THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE REMAINS of an early medieval helmet found in 2015 at Pohansko near Břecla... more THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE REMAINS of an early medieval helmet found in 2015 at Pohansko near Břeclav (Czech Republic), one of the most important central places of an early medieval polity called Great Moravia. It is the first Carolingian helmet from Central Europe to be discovered in a settlement context during a conventional archaeological excavation. The helmet is dated by stratigraphic and radiocarbon methods, and placed in a broader European context based on the collected analogies. The authors also attempt a social interpretation of this extraordinary artefact and propose a hypothesis about the owner of this valuable piece of armour.
The collapse of the Great Moravian early medieval fortified centre at Pohansko near Břeclav trigg... more The collapse of the Great Moravian early medieval fortified centre at Pohansko near Břeclav triggered some changes. These changes became evident in the development of the alluvial plain environment, as well as in the settlement, subsistence, and economic strategies of the population. One particularly prominent phenomenon was an unprecedented increase in the proportion of hunted animals appearing in osteological assemblages from the 10th century AD. They were found among the features and the cultural layers of the former northeastern suburbium of the Great Moravian centre at Pohansko and a new settlement known as Břeclav-Na Včelách. Remains of the European beaver (Castor fiber) predominate or are strongly represented among the wild species, which might be the result of specialised hunting or even breeding. The joint analysis by palynologists, archaeobotanists and archaeozoologists seeks to explain the significant presence of a specific species in terms of the evolution of the natural environment and the economy.
Great Moravia existed from the ninth to the first half of the tenth century AD between the Caroli... more Great Moravia existed from the ninth to the first half of the tenth century AD between the Carolingian West and Slavic “outer Europe”. The powerful polity was considered the first state of the Slavs, and it copied the military- aristocratic organisation of Western Europe. However, recently discovered separate burials with weapons and spurs challenge the existing historical concept. While the graves, with their extravagant burial rites, are reminiscent of the separate cemeteries of Frankish landlords or independent peasant warriors, in Moravia, they represent a different social phenomenon, as shown by our archaeological and osteobiographical analysis. It is hoped that it could be one of the keys to understanding the specific historical and cultural features of this part of the continent at the divide between East and the West.
Set of parallel oriented ERT profiles was used for identification of fluvial channels in the area... more Set of parallel oriented ERT profiles was used for identification of fluvial channels in the area near the Western Gate of the Great Moravia Empire agglomeration Pohansko near Břeclav. Three infills of fluvial channels were identified within the ERT profiles, which erosively cut the complex of flood loams. The dimensions of these channels are compared, together with the distribution of individual architectural elements of the channel. Planform topography of individual channels is used for evaluation of fluvial style. Whereas Early Mediaval age of the sedimentary infill of the uppermost channel was proved, the two lower channels are supposed to be Upper Pleistocene to Early Holocene in age. The highly irregular relief of the Pannonian clays of the Vienna Basin forms the Pre-Quaternary basement.
Geophysical, sedimentological, palynological, absolute-age dating and archeological techniques we... more Geophysical, sedimentological, palynological, absolute-age dating and archeological techniques were used to study the deposits of the Early Medieval fluvial channel in the area of the Great Moravia Empire agglomeration Pohansko near Břeclav. Artificial profile situated on the base of ERT profiles and the archeological results led to opening of the fluvial channel. Newly documented fluvial channel erosively cut the complex of flood loams. Gravel lag covers the bottom of the channel and grade upwards into sandy channel infill with fining upward trend. Fluvial sandy dunes forming the most characteristic architectural element of the infill are represented mostly by trough cross-stratified medium-grained sands. These sands were penetrated by the piece of oak wood. Both the OSL dating of the sandy deposits and the dating of the oak wood (14C and dendrochronology) point to the 9th century AD when the Great Moravia Empire was on its peak expansion. Active fluvial channel was probably used as a part of the fortification system and a possible wood bridge existed here in the front of the proposed Western Gate of the Pohansko agglomeration. Palynological studies reveal some fragmentation of the landscape and agricultural activities in the close surroundings. Deposits of the studied fluvial channel were covered by the beds of the younger flood loams.
Floodplain alluvia can provide a combination of natural and anthropogenic evidence of environment... more Floodplain alluvia can provide a combination of natural and anthropogenic evidence of environmental changes, allowing to directly examine their evolution in relation to settlement dynamics. Such evidence is recorded, for example, at the archaeological site Pohansko by the town of Břeclav, a former centre of the Great Moravian Empire. The aim of our research was to explore what conditions on the floodplain could have caused the abandonment of this environment. Special attention was paid to the climax of the floodplain's occupation during the times of the Great Moravian Empire (AD 836–906) and to the decline of its occupation in the following centuries. The environmental record at the Pohansko site starts in the 7th century BC. From the Iron Age onwards (Hallstatt and La Tene periods) there is evidence of non-agricultural human activities. Since the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC to at least the second half of the 10th century AD, there is no record of any floodplain aggradation or flooding at the site. Later, both the archaeological and palaeoecological records on the floodplain probably got exposed and redeposited. The result is a mechanically disturbed layer that is synchronous with soil horizons and subsequent Early Mediaeval cultural layers covering sandy elevations. For an unknown reason, the site was deserted for many centuries after the end of the 10th century AD. During the High Mediaeval period and the early Modern Era, especially since the 15th century AD, overbank deposits covered the floodplain. Intensified human impact in the river catchment and climate change during the Little Ice Age were the main triggers of this change. The results correlate with the written historical sources pertaining to this area, which speak about an increasing frequency of flooding in the Czech lands since the 14th century, and especially in the second half of the 16th century. As a result, these sites became unsuitable for settlement and abandoned.
