Hrušica (plateau)
Encyclopedia
Hrušica is a plateau at the northern end of the Postojna Gate
. The plateau can be viewed as the end or extension of the Trnovski gozd, to the west is the Nanos mountain
. The limestone
plateau reaches an altitude of 1,080 m, while the road crosses it at 883 m. As the Postojna Gate is crossed at a lower point of 606 m at nearby Postojna
, modern traffic including rail and the motor highway bypass Hrušica.
During the time of the late Roman Empire
it was the location of the fortress of Ad Pirum, representing the center of the Claustra Alpium Iuliarum
, a network of forts and wall to secure Italy from eastern invasions, including the road between Italy and Pannonia
. The central hill fortress was constructed during the third century and used during the end of the Roman Empire. Excavations show the fortress to be about 250 m long and 75 m wide with wall at a height of 8 m and a thickness of about 2 m; the wall towers were 10 m high. Typically manned with 500 soldiers the fortress could accommodate up to 100,000 soldiers.
Postojna Gate
The Postojna Gate , also Adriatic Gate and Italo-Illyrian Gate, is a major mountain pass of the Dinaric Alps. Located in Slovenia, the pass's approximately wide saddle allows for the lowest crossing of the Dinaric Alps, at an elevation of . and a second higher crossing at the Hrušica plateau. It...
. The plateau can be viewed as the end or extension of the Trnovski gozd, to the west is the Nanos mountain
Nanos, Slovenia
Nanos is a karst limestone plateau in Slovenia that divides the continental part of Slovenia from the Littoral Region. It is about 6 km wide and 12 km long in the northern extension of the Dinaric Alps. The highest point of the plateau is Suhi vrh...
. The limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
plateau reaches an altitude of 1,080 m, while the road crosses it at 883 m. As the Postojna Gate is crossed at a lower point of 606 m at nearby Postojna
Postojna
Postojna is a town and a municipality in the traditional region of Inner Carniola, from Trieste, in southwestern Slovenia. Population 14,581 .-History:...
, modern traffic including rail and the motor highway bypass Hrušica.
During the time of the late Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
it was the location of the fortress of Ad Pirum, representing the center of the Claustra Alpium Iuliarum
Claustra Alpium Iuliarum
Claustra Alpium Iuliarum was a defense system within the Roman Empire between Italia and Pannonia that protected Italy from possible invasions from the East. It secured the Postojna Gate, the land link between the eastern and western part of the empire, and thus the Claustra represented an inner...
, a network of forts and wall to secure Italy from eastern invasions, including the road between Italy and Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
. The central hill fortress was constructed during the third century and used during the end of the Roman Empire. Excavations show the fortress to be about 250 m long and 75 m wide with wall at a height of 8 m and a thickness of about 2 m; the wall towers were 10 m high. Typically manned with 500 soldiers the fortress could accommodate up to 100,000 soldiers.