Ljudmila Gec was born on 12 December 1931,[1] in
Sežana during the annexation of the area to the
Kingdom of Italy[2] to Mila (née Mahnič) and Franc Gec.[3] Her parents were farmers and Gec attended primary school and began her
gymnasium studies in Sežana. She completed her secondary studies in
Trieste. At the end of
World War II, the family moved to
Postojna. Gec entered the
University of Ljubljana, where she studied archaeology under
Srečko Brodar,
Josip Korošec [
sl] and Josipa Klemenca,[2] graduating in 1956,[1] and by 1957, was publishing in the name of Plesničar.[4]
Career
After completing her schooling, Plesničar began working at the Provincial Museum of
Koper and later, worked in the City Archives. Moving to Ljubljana in 1961, she began working at the
City Museum of Ljubljana as the head of the archaeological work at
Emona.[2][1] She led numerous excavations at the site, discovering an
Early Christian religious center and
baptistery,
necropolises, the northern gate of the city, several residential areas and a
Roman Forum.[1] She began work on Emona in 1962 when construction equipment engaged in a project to restore the subway uncovered graves in the northern cemetery. Plesničar and her team uncovered over 1,000 graves at the site and began pressing for conservation measures to be enacted by the town council to protect archaeological sites.[2][5][6] By 1965, regulations had been passed to require that archaeological preservation be integrated into construction planning.[5][2] Extending her work to include urban planning, she introduced legislation requiring builders to provide insurance in their proposals to cover the costs of archaeological exploration, should remains be uncovered at proposed construction sites.[2]
Unlike her predecessor,
Jože Plečnik, who redesigned the Roman walls to create a pleasing artificial display of the artifacts,
Plesničar adopted a minimal intervention approach, leaving remains in situ.[7][8] She attempted to incorporate the archaeological sites within the modern urban environment to give an image of the diverse heritage of the city[1][3] and provide a cultural experience for study.[7] In 1967, Jakopič Gardens, now known as
Emonan House, were opened to the public, after Plesničar's excavations[9] in the 1963–1964 season uncovered the dwelling remains of a wealthy family on the outskirts of Ljubljana in the Mirje neighborhood.[10] She prepared an exhibition in 1974 at the current location of the Bukvarna store, which exhibited the northern gates of Emona[2] and the following year, completed her PhD with the thesis Kronološka in tipološka analiza lončenim emonskih grobišč (Chronological and
typological analysis of Emona graveyard pottery).[3] In 1976, she organized the opening of the Early Christian Centre as an archaeological park,[2] and in the City Museum designed a comprehensive timeline to show the changing life in Emona.[1][3]
Plesničar published numerous articles in domestic and foreign archaeological journals and actively participated in international events and symposiums. She served as president of the Slovenian Archaeological Society in the 1970s and as president of the Museum Society of Slovenia. She prepared, with the assistance of colleagues numerous exhibitions, such as the 1973 Frescoes of Emonia and the Archaeological Heritage of Ljubljana of 1996 and created international networks cooperating with museums in
Aquileia, Belgrade, Krakow,
Pula and Warsaw, among other cities.[9] Plesničar was recognized with the Slovenian Museum Association's highest award, the
Valvasor Prize [
sl], in 1985 for her work in curating and preserving the artifacts found at the Emona.[1][3] In 1997, she was awarded the
Golden Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia by President
Milan Kučan for her service in preserving the archaeological heritage of the country.[11] She was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the
Archaeological Society of Slovenia in 2000.[12]
Death and legacy
Plesničar died on 10 July 2008, in Ljubljana.[citation needed] In 2010, a symposium was held in her honor at the City Museum of Ljubljana, with lectures detailing the archaeological history of Emona and her contributions. The lectures were compiled into a monograph and published in 2012 in a bi-lingual volume, Emona: med Akvilejo in Panonijo'Emona between Aquileia and Pannonia.[13]
Selected works
"Zaščitno izkopavanje rimske stavbe ob Tržaški cesti v Ljubljani". Arheološki vestnik (in Slovenian) (1). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Inštitut za arheologijo SAZU: 453–467. 1966.[3]
La nécropole romaine à Emona. Inventaria archaeologica, 10. Jugoslavija (in French). Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Société archéologique de Yougoslavie. 1967.
OCLC715919264.[3]
"Obeležje in kronologija antičnih grobov na Prešernovi in Celovški cesti v Ljubljani". Arheološki vestnik (in Slovenian) (18). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Inštitut za arheologijo SAZU: 137–151. 1967.[3]
"Rimski vodnjak ob Ljubljanskih opekarnah v Ljubljani". Arheološki vestnik (in Slovenian) (19). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Inštitut za arheologijo SAZU: 403–414. 1968.[3]
"Emona v pozni antiki". Arheološki vestnik (in Slovenian) (21–22). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Inštitut za arheologijo SAZU: 117–122. 1971.[3]
Severno emonsko grobisce: The northern necropolis of Emona. Emona 3: Katalogi in monografije, 8 (in Slovenian and English). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Narodni muzej. 1972.