The Fall of Great Moravia. Reflections on relative and absolute chronology of Early Middle Ages i... more The Fall of Great Moravia. Reflections on relative and absolute chronology of Early Middle Ages in the East-Central Europe. Dating the so-called Great Moravian jewelry and Great Moravian church graveyards is one of the crucial tasks of archaeology of the Early Middle Ages. The chronological systems developed based on the rich graves investigated over the past 60 years within the Czech Republic help in dating archaeological finds from the 9th to the 10th century all over Europe. This study addresses the question of how long the luxury jewelry existed as part of living culture and until when the earliest church graveyards with burials of people clad in the traditional Great Moravian costume existed in Moravia. The solution to this problem is supported by assessments of finds from graves excavated at Pohansko near Břeclav and, most importantly, by radiocarbon dating the application of which is still not common in archaeology of the Early Middle Ages. The result of the present research is a finding that in Great Moravian church graveyards burials continued consistently until the mid-10th century, occasionally probably even a little longer. People were interred there wearing the typical Great Moravian costume which included the luxury jewelry as its component. It is a significant correction of the previous opinions and a partial return to the original dating of Great Moravian material culture from the 1950s and 1960s.
Die Existenz Großmährens wird in die Zeit vom 9. bis zur 1. Hälfte des 10. Jahrhunderts datiert. ... more Die Existenz Großmährens wird in die Zeit vom 9. bis zur 1. Hälfte des 10. Jahrhunderts datiert. Es erstreckte sich zwischen dem karolingischen Westen und dem slawischen „Außeneuropa“ und galt als erstes Staatsgebilde der Slawen, das die militär-aristokratische Struktur Westeuropas nachahmte. Neu entdeckte separate Bestattungen mit Waffen und Sporen lassen jedoch Zweifel an dieser Deutung aufkommen. Der besondere Bestattungsritus der hier vorgelegten Bestattungen weist zwar Ähnlichkeiten mit den separaten Friedhöfen des fränkischen grundherrschaftlichen Adels oder der freien Bauernkrieger auf, die archäologischen und bioarchäologischen Analysen erlauben in Mähren jedoch Rückschlüsse auf ein unterschiedliches soziales Phänomen, das zur Erschließung der historischen und kulturellen Spezifika dieses Raums als Schnittstelle zwischen Ost und West beitragen könnte.
In this essay, we focused on the evaluation of isotope analyses (δ13Ccoll and δ15Ncoll) of the fi... more In this essay, we focused on the evaluation of isotope analyses (δ13Ccoll and δ15Ncoll) of the first lower molars (m1) of domestic cattle (Bostaurus) from two early medieval Pohansko-Southern bailey (Pohansko-JP) and Kostice-”Zadní hrúd” (Kostice-ZH) sites. The aim of the study is the evidence of the breast-feeding effect of calves and subsequent weaning on the dentine average isotope composition. Results from both sites are compared with the data obtained from recent experimental cattle breeding. Possible differences in the cattle breeding between both studied localities are evaluated. The first lower molars of the domestic cattle (n = 15) were selected for analyses from both sites supplemented by a sample of the compact bone of the shinbone of an adult individual from the Pohansko-JP site. The determination of the ontogenetic age of the analyzed individuals is based on the dentition development stage. For the purpose of isotope analyzes (δ13Ccoll and δ15Ncoll), dentine collagen w...
The site is situated in the bottomland near the confluence of Dyje and Morava rivers. The junctio... more The site is situated in the bottomland near the confluence of Dyje and Morava rivers. The junction area is split by many sides and inactive channels. The human impact (settlement establishment, deforestation and landscape management) is also reflected in the bottomland development. Processes lead to erosion, accumulation of sediments in river beds and changes in vegetation. One of the peaks of the settlement of the studied area can be considered during existence of the Great Moravian Empire when the settlement agglomerations developed directly in the floodplain. The area has been intensively archaeologically studied for a long time. In the context of the ongoing climate change and increasing intensity of floods the relationship between climate, natural conditions and the functioning of the human settlements comes to the forefront of scientific interest. For the reconstruction of the complicated floodplain development a combination of different research methods was used. For direct d...
