Srečko Brodar


Srečko Brodar was a Slovene archaeologist, internationally best known for excavation of Potok Cave, an Upper Palaeolithic cave site in northern Slovenia.

Life

Brodar was born in Ljubljana, the illegitimate son of Frančiška Brodar, and baptized Felix Brodar. Brodar studied natural science as the main subject, and physics and mathematics as auxiliary subjects, at the University of Vienna. In 1915, he started fighting in the First World War on the Isonzo Front, where he received a serious elbow injury. He graduated from the University of Zagreb in 1920. Beginning in 1921, he taught at Celje Grammar School, and in 1939 received his PhD in geology and paleontology from the University of Ljubljana. In 1946, he became a professor there, serving as the chair of Archaeological Department until retirement. Brodar was the director of the Institute of Archaeology at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and a member of the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences. His son Mitja Brodar was also a noted archaeologist.

Work

In 1928, he became famous with the excavation of Potok Cave and five other Palaeolithic sites in Slovenia, demonstrating the link between the Palaeolithic cultures of the eastern Alps and those of the Pannonian Plain and northern Italy.
After World War II, Brodar's research focused on Betal Rock Shelter, a multiperiod prehistoric site near Postojna in southwest Slovenia. He also discovered the first Mesolithic sites in Slovenia, such as Špehovka Cave.

Awards