Search

The paper provides an overview and evaluation of prehistoric finds made in connection with sand extraction in the area of the so-called Vlkov sand pits, especially in the 1970s and 1980s. Although these artefact usually lack contexts, they still make an important contribution to the knowledge of South Bohemian prehistory, especially during the Neolithic, Eneolithic and Iron Age. Many of them prove the existence of long-distance contacts and some of them might have been deposited intentionally (votive offerings). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-strip and terraced fields systems form significant elements of the current cultural landscape. When evaluating their significance, it is necessary to determine their origins and to further specify their development. However, archeological researchers have encountered problems in dating field systems that were exposed to intensive agriculture in the 20th century AD. In this study, we describe a combination of approaches used to confirm the current landscape's High Medieval origin of the long-strip terrace-like field system of the former village of Malonín, which is located in the Bohemian Forest Mts., Czech Republic. The methods employed are radionuclide dating, geographic information system (GIS)-based reconstruction using old maps, historical documents, and archeological and palaeobotanical records. Our study evaluated the historical significance of field boundaries in the form of hedgerows, which have stabilized the pattern of the agricultural landscape since medieval times. The results of this study provide a basis for further land use planning and for conserving the cultural landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of archaeological, historical and geoarchaeological records represents a significant contribution to research into the medieval landscape. This study focuses on the medieval field system in the deserted village of Debrné, located in northeastern Bohemia, Czechia. The village features a well‐preserved croft plužina field system, a typical historical landscape of central Europe. The main and most visible elements of the field system are the earthen field boundaries, which were the focus of the geoarchaeological investigations. Archaeological excavations in trench S1 revealed a collection of larger stones at a depth of 1 m, potentially serving a drainage function akin to the observed plužina. Additionally, a boulder paving, identified as a remnant of a path between fields, provided insights into the historical use of the area. In trench S2, positioned closer to the village's core, layers with increasing stone content were recorded at a depth of 130 cm. However, the drainage structure observed in trench S1 was not replicated. The dating of earthen field boundaries indicated the creation of the terrace in the second half of the 16th century in trench S1. In trench S2, radiocarbon dating at a depth of 70 to 80 cm ranged from 1025 to 1175 A.D., predating the first written source about Debrné. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating in trench S2 suggested exposure to sunlight during the third century A.D. Archaeobotanical analysis of charred macroremains from trench S1 revealed 236 plant macroremains belonging to approximately 20 taxa, showcasing wild‐growing, collected useful species such as raspberry, blackberry and elderberry. Trench S2 yielded 23 plant macroremains belonging to 11 taxa, with similar species as trench S1. Pedological and micromorphological examinations displayed distinct layering in both trenches, showing up to six layers. Micromorphological analysis unveiled vuggy microstructures, varying grain sizes and elemental patterns, shedding light on different periods of occupation. Multidisciplinary investigations of the buried soils forming the earthen field boundaries discovered that the original soil cover comprised automorphic lixisols and cambisols, which also form under present conditions. These results underscore the importance of integrating pedological, geoarchaeological, archaeobotanical and physical data to comprehend the intricate nature of anthropogenic landscape changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermediate results of a grant project focusing on Neolithic settlement of South Bohemia are presented in the article. Magnetometer survey at the sites of Dehtáře a Radčice 1 revealed several hypothetical building complexes consisting of longhouses which are usually only identified as larger magnetic anomalies reflecting the presence of longitudinal construction pits. Although the ground plans are difficult to interpret, at least their orientation can be reconstructed. All so far known longhouses in the south of Bohemia seem to more or less respect a south-north orientation. One such construction pit belonging to a longhouse was completely excavated at the site of Dehtáře. An important find made in the first year of the project is without doubt the discovery of an LBK cremation grave at Protivín which is actually the earliest known burial in the south of Bohemia. A magnetometer survey in the immediate vicinity of the findspot shows a number of smaller anomalies which could potentially be other graves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this contribution is to inform about new prehistoric finds from the area along the middle course of the Lužnice River. All these finds were made during surface collection