Sedimentological study on the Northern bailey of the fortified site Pohansko allows identificatio... more Sedimentological study on the Northern bailey of the fortified site Pohansko allows identification of 9th lithofacies and 2 facies associations. The lower facies association is interpreted as an infill of fluvial channels (mostly mid-channel dunes) with two cycles of filling. The fluvial channels were relatively shallow and broad (high width/depth channel ratio) and they point to braided fluvial style and channel migration. The upper fluvial association reflects significant change of the fluvial style. The sedimentary infill of the upper fluvial association is interpreted as deposits of levee and overbank deposits. Results of the OSL dating for the sample of lower facies association provide an age of 13.5 ky. Such age can be correlated with the Upper Pleistocene Allerød Interstadial (13.7‒12.9 ky BP), i.e. relatively warmer phase of the Weichselian late glacial. Data of OSL dating for two samples from the upper facies association were 11.8 ky and 10.3 ky BP. The upper age can be cor...
Increasing evidence suggests that past human activities have irreversibly changed soil properties... more Increasing evidence suggests that past human activities have irreversibly changed soil properties and biodiversity patterns. In the White Carpathian Mts (Central-Eastern Europe), a mosaic of hyper-species-rich and species-rich patches have developed in a regularly mown dry grassland in the area of a glassworks abandoned in the eighteenth century. We tested whether and how anthropogenically changed soils affected the distribution of extraordinary species richness. Using magnetometry we detected former furnaces, workspace, waste deposit and unaffected surrounding grasslands and compared their vegetation and environmental conditions. Archaeological features, especially furnaces and waste deposits, showed a higher pH, higher soil concentrations of exchangeable phosphorus, manganese, lead and calcium, and higher productivity. Surrounding grassland showed higher iron and sodium concentrations in the soil, higher N:P ratio in the biomass and higher species richness. Moisture was uniformly lower in soils on archaeological features, where non-trivially a more ‘mesic’ vegetation in terms of European habitat classification occurred. Plant compositional variation was best explained by water-extractable phosphorus. Because nutrient-richer patches were not moister as common elsewhere, and because species richness was only poorly accounted for by productivity, the occurrence of a species-poor ‘mesic’ vegetation on archaeological features was evidently caused by a long-lasting phosphorus oversupply which favours a comparatively small species pool of rather recently arriving species. On the contrary, surrounding phosphorus-poorer grasslands still contain the ancient species pool whose extraordinary size determines the exceptional species richness of grasslands in the study region. Its maintenance or restoration demands a persistent phosphorus deficiency.
THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE REMAINS of an early medieval helmet found in 2015 at Pohansko near Břecla... more THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE REMAINS of an early medieval helmet found in 2015 at Pohansko near Břeclav (Czech Republic), one of the most important central places of an early medieval polity called Great Moravia. It is the first Carolingian helmet from Central Europe to be discovered in a settlement context during a conventional archaeological excavation. The helmet is dated by stratigraphic and radiocarbon methods, and placed in a broader European context based on the collected analogies. The authors also attempt a social interpretation of this extraordinary artefact and propose a hypothesis about the owner of this valuable piece of armour.
The collapse of the Great Moravian early medieval fortified centre at Pohansko near Břeclav trigg... more The collapse of the Great Moravian early medieval fortified centre at Pohansko near Břeclav triggered some changes. These changes became evident in the development of the alluvial plain environment, as well as in the settlement, subsistence, and economic strategies of the population. One particularly prominent phenomenon was an unprecedented increase in the proportion of hunted animals appearing in osteological assemblages from the 10th century AD. They were found among the features and the cultural layers of the former northeastern suburbium of the Great Moravian centre at Pohansko and a new settlement known as Břeclav-Na Včelách. Remains of the European beaver (Castor fiber) predominate or are strongly represented among the wild species, which might be the result of specialised hunting or even breeding. The joint analysis by palynologists, archaeobotanists and archaeozoologists seeks to explain the significant presence of a specific species in terms of the evolution of the natural environment and the economy.
Great Moravia existed from the ninth to the first half of the tenth century AD between the Caroli... more Great Moravia existed from the ninth to the first half of the tenth century AD between the Carolingian West and Slavic “outer Europe”. The powerful polity was considered the first state of the Slavs, and it copied the military- aristocratic organisation of Western Europe. However, recently discovered separate burials with weapons and spurs challenge the existing historical concept. While the graves, with their extravagant burial rites, are reminiscent of the separate cemeteries of Frankish landlords or independent peasant warriors, in Moravia, they represent a different social phenomenon, as shown by our archaeological and osteobiographical analysis. It is hoped that it could be one of the keys to understanding the specific historical and cultural features of this part of the continent at the divide between East and the West.
Set of parallel oriented ERT profiles was used for identification of fluvial channels in the area... more Set of parallel oriented ERT profiles was used for identification of fluvial channels in the area near the Western Gate of the Great Moravia Empire agglomeration Pohansko near Břeclav. Three infills of fluvial channels were identified within the ERT profiles, which erosively cut the complex of flood loams. The dimensions of these channels are compared, together with the distribution of individual architectural elements of the channel. Planform topography of individual channels is used for evaluation of fluvial style. Whereas Early Mediaval age of the sedimentary infill of the uppermost channel was proved, the two lower channels are supposed to be Upper Pleistocene to Early Holocene in age. The highly irregular relief of the Pannonian clays of the Vienna Basin forms the Pre-Quaternary basement.