OCLC878218188.[3]
Emonske freske (in Slovenian). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Mestni muzej. 1973.
OCLC878218220.[3]
"La citta di Emona nel tardoantico e suoi ruderi paleocri-stiani". Arheološki vestnik (in Italian) (23). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Inštitut za arheologijo SAZU: 367–375. 1972.[3]
"Steklene zajemalke iz severnega emonskega grobišča". Arheološki vestnik (in Slovenian) (25). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Inštitut za arheologijo SAZU: 35–38. 1976.[3]
Dimitrijević, Danica, ed. (1978). "Emona at the beginning of great migration period". Problemi seobe naroda u Karpatskoj kotlini. Novi Sad, Yugoslavia: Matica srpska. pp. 59–64. (with Irena Sivec).{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (
link)[14]
"Porta praetoria—severna emonska vrata". Arheološki vestnik (in Slovenian) (25). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Inštitut za arheologijo SAZU: 387–391. 1976.[3]
Keramika emonskih nekropol. Dissertationes et monographiae, 20 (in Slovenian and English). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Mestni muzej. 1977.
OCLC878218213.[3]
"Rimski grob z Dolenjske ceste". Situla (in Slovenian) (20–21). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Narodni muzej v Ljubljani: 459–465. 1980.
ISSN0583-4554.[14]
Antična posoda iz emone s figuralnim prizorom: The figural vessel from Emona (in Slovenian and English). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Narodni muzej. 1982.
OCLC774017990.[3]
Starokrscanski center v Emoni: Old Christian center in Emona (in Slovenian and English). Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: Narodni muzej. 1983.
OCLC935291198.[3]
Antične freske v Sloveniji: The Roman frescoes of Slovenia (in Slovenian). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Narodni Muzej Slovenije. 1997.
ISBN978-9-616-16910-3, (with contributions by Veljko Toman).{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (
link)
Fras, Mojca (3 October 2017).
"Ali ste vedeli?". Neodkrita arheologija ljubljane (in Slovenian). Ljubljana, Slovenia: STIK Group. Archived from
the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018. Did you know?
Jevnikar, Martin, ed. (1986). "Plesničar, Ljudmila".
Primorski Slovenski Biografski Leksikon(PDF) (in Slovenian). Vol. 12. Pirjevec- Rebula. Gorizia, Italy: Goriška Mohorjeva družba. pp. 21–22. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 5 April 2018.
Županek, Bernarda (2014). "Emona: rimsko mesto in njegova dediščina/Emona: A Roman city and its legacy". In Peršin, Blaž (ed.).
Emona Mit In Resničnost: Emona Myth and Realitiy [sic](PDF) (in Slovenian and English). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Mestni Muzej Ljubljana. pp. 9–26. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 6 April 2018.
"Archaeological Society of Slovenia". Culture.si. Ljubljana, Slovenia: Ministry of Culture, Republic of Slovenia. 9 December 2010. Archived from
the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
"Emonan House". Ljubljana, Slovenia: Muzej in Galerije Mesta Ljubljane. 2009. Archived from
the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
"Monografija v spomin dr. Ljudmila Plesničar Gec" [Monograph in Memory of Dr. Ljudmila Plesničar Gec]. mgml.si (in Slovenian). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Muzej in Galerije Mesta Ljubljane. 18 January 2013. Archived from
the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
"Seznam vseh odlikovancev od leta 1992 do decembra 2007: Zlati častni znak svobode Republike Slovenije" [List of all decorations from 1992 to December 2007: Golden Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia]. Urad predsednika Republike Slovenije (in Slovenian). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia. 2007. Archived from
the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2018. Leto 1997: Dr. Ljudmila Plesničar, za odlične dosežke na podorčju varovanja kulturne dediščine, še posebej arheologije (Year 1997: Dr. Ljudmila Plesničar, for excellent achievements in the protection of cultural heritage, especially archaeology)
Further reading
Lazar, Irena; Pintarič, Vesna; Zanier, Katharina; Županek, Bernarda, eds. (2012). Emona: med Akvilejo in Panonijo/Emona between Aquileia and Pannonia (in Slovenian and English). Koper, Slovenia: Univerza na Primorskem, Znanstveno-raziskovalno središče, Inštitut za dediščino Sredozemlja, Univerzitetna založba Annales.
ISBN978-9-616-86221-9.