High Medieval Archaeology

The Zítkov castle (Pardubice Region, Czech Republic) near Choceň was investigated by means of metal detection in 2007–2011. The research was led by the archaeologist of the Regional Museum in Vysoké Mýto and focused on surface layers endangered by the illicit use of the metal detecting technology. The collection of finds illustrates life in the castle, mainly in the later 14th century and the early 15th century when the castle was besieged. Traces of unknown activities from the 13th century were detected as well.

The newly-discovered prehistoric and High Medieval settlements at Podrečje near Vir were located in the southern part of the Kamniška Bistrica lowlands or, in the broader sense, on the north-eastern edge of the Ljubljana basin. The settlements were situated in the lowland basin, which was formed by the Pleistocene and Holocene fluvial deposits of the Kamniška Bistrica river.
Eight dwelling structures in sector I (Houses 1−8) were classified into the prehistoric settlement phase (Ist settlement phase). They formed two groups, which were separated by two ditches (Ditches 1 and 2). These were most probably drainage ditches, which were associated with Houses 6 and 8. Houses 6, 7, and 5, north of the above mentioned ditches, were bounded on the west by an enclosure fence. No fence was discovered to the south of the group of dwelling structures to the south of the two ditches. The buildings stood a few metres from each other and were built of with upright load-bearing posts. They most probably had compacted clay (cob) walls (elements of which were not preserved). The dimensions of these structures varied between 7 and 14 m in length and between 5 and 7m in width. House 2 stood out in terms of floor plan and dimensions. The surviving features suggest that the settlement extended to the west and east. The remains of the prehistoric settlement are dated to the period from the late Middle Bronze Age to the end of the Late Bronze Age in sector I. However the material from sector II suggests that the foundation of the settlement may be dated to as early as early mid Bonze Age. However, we need to emphasize that this date is based on an extremely modest assemblage of sherds representing 25 vessels (assemblage G1−25).
Taking into account the fact that remains of High Medieval pottery appeared only sporadically in sector I and based on the substantial High Medieval occupation layer (Context no. 4) and remains of three partially extant dwelling structures in sector II, there is incontrovertible evidence for the existence of a settlement or hamlet in the central part of sector II (settlement phase II). The best preserved dwelling structure was House 10, which had the remains of a hearth (probably of the open type) in the south-western part of the structure. The remains of other two dwelling structures were also recorded. House 9 was located in the extreme eastern part of the excavated area, whilst House 11, was represented by a mere three postholes, which were recorded in Section 1. These dwelling structures and a dense concentration of pottery in the area 10 m to the east of House 11 are proof that the settlement extended to the west and to the east of the excavated area. Štular states, that the period from the 8th to the 12th Century was a phase of fortified central settlements and undefended rural settlements from the perspective of settlement archaeology. These structures might represent log cabin type structures with an area of between 16 to 25m2, which would have been adapted to the micro location and environment (Štular 2001, 71, 72). The settlement at Podrečje near Vir might also be attributed to an open rural settlement type. On the basis of the pottery assemblage and the radiocarbon dates the settlement can be dated to the 11th and 12th Centuries (or possibly even to the transition from the 10th to the 11th Century).
The material from Podrečje revealed novelties or changes in the development of the potter’s knowledge. The first noticeable change was in the composition of certain pottery fabrics. Pottery made of very fine (120 vessels) and finely-grained (53 vessels) fabrics were still prevalent. However, a very finely-grained fabric frequently with individual quartz grains of small (28 vessels) or even very coarse texture (11 vessels) was also used for pottery production. Vessels made from such fabrics had a coarse appearance. This phenomenon is also known on other sites in Slovenia, Hungary, Podravina in Croatia and in Bavaria. The greatest changes were conditioned by the gradual introduction of an ever-faster potter’s wheel. The prevailing technique was the one of shaping with additional reworking on a potter’s wheel (determined on 131 vessels out of 201 in total). The perfect rotation of the vessel (from the bottom up) on a slow wheel was seen on 35 vessels. The technique of shaping on the fast pedal-operated