Jazinka cave, hidden on the slopes of the left bank of the Krka River, was the abode of prehistoric people in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Excavation has confirmed that Jazinka was utilized for inhabitation, but also for ritual purposes, i.e. for burial.
The cave is located on the left bank of the Krka River, several hundred meters downstream from the medieval fortress of Nečven at a height above sea level of 216 meters. The cave was first entered in 2006 by members of the Speleological Society Sveti Mihovil from Šibenik. In 2008 and 2009, the Krka National Park and the Municipal Museum of Drniš undertook archaeological excavations in the cave. The archaeological research confirmed that the cave was utilized in prehistory for dwelling and to bury the deceased.
Jazinka cave is a structure of a simple morphological type, with a total length of 42 m. The entrance is located on the slope of the canyon and is difficult to see. In front of it there is an embankment that additionally protects it from being seen. A path once passed by it towards the Krka River is overgrown and impassable today. The entrance chamber, which is also the most spacious part of the cave, was utilized as a dwelling, as it shown by a cultural layer with a large quantity of pottery remains. At the back of the cave there is a smaller oval chamber in which human skeletal remains were discovered, which suggests that this part of the structure was used for a ritual purpose, i.e. for the burial of the deceased. Human bones were found everywhere, without a single compact grave. At a height of 5 m in the chamber there is a gallery to which one cannot climb without speleological equipment. Human bones were found in the gallery, suggesting that it was also used as a burial site.
Archaeological excavations uncovered a large quantity of pottery fragments and animal bones. The fragments of pottery vessels and metal jewelry show that these objects could be dated to the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. The vessels were made without a potter’s wheel with an admixture of calcite and were unevenly fired. Individual vessels were decorated with incisions, finger impressions, and on two fragments crescent shaped relief handles were noted, which had both decorative and functional purposes. Additionally, several metal objects were found, such as bronze bow fibulae, a spiral spectacle pendant, decorative pins, while the find of a torc with a small chain particularly stands out.
