Šmihel pod Nanosom (; ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the eastern

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geography, geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an highland, upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low terrain, relief hill ...

of Mount Nanos in the

Municipality of Postojna The Municipality of Postojna (; ) is a municipality in the traditional region of Inner Carniola in southwestern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Postojna. The municipality was established in its current form on 3 October 1994 ...

in the

Inner Carniola Inner Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica (plateau), Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (the Goriška, Gor ...

region of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Archaeological site

North of the settlement, a site known as Grad is one of the most important

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

s in the Inner Carniola region. This prehistoric site attracted much attention in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it was suggested that it was the site of Metalum, one of the main settlement of the

Iapydes The Iapodes (or Iapydes, Japodes; ; ) were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the Istrian peninsula. They occupied the interior of the country between the ''Colapis'' (Kupa ...

. Although this is no longer claimed, the site remains one of the most important bases for the definition and chronology of the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

culture known as the Inner Carniola Iron Age Group, with continuous settlement between the 8th and 2nd centuries BC. It is believed the settlement was taken over by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

in their 2nd-century expansion to the north. As Roman rule was established the settlement was abandoned in the 1st century BC. In 1890 a major

hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

weapons A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

with over 350 artifacts was found at the site. Finds from the site are kept in the Vienna Natural History Museum and the

National Museum of Slovenia The National Museum of Slovenia () is located in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is located in the Center (Ljubljana), Center district of the city near Tivoli City Park. Along with the Slovenian Museum of Natural History, located in the sa ...

Churches

The village church, from which the settlement gets its name, is dedicated to

Saint Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

. A second church, next to the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

south of the village, is dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

. Both belong to the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Hrenovice.Koper Diocese list of churches
/ref>

References

External links

*
Šmihel pod Nanosom on GeopediaŠmihel pod Nanosom local community site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smihel Pod Nanosom Populated places in the Municipality of Postojna