potter’s wheel (from a lump of clay) has been recognised on 17 vessels. On eighteen vessels the shaping technique remains undetermined. The differences that occurred during the shaping of the vessels can be chronologically determined. Vessels made on the slow potter’s wheel are typical of the 9th and 10th Centuries and persisted into the 11th Century, but no longer appear at the transition from the 11th to the 12th Century. To a smaller extent, shaping on the fast potter’s wheel appeared around the middle of the 10th Century. It became more common in the 11th century, but began to expand in the transition from the 11th to the 12th Century. The incomplete oxidisation firing method was recognised on over half of the vessels (125 vessels). A significant proportion of the vessels were subject to firing in a reducing atmosphere (41 vessels). The decoration on the vessels was very diverse. The techniques used are varied and involve a wide selection of motifs. The most prevalent decoration is that of vertical, diagonal or horizontal combed decoration of the entire surface, which mostly formed the background on which single horizontal or wavy lines were grooved (or more rarely incised). Single horizontal and wavy lines were most frequently arranged in a row on the vessel body. The appliéd cordons with or without fingertip impressions appeared most often on bowls or dishes, but more rarely on the widest circumference of pots. The cordon was usually applied to the combed foundation. There is grooving or fluting on some vessels, either as decoration or part of the shaping of the vessel body. This is a phenomenon, which is also found on in the Drava valley in Croatia.
High medieval vessel types include pots, bowls or dishes, and pitchers. The most common type is that of the small globular pot with an internal neck diameter of between 7.40 and 12.20 cm (18 vessels). They were followed by middle-sized pots with a diameter of between 13.40 and 17.0 cm, which formed an almost identical proportion (17 vessels). There was a significantly smaller number of large pots (8 vessels) between 17.80 and 22.80 cm in diameter, whilst there was only one example in the category of very large pots (neck diameter 34 cm). The lack of large pots could be explained by a culinary culture, which made much less use of large pots after the introduction of open hearths. The spatial analysis of the distribution of pots around (most probably) an open type of hearth (Context no. 411) in House 10 revealed an interesting vessel distribution: three small pots (G46, G49, G69), four medium-sized pots (G44, G51, G67, and G81), whilst the smallest share of proportion of vessels was from the category of large pots – only two such vessels being present (G60 and G82). In terms of function, small pots would be used for warming food and cooking smaller meals, medium pots were largely used for the preparation of meals (for the family), while large pots were intended for the storage of various food types. The presence and absence of the rim specifically designed to fit the lid was also connected with cooking, since its presence (the groove inside the vessel) permitted the preparation of braised food. The analysis of appearance of pot lids showed the presence of the groove on rim edges (after Losert) of shapes 1f, 1H, 2f, 4d, 6b, 7b, and 9b (dated to the period between the 10th and the 12th Centuries). Important information for the pottery chronology of the High Medieval Period was offered by the shapes of pot rims (Štular 2007, 126, Fig. 6.1: Graphical presentation of the dating of form types (schematically shown rims); in Upper Franconia − Losert 1993). Variants 1d and 1H, 2d, 1f, 2f and 2H and 4b are the so-called earlier variants, which were especially common prior to 1000 (but also appear after this year, although rarely). The later rim variants 2c, 7a, 4c, 4d, 1f were, characteristic of the period from AD 900 to about AD 1200. Variants 7b and 7c were typical I of the period between AD 1000 and AD 1100. The latest rim group includes variants 6g, 9b, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, and 9b, the appearance of which was characteristic for the time from 1000 onwards,. These are largely undercut rim forms. The appearance of pitchers (G113, G114) in the 10th and 11th Centuries is also chronologically significant, because, since they are limited to this period. All five variants of bowls or dishes from Podrečje could, according to Losert’s classification, be assigned to conical bowl forms with a slightly outward convex walls (his first group), where forms with 1a rims were more frequent in the Early Middle Ages, and forms 4c and 10d in the High Middle Ages (Losert 1993, Fig. 7: 1a−f). An examination of the spatial distribution of bowls showed that they were largely concentrated around hearth Context no. 411 (either inside House 10, or in a 10m zone around House 10).