Geophysical, sedimentological, palynological, absolute-age dating and archeological techniques we... more Geophysical, sedimentological, palynological, absolute-age dating and archeological techniques were used to study the deposits of the Early Medieval fluvial channel in the area of the Great Moravia Empire agglomeration Pohansko near Břeclav. Artificial profile situated on the base of ERT profiles and the archeological results led to opening of the fluvial channel. Newly documented fluvial channel erosively cut the complex of flood loams. Gravel lag covers the bottom of the channel and grade upwards into sandy channel infill with fining upward trend. Fluvial sandy dunes forming the most characteristic architectural element of the infill are represented mostly by trough cross-stratified medium-grained sands. These sands were penetrated by the piece of oak wood. Both the OSL dating of the sandy deposits and the dating of the oak wood (14C and dendrochronology) point to the 9th century AD when the Great Moravia Empire was on its peak expansion. Active fluvial channel was probably used as a part of the fortification system and a possible wood bridge existed here in the front of the proposed Western Gate of the Pohansko agglomeration. Palynological studies reveal some fragmentation of the landscape and agricultural activities in the close surroundings. Deposits of the studied fluvial channel were covered by the beds of the younger flood loams.
Floodplain alluvia can provide a combination of natural and anthropogenic evidence of environment... more Floodplain alluvia can provide a combination of natural and anthropogenic evidence of environmental changes, allowing to directly examine their evolution in relation to settlement dynamics. Such evidence is recorded, for example, at the archaeological site Pohansko by the town of Břeclav, a former centre of the Great Moravian Empire. The aim of our research was to explore what conditions on the floodplain could have caused the abandonment of this environment. Special attention was paid to the climax of the floodplain's occupation during the times of the Great Moravian Empire (AD 836–906) and to the decline of its occupation in the following centuries. The environmental record at the Pohansko site starts in the 7th century BC. From the Iron Age onwards (Hallstatt and La Tene periods) there is evidence of non-agricultural human activities. Since the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC to at least the second half of the 10th century AD, there is no record of any floodplain aggradation or flooding at the site. Later, both the archaeological and palaeoecological records on the floodplain probably got exposed and redeposited. The result is a mechanically disturbed layer that is synchronous with soil horizons and subsequent Early Mediaeval cultural layers covering sandy elevations. For an unknown reason, the site was deserted for many centuries after the end of the 10th century AD. During the High Mediaeval period and the early Modern Era, especially since the 15th century AD, overbank deposits covered the floodplain. Intensified human impact in the river catchment and climate change during the Little Ice Age were the main triggers of this change. The results correlate with the written historical sources pertaining to this area, which speak about an increasing frequency of flooding in the Czech lands since the 14th century, and especially in the second half of the 16th century. As a result, these sites became unsuitable for settlement and abandoned.
The Fall of Great Moravia. Reflections on relative and absolute chronology of Early Middle Ages i... more The Fall of Great Moravia. Reflections on relative and absolute chronology of Early Middle Ages in the East-Central Europe. Dating the so-called Great Moravian jewelry and Great Moravian church graveyards is one of the crucial tasks of archaeology of the Early Middle Ages. The chronological systems developed based on the rich graves investigated over the past 60 years within the Czech Republic help in dating archaeological finds from the 9th to the 10th century all over Europe. This study addresses the question of how long the luxury jewelry existed as part of living culture and until when the earliest church graveyards with burials of people clad in the traditional Great Moravian costume existed in Moravia. The solution to this problem is supported by assessments of finds from graves excavated at Pohansko near Břeclav and, most importantly, by radiocarbon dating the application of which is still not common in archaeology of the Early Middle Ages. The result of the present research is a finding that in Great Moravian church graveyards burials continued consistently until the mid-10th century, occasionally probably even a little longer. People were interred there wearing the typical Great Moravian costume which included the luxury jewelry as its component. It is a significant correction of the previous opinions and a partial return to the original dating of Great Moravian material culture from the 1950s and 1960s.
Die Existenz Großmährens wird in die Zeit vom 9. bis zur 1. Hälfte des 10. Jahrhunderts datiert. ... more Die Existenz Großmährens wird in die Zeit vom 9. bis zur 1. Hälfte des 10. Jahrhunderts datiert. Es erstreckte sich zwischen dem karolingischen Westen und dem slawischen „Außeneuropa“ und galt als erstes Staatsgebilde der Slawen, das die militär-aristokratische Struktur Westeuropas nachahmte. Neu entdeckte separate Bestattungen mit Waffen und Sporen lassen jedoch Zweifel an dieser Deutung aufkommen. Der besondere Bestattungsritus der hier vorgelegten Bestattungen weist zwar Ähnlichkeiten mit den separaten Friedhöfen des fränkischen grundherrschaftlichen Adels oder der freien Bauernkrieger auf, die archäologischen und bioarchäologischen Analysen erlauben in Mähren jedoch Rückschlüsse auf ein unterschiedliches soziales Phänomen, das zur Erschließung der historischen und kulturellen Spezifika dieses Raums als Schnittstelle zwischen Ost und West beitragen könnte.
