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AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE IRON CURTAIN
Figure 24: Former Yugoslavian border guard station with basketball court in the foreground and
buildings in the background. First World War memorial stones can be seen at the back by the
flagpoles. Photo: Anna McWilliams 2011.
Directly north of the compound, where the ground slopes downwards in a
steep decline large systems of trenches from the First World War are
located. To the south there are several paths leading up towards the top of
the mountain and the border. The border is marked by white border stones
which in part follows the ridge of the mountain following the 1975 Osimo
Treaty when the border was moved here. They are located at a close distance
from each other, sometimes as close as 10 m as the direction of the
border, and the ridge of the mountain, constantly changes. Two tracks run
here, one on each side of the boundary, created by Italian and Yugoslavian
border guards patrolling their side of the border, not allowed to cross the
border even by a step (Figure 25). The duality of the paths are still visible
but are soon disappearing as the tracks now have a different purpose,
allowing ramblers to climb the mountain with no restrictions of what side
of the border to walk on. These tracks, created by the actions of people
demonstrate that high fences do not always have to be present in order for a
clear boundary line to exist. It is intriguing to imagine how patrols were
carried out as the guards would have to walk so very close to each other. It
was important to keep the sides at peace and not risk any confrontations of
the border guards whilst working in such proximity. It was therefore, at
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