In 2013–2014 a collection of metal objects originating from various sites in Moravia and in the eastern half of Bohemia
was handed over to the Regional museum in Vysoké Mýto. The only artefact which can be securely da -
ted to prehistory is a club-shaped head of a bronze pin. The other objects date back to the Middle Ages and the
Modern Period. No certain information is available about the origin of this collection, but if we sum up the
available facts (exclusively metal objects, originating from fortified manors, castles, hillforts or their surroundings),
it is most probably a collection created with the help of a metal detector.
Some tools which are only rarely represented in museum collections (such as a scythe from Potštejn) may
be of more interest. The same is true for militaria – especially the finds of fragments of iron gun barrels and a
lead projectile from Velký Vřešťov are interesting. Although these objects were found in the immediate vicinity
of a prehistoric hillfort, it is beyond doubt that they are related to a siege camp established near the castle in
1467. In their majority, these are trivial objects which would only be of some indicative value if they were discovered
during a systematically led excavation including appropriate documentation.

In 2005–2016 a number of isolated metal finds of medieval and early modern date ended up in collections of various museums in eastern Bohemia and in the Bohemian-Moravian borderland. These especially include militaria, equestrian equipment, but other find categories are present as well. The objects have different evidential value, but in a number of cases, they represent valuable sources of knowledge about areas which are archaeologically still little known. Bohemian-Moravian borderland – Middle Ages – metal objects Úvod Od r. 2005 (po obsazení archeologického pracoviště v Regionálním muzeu ve Vysokém Mýtě) zde byla věnována značná pozornost problematice používání i zneužívání detekto-rů kovů. V této souvislosti tu byly přebírány náhodné nálezy učiněné s detektory kovů, později řadu nálezů poskytli spolupracovníci uvedené instituce, na řadě lokalit pak pro-váděl cílený detektorový průzkum archeolog Regionálního muzea ve Vysokém Mýtě za účasti spolupracovníků. Vedle kolekcí z nejrůznějších lokalit, které byly a jsou postupně předmětem prezentace v odborném tisku, docházelo rovněž k ojedinělým nálezům vrchol-ně středověkých artefaktů a artefaktů ze staršího novověku. I když jejich vypovídací hod-nota je značně nižší, protože nepochází z intaktních archeologických situací v rámci stan-dardních výzkumů či z větších nálezových kolekcí, které by usnadnily interpretaci, i tyto předměty si nepochybně zaslouží bližší pozornost. Jejich zveřejnění (mimo numismatické nálezy) je úkolem následujících řádků. 1 1 Příspěvek byl vypracován v rámci programu aplikovaného výzkumu a vývoje národní a kulturní identity (NAKI II) č. DG16P02R031 (Moravské křižovatky).

Metal detector survey of Zítkov Castle yielded about two hundred arrowheads, which attest that the castle has been besieged approximately at the turn between the 14th and 15th centuries. In about two thirds of all these projectiles it was also possible to document the position in which the one or another point was found; it mostly was perpendicular to the course of contour lines of the slope. The question remains whether this orientation follows the original shooting direction, or whether it is a result of post-depositional processes. The analysis of finds from Zítkov rather indicates the former possibility, but it will be necessary to verify it at other localities.

La historia de las gentes que poblaron las tierras entre el río Duero y el Sistema Central durante los siglos VIII-XI es una gran desconocida. Tras la caída del Reino Visigodo y la efímera dominación de al-Ándalus este territorio quedó abandonado de una autoridad superior, pero sus habitantes permanecieron en sus aldeas, castros, castillos y ciudades y conformaron su propio sistema de organización social y política. Estas comunidades autónomas de bienes comunales, con el paso de los años, desarrollaron una jerarquización interna basada en el poder militar y económico. Sus élites fueron asimiladas en el feudalismo importado del norte cuando León y Castilla, que a la par de traer nuevos moradores, reorganizaron administrativamente estas tierras y sus gentes en procesos de repoblación.

Asimismo, con esta obra se pretende superar definitivamente los planteamientos historiográficos del siglo pasado y demostrar la amplia presencia poblacional en la mitad sur del valle del Duero y los valles portugueses del Vouga y Mondego. Así, se señalan los más de 1600 asentamientos existentes durante este periodo en un amplio catálogo acompañado de mapas y comentarios de las evidencias documentales, arqueológicas, epigráficas y toponímicas; unos asentamientos que vienen a “dejar patente que, a pesar de tratarse de una tierra de nadie, fue una tierra con gente”.

The High Middle Ages settlement in Kapitulská street, site court of Eszterházy palace in Bratislava. This article is aimed on the processing of a part of archaeological research in 2004 in the court of the Eszterházy palace in Kapitulská street, no. 6–8 in Bra-tislava. There are settlement features – 2_SI/2004, 4_SI/2004, 6_SI/2004 from trench SI/2004 and feature 1_SII/2004 from sonde SII/2004, in which were found archaeological material dated to an earlier phase of the High Middle Ages (12th – beginning of 13th century). In the feature 4_SI/2004 and 6_SI/2004 were also found younger artefacts from the 14th century, respectively in the feature 1_SII/2004 and 6_SI/2004 were as intrusion, findings from the Late La Tène period.