In this essay, we focused on the evaluation of isotope analyses (δ13Ccoll and δ15Ncoll) of the fi... more In this essay, we focused on the evaluation of isotope analyses (δ13Ccoll and δ15Ncoll) of the first lower molars (m1) of domestic cattle (Bostaurus) from two early medieval Pohansko-Southern bailey (Pohansko-JP) and Kostice-”Zadní hrúd” (Kostice-ZH) sites. The aim of the study is the evidence of the breast-feeding effect of calves and subsequent weaning on the dentine average isotope composition. Results from both sites are compared with the data obtained from recent experimental cattle breeding. Possible differences in the cattle breeding between both studied localities are evaluated. The first lower molars of the domestic cattle (n = 15) were selected for analyses from both sites supplemented by a sample of the compact bone of the shinbone of an adult individual from the Pohansko-JP site. The determination of the ontogenetic age of the analyzed individuals is based on the dentition development stage. For the purpose of isotope analyzes (δ13Ccoll and δ15Ncoll), dentine collagen w...
The site is situated in the bottomland near the confluence of Dyje and Morava rivers. The junctio... more The site is situated in the bottomland near the confluence of Dyje and Morava rivers. The junction area is split by many sides and inactive channels. The human impact (settlement establishment, deforestation and landscape management) is also reflected in the bottomland development. Processes lead to erosion, accumulation of sediments in river beds and changes in vegetation. One of the peaks of the settlement of the studied area can be considered during existence of the Great Moravian Empire when the settlement agglomerations developed directly in the floodplain. The area has been intensively archaeologically studied for a long time. In the context of the ongoing climate change and increasing intensity of floods the relationship between climate, natural conditions and the functioning of the human settlements comes to the forefront of scientific interest. For the reconstruction of the complicated floodplain development a combination of different research methods was used. For direct d...
Sedimentological study on the Northern bailey of the fortified site Pohansko allows identificatio... more Sedimentological study on the Northern bailey of the fortified site Pohansko allows identification of 9th lithofacies and 2 facies associations. The lower facies association is interpreted as an infill of fluvial channels (mostly mid-channel dunes) with two cycles of filling. The fluvial channels were relatively shallow and broad (high width/depth channel ratio) and they point to braided fluvial style and channel migration. The upper fluvial association reflects significant change of the fluvial style. The sedimentary infill of the upper fluvial association is interpreted as deposits of levee and overbank deposits. Results of the OSL dating for the sample of lower facies association provide an age of 13.5 ky. Such age can be correlated with the Upper Pleistocene Allerød Interstadial (13.7‒12.9 ky BP), i.e. relatively warmer phase of the Weichselian late glacial. Data of OSL dating for two samples from the upper facies association were 11.8 ky and 10.3 ky BP. The upper age can be cor...
Increasing evidence suggests that past human activities have irreversibly changed soil properties... more Increasing evidence suggests that past human activities have irreversibly changed soil properties and biodiversity patterns. In the White Carpathian Mts (Central-Eastern Europe), a mosaic of hyper-species-rich and species-rich patches have developed in a regularly mown dry grassland in the area of a glassworks abandoned in the eighteenth century. We tested whether and how anthropogenically changed soils affected the distribution of extraordinary species richness. Using magnetometry we detected former furnaces, workspace, waste deposit and unaffected surrounding grasslands and compared their vegetation and environmental conditions. Archaeological features, especially furnaces and waste deposits, showed a higher pH, higher soil concentrations of exchangeable phosphorus, manganese, lead and calcium, and higher productivity. Surrounding grassland showed higher iron and sodium concentrations in the soil, higher N:P ratio in the biomass and higher species richness. Moisture was uniformly lower in soils on archaeological features, where non-trivially a more ‘mesic’ vegetation in terms of European habitat classification occurred. Plant compositional variation was best explained by water-extractable phosphorus. Because nutrient-richer patches were not moister as common elsewhere, and because species richness was only poorly accounted for by productivity, the occurrence of a species-poor ‘mesic’ vegetation on archaeological features was evidently caused by a long-lasting phosphorus oversupply which favours a comparatively small species pool of rather recently arriving species. On the contrary, surrounding phosphorus-poorer grasslands still contain the ancient species pool whose extraordinary size determines the exceptional species richness of grasslands in the study region. Its maintenance or restoration demands a persistent phosphorus deficiency.
The book is an example of the ability of Czech archaeologists to harness,in their scientific work... more The book is an example of the ability of Czech archaeologists to harness,in their scientific work, the wide possibilities offered by up-to-date computer support. It should be a valuable Czech counterpart to important international publications such as proceedings from the Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology or Archäologie und Computer – Kulturelles Erbe und Neue Technologien conferences. Today it can provide an impetus for the further development of the methodology of archaeology and in the future it can serve as evidence of the state-of-the-art nature of technology achieved by Czech archaeology at the beginning of the 21st century.
