age in Slovenia occurred. Based on the modelled C14 dates and the re-evaluation of regional phases, we want to show the concurrence of the Podzemelj 1-2 / Primo Ferro 2 phases, which mark the beginning of a new era.