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4: CASE STUDY 1: THE ITALIAN/SLOVENIAN BORDER
name of the country has been changed to adjust to new political conditions
(Figure 32).
Figure 32: Border stone where the
name of the country has been
modified using cement following
the independence of Slovenia.
Photo: Anna McWilliams 2008.
Maps dating to the 1950s which have the stones’ number and location on
them show that the stones have not changed position. In some places they are
more frequent, like on Mount Sabotino/Sabotin near Nova Gorica, where the
stones are located about 10 m from each other (Figure 33). This can be
compared to the border near Trieste where the border stones are much less
regular. This is due to the fact that the border stones are located where the
border changes direction. The border stones are markers to demonstrate
where the limit of one country’s territory stops and another starts. In contrast
to the signs often placed along borders, to inform a person that they are about
to step into another states territory or possibly a prohibition of doing so, the
border stones are intended just as a marker. The border stones are the
physical manifestation of land agreements reached in negotiations when new
boundaries are established. They mark these borders in the terrain to make
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