Opera Facultatis Philosophicae Universitatis Masarykianae, 2017
The book deals with the issue of the pottery production in South Moravia, with an emphasis on the... more The book deals with the issue of the pottery production in South Moravia, with an emphasis on the area of lower Dyje (Thaya) River in the period from the fall of the Great Moravian Empire until the beginning of the High Middle Ages. Using examples from the pottery collection from the site Kostice – Zadní hrúd, the publication aims to create a more detailed chronologically-typological scheme for the division of pottery in the period from the 10th century until the beginning of the 13th century. Kostice – Zadní hrúd belongs to the most valuable and the best explored sites from the given period that we have access to in Moravia and that contribute to solutions of general questions. The importance of this trade-craft agglomeration lies mainly in the unique set of finds, the most significant being a collection of coins. With the help of various methodological procedures, mainly multivariate statistics, the publication clarifies especially the character of pottery production in the problematic period immediately after the fall of the Great Moravian Empire, which is often called, due to insufficient knowledge, the “dark” 10th century. As a part of this publication, a complete catalogue of archaeological finds and terrain situations from the site Kostice – Zadní hrúd is included. The publication introduces the results of a research elaborated by Adéla Balcárková in the scope of the dissertation, which focuses on analysis and processing of pottery collections from the Early Middle Ages. It is also the outcome of a research project conducted by prof. Jiří Macháček and his team.
Opera Facultatis philosophicae Universitatis Masarykianae, 2021
This book is the result of many years continual research of the archaeologists from Department o... more This book is the result of many years continual research of the archaeologists from Department of Archaeology and Museology FA MU in the area of the Northeast Suburb at Pohansko near Břeclav. Publication is aimed at archaeology professionals or students and describes in some detail the settlement structure of the suburb, the inventory of finds and the first interpretations of the archaeological sources gathered by excavations carried out in the 2008–2016 period. The monograph contains chapters in which immovable and movable archaeological sources are analysed and interpreted. For instance, the authors were successful of the functional interpretation of the individual excavated settlement sectors based on the using the spatial distribution of pottery, kitchen waste and daub. One of the important results of the method employed is the relatively unambiguous identification of early medieval above-ground buildings which could not have been revealed under different conditions. There is an additional detailed text catalogue of the investigated field relics accompanied by an extensive supplement with images and plans.
The forthcoming book about the second church's cemetery in the North-eastern suburb of the Břecla... more The forthcoming book about the second church's cemetery in the North-eastern suburb of the Břeclav-Pohansko stronghold represents the completion of a five-year-long research effort of a research team led by Prof. Jiří Macháček from the Masaryk University. The publication contains comprehensive information about the population buried in this area at the end of the 9th and in the first half of the 10th century. The book consists of two parts: a complete catalogue of the burial site and an analytic and synthetic part, where the funerary area has been evaluated in terms of archaeology, history and anthropology. The analytic and synthetic part of the book is divided into 11 main chapters: North-eastern suburb in the context of systematic archaeological research at Pohansko – Characteristic of the site in terms of natural environment – Methodology of archaeological research – Cemetery extent and Burial rite – Taphonomic and demographic characteristics of skeletal remains – Artefacts as a part of funerary equipment – Cemetery chronology – Spatial structure of the cemetery and Social structure of the community buried – Relationship between the funerary and residential components in this area. This book is integrally complemented by a comprehensive publication on skeletal remains from the burial site, which was set up by a team led by Ass. Prof. V. Sládek from the Charles University.
Kniha o druhém kostelním pohřebišti na Severovýchodním předhradí hradiska Břeclav – Pohansko je završením 5-letého badatelského úsilí týmu vedeného prof. Jiřím Macháčkem z Masarykovy univerzity. Publikace obsahuje ucelenou informaci o populaci pohřbené v tomto prostoru na konci 9. a v první polovině 10. století. Kniha se skládá z kompletního katalogu pohřebiště a z analytické a syntetické části, hodnotící funerální areál z pohledu archeologie, historie a antropologie. Tato část knihy je rozdělená do 11 nosných kapitol: Severovýchodní předhradí v kontextu systematického výzkumu Pohanska – Charakteristika lokality z hlediska přírodního prostředí – Metodika archeologického výzkumu – Rozsah pohřebiště a Pohřební ritus – Tafonomicko-demografická charakteristika kosterních nálezů – Artefakty jako součást hrobové výbavy – Chronologie pohřebiště – Prostorová struktura pohřebiště a Sociální struktura komunity – Vztah pohřební a obytné komponenty. Knihu integrálně doplňuje komplexní publikace o kosterních pozůstatcích z pohřebiště, kterou připravil tým pod vedením doc. V. Sládka z Univerzity Karlovy.
