Kaštelir Hound

This figurine of a dog made of a bronze alloy was excavated in 2010 at the prehistoric, altitude fortified settlement of Kaštelir above Korte near Izola. This free-standing figurine of a dog with a distinctly pointed snout and drooping ears, a lean body, which ends in a tail curled into a noose, and two stylised paws, belongs to the period of the advanced Iron Age (c. 6th - 5th century B.C.) and presents a link with the Posočje region, since two identical figurines have been found there (one is kept at the National Museum of Slovenia and the other is privately owned), and with the Veneto region in northern Italy. The figurine is connected with the perception of dogs as loyal companions, which accompany us throughout our lives and even afterwards. In the case of Kaštelir it indicates the existence of a potential sanctuaryl space in the immediate vicinity of the find.