Studie vychází z projektu „Hospodářské zázemí centra nebo jen osady v blízkosti zázemí centra?“ G... more Studie vychází z projektu „Hospodářské zázemí centra nebo jen osady v blízkosti zázemí centra?“ Grantové agentury ČR, který byl zaměřen na poznání nejbližšího okolí a zázemí velkomoravského opevněného centra na Pohansku u Břeclavi. Pomocí povrchové prospekce, mikrosondáží i archeologického výzkumu byla zkoumána a analyzována sídelní struktura v okolí lidnatého centra a její vývoj od starohradištního do mladohradištního období (od 8. do 12. století). Kromě hledání sídelní struktury byla sledována i problematika odhadu počtu obyvatel raně středověkého centra i jeho subsistenční strategie. Původní představy o síti zemědělských osad zásobujících obyvatele velkomoravského Pohanska byly kriticky revidovány. Byl představen nový model, který vychází z absence časově shodného osídlení, pokud jsme vůbec schopni takové v archeologickém materiálu identifikovat, kritické revize konstrukčních prvků tradičního modelu a nových, či doposud přehlížených dokladů aktivní účasti obyvatel centra na zemědělské činnosti.
The departure point of the study is the project “The Economic Hinterland of a Centre, or Mere Settlements in the Vicinity of a Centre’s Hinterland?” supported by the Grant Agency of the CR that explored the immediate surroundings and hinterland of the Great Moravian fortified centre of Pohansko, near Břeclav. The settlement structure in the vicinity of a densely populated centre and its development from the Early Hillfort period until the Late Hillfort period (8th – 12th centuries) were investigated by means of surface prospection, microprobes and archaeological research. Apart from defining the settlement structure, the number of inhabitants of the early medieval centre was estimated and the subsistence strategy of the population was examined. Earlier conceptions about a network of farming communities supplying the inhabitants of Great Moravian Pohansko were revised and a new model was introduced, based on the absence of chronologically parallel settlement (if this is at all possible to identify in the archaeological material), the revision of the construction elements of the traditional model and new or hitherto marginalized evidence of the active involvement of the centre’s inhabitants in farming.
Četvrta medievistička znanstvena radionica u Rijeci - Fourth medieval workshop in Rijeka (Programme), 2019
Otres – Crkvina is an archaeological site located in the eastern part of the Ravni kotari region ... more Otres – Crkvina is an archaeological site located in the eastern part of the Ravni kotari region in northern Dalmatia. So far it was mostly known for its remains of the late 9th century Pre-Romanesque church, chancel screen with the inscription dated by the name of the Duke Branimir (879-892) and the Romanesque church along with the vast mediaeval cemetery around it. This study presents the results of the archaeological excavation and the systematic field survey that were carried out in 2017 and 2018. The new results bring a rather different perspective of the site itself, for the recent findings definitely confirm the earliest inhabitation of Otres – Crkvina in the Late Roman period. Moreover, the survey of the site's surroundings shows spatial patterns of wide-ranging human activities dating as early as the Early Neolithic, but most notably from the Late Middle Ages. The trench in the northern part of Crkvina brought out the remains of the complex building with at least five rooms separated by the mortar bounded stone walls. Two of the rooms (A and B) were thoroughly dug in the older campaigns leaving us with no valid information for reconstructing the stratigraphic sequence. Thus the excavation was focused on the intact rooms in order to establish the relative chronology of the site. The excavated stratighraphic units showed Late Roman findings, particularly pottery and glass vessels sherds. Food storage units built of stones and reused tegulae and tubuli respectively were found in the Room C. A charcoal sample directly connected to these structures was subsequently dated to the second half of the 4th century and the charcoal sample from the upper layer, i. e. the room fill, was dated to the second half of the 6th century (AMS 14C analysis), confirming the stratigraphic sequence. The complete extent of the building, both spatial and chronological, is yet to be assessed in the forthcoming research. Two main goals of the field survey were to record substantial environmental evidence and to determine traces of previous human activities in the wider Otres area. Therefore all of the visible subsistence resources were registered, including springs, ponds, clay and sand sites. Not by coincidence, the density of collected artifacts was the highest in the areas providing such resources. Collected samples include various finds with the notable prevalence of the Late Mediaeval material. The latter can be explained with increased strategic and traffic significance of the area in the Late Middle Ages, since it was situated right next to the Zadar – Knin road, as well as between two dominating strongholds of the northern Dalmatia at the time - Ostrovica and Bribir.
Spatial analysis of ceramic fragments from the cultural layers may provide us with useful informa... more Spatial analysis of ceramic fragments from the cultural layers may provide us with useful information on the living spaces and urbanisation of the site. Besides analyzing quantities, weights etc. of the finds, spatial distribution of different size groups should be taken into account. The aim of our research is to provide an accessible method to implement semi-automatic image-based measurement of ceramic fragments into common research. Applicability during field excavation and also on the material from the older excavations is available. Therefore, it should be low-cost and user-friendly, so it will not be time consuming in the field and easily done with common research equipment such as a digital camera. In the first step we will discuss methodology of data acquisition, and their issues. Thereafter, an algorithm for image processing, its specification and results will be presented. Further statistical and spatial analysis will be compared with other results from the studied site. The idea of image-based measurement of artefacts is not new, but it is still making its way into Czech archaeological research. The input data comes from the systematic excavation of the Department of Archaeology and Museology of Masaryk University at Pohansko near Břeclav.
Spatial analysis of ceramic fragments from the cultural layers may provide us with useful informa... more Spatial analysis of ceramic fragments from the cultural layers may provide us with useful information on the living spaces and urbanisation of the site. Besides analyzing quantities, weights etc. of the finds, spatial distribution of different size groups should be taken into account. The aim of our research is to provide an accessible method to implement semi-automatic image-based measurement of ceramic fragments into common research. Applicability during field excavation and also on the material from the older excavations is available. Therefore, it should be low-cost and user-friendly, so it will not be time consuming in the field and easily done with common research equipment such as a digital camera. In the first step we will discuss methodology of data acquisition, and their issues. Thereafter, an algorithm for image processing, its specification and results will be presented. Further statistical and spatial analysis will be compared with other results from the studied site. The idea of image-based measurement of artefacts is not new, but it is still making its way into Czech archaeological research. The input data comes from the systematic excavation of the Department of Archaeology and Museology of Masaryk University at Pohansko near Břeclav.
The main objective of the project is to investigate the formation and dynamics of the early medie... more The main objective of the project is to investigate the formation and dynamics of the early medieval polity and population in Central Europe over an extended period (from the 6th to 10th centuries AD) as well as empirical and theoretical shift in early medieval archaeology and anthropology. https://www.phil.muni.cz/formor
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Papers by Petr Dresler
Kniha o druhém kostelním pohřebišti na Severovýchodním předhradí hradiska Břeclav – Pohansko je završením 5-letého badatelského úsilí týmu vedeného prof. Jiřím Macháčkem z Masarykovy univerzity. Publikace obsahuje ucelenou informaci o populaci pohřbené v tomto prostoru na konci 9. a v první polovině 10. století. Kniha se skládá z kompletního katalogu pohřebiště a z analytické a syntetické části, hodnotící funerální areál z pohledu archeologie, historie a antropologie. Tato část knihy je rozdělená do 11 nosných kapitol: Severovýchodní předhradí v kontextu systematického výzkumu Pohanska – Charakteristika lokality z hlediska přírodního prostředí – Metodika archeologického výzkumu – Rozsah pohřebiště a Pohřební ritus – Tafonomicko-demografická charakteristika kosterních nálezů – Artefakty jako součást hrobové výbavy – Chronologie pohřebiště – Prostorová struktura pohřebiště a Sociální struktura komunity – Vztah pohřební a obytné komponenty. Knihu integrálně doplňuje komplexní publikace o kosterních pozůstatcích z pohřebiště, kterou připravil tým pod vedením doc. V. Sládka z Univerzity Karlovy.
The departure point of the study is the project “The Economic Hinterland of a Centre, or Mere Settlements in the Vicinity of a Centre’s Hinterland?” supported by the Grant Agency of the CR that explored the immediate surroundings and hinterland of the Great Moravian fortified centre of Pohansko, near Břeclav. The settlement structure in the vicinity of a densely populated centre and its development from the Early Hillfort period until the Late Hillfort period (8th – 12th centuries) were investigated by means of surface prospection, microprobes and archaeological research. Apart from defining the settlement structure, the number of inhabitants of the early medieval centre was estimated and the subsistence strategy of the population was examined. Earlier conceptions about a network of farming communities supplying the inhabitants of Great Moravian Pohansko were revised and a new model was introduced, based on the absence of chronologically parallel settlement (if this is at all possible to identify in the archaeological material), the revision of the construction elements of the traditional model and new or hitherto marginalized evidence of the active involvement of the centre’s inhabitants in farming.
The trench in the northern part of Crkvina brought out the remains of the complex building with at least five rooms separated by the mortar bounded stone walls. Two of the rooms (A and B) were thoroughly dug in the older campaigns leaving us with no valid information for reconstructing the stratigraphic sequence. Thus the excavation was focused on the intact rooms in order to establish the relative chronology of the site. The excavated stratighraphic units showed Late Roman findings, particularly pottery and glass vessels sherds. Food storage units built of stones and reused tegulae and tubuli respectively were found in the Room C. A charcoal sample directly connected to these structures was subsequently dated to the second half of the 4th century and the charcoal sample from the upper layer, i. e. the room fill, was dated to the second half of the 6th century (AMS 14C analysis), confirming the stratigraphic sequence. The complete extent of the building, both spatial and chronological, is yet to be assessed in the forthcoming research.
Two main goals of the field survey were to record substantial environmental evidence and to determine traces of previous human activities in the wider Otres area. Therefore all of the visible subsistence resources were registered, including springs, ponds, clay and sand sites. Not by coincidence, the density of collected artifacts was the highest in the areas providing such resources. Collected samples include various finds with the notable prevalence of the Late Mediaeval material. The latter can be explained with increased strategic and traffic significance of the area in the Late Middle Ages, since it was situated right next to the Zadar – Knin road, as well as between two dominating strongholds of the northern Dalmatia at the time - Ostrovica and Bribir.
The input data comes from the systematic excavation of the Department of Archaeology and Museology of Masaryk University at Pohansko near Břeclav.