and their importance therefore consists in the identification of new sites, and especially in the confirmation of the settlement potential of this region during certain periods of prehistory. The 30 sites in total which are presented in this article have yielded finds dating back to the Eneolithic period, the Bronze Age, the Hallstatt period, the La Tène period, and the beginning of the Roman period. The article contains their description, evaluation and placement into the general settlement context of the microregion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, new finds of prehistoric and early medieval date from the area along the middle course of the Lužnice River in the Tábor region are published which were made during surface collection surveys in the years 2014-2017. The discovery of a new Neolithic settlement site near the village of Borkovice is the most important of them. Its existence is proven by large quantities of typical pottery and stone industry which, together with other recently discovered and partly excavated Neolithic settlements, confirm the importance of the area south of the so-called Borkovice marshland as one of the few parts of South Bohemia occupied during the Neolithic. A concentration of Hallstatt settlement in this micro-region which was recently documented by new finds from Borkovice and Sviny is also interesting. The new finds analysed within the article confirm the importance of this area in at least some prehistoric periods, despite the fact that it used to be, until quite recently, regarded as almost unoccupied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Settlement history is an interdisciplinary topic which connects history, archaeology, paleoecology, historical geography and other scientific disciplines. In Central Europe, one of important questions regards the dating of origin of medieval settlements. In 2020, our team published a study comparing the dating obtained from medieval written records with archaeological data (Fanta et al., 2020). Recently, Kolář and Szabó (2021) wrote a comment in which they criticised several aspects of our original study. They also suggested a new interpretation of our data based on their own reanalysis, the results of which are strikingly different from ours. We admit that many remarks raised by our colleagues are relevant and meaningful (filtering and selection of archaeological data, pottery chronology); that said, we believe that most of them have a negligible effect on the main results of our study. The reanalysis of our data by Kolář and Szabó is, however, fundamentally flawed. Their conclusion that "time lag between historical and archaeological dating can increase with time" has no backing in data; it is a mere statistical artifact produced by using inappropriate calculations and misinterpreting the results. In conclusion: A careful and correct analysis of our data indicates that the systematic upward bias in dating based on written sources is larger for earlier settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Late Neolithic palafitte site, Ustie na Drim, in the northern part of Lake Ohrid (North Macedonia), excavated in 1962, offered ceramic fragments of large, flat, elongated pans. These artifacts could be dated by relative chronology to roughly around 5200–5000 BC. According to their shape and technological traits, the ceramic pans were probably used for baking. The attached materials on the surface of studied pan fragments were sampled for consequent chemical and microscopical analyses (i.e., analyses of starch, phytoliths, and microscopic animal remains). An immunological method revealed the presence of pork proteins in samples. The presence of organic residues of animal origin was, moreover, confirmed by the detection of cholesterol using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Analysis of detected microscopic botanical objects revealed starch grains of several plants (i.e., oak, cattail, and grasses). An interesting find was the hair of a beetle larva, which could be interpreted contextually as the khapra beetle, a pest of grain and flour. Based on our data, we suppose that the ceramic pans from Ustie na Drim were used for the preparation of meals containing meat from common livestock in combination with cereals and wild plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In various research fields, from archaeology to landscape history and ecology, it is important to know the date of the origin of historical settlements (i.e. towns, villages, hamlets, isolated farms) as precisely as possible. In Central Europe, there are two primary ways to obtain the date when a settlement was founded: "historical dating" (based on historical written sources) and "archaeological dating" (based on archaeological findings). Historical dating usually does not reflect the real time of origin, since the first reference to a settlement in written sources can be recorded many years after the real origin of the settlement. However, the time lag is unknown. Until now, no study has attempted to show exactly how the time lag differs in different centuries, or whether the time lag has been affected by any geographical factors. This paper compares the dates of origin from archaeological data and from written sources of medieval and early modern settlements (n = 527, AD 850–1600) in the present-day Czech Republic. We also tested the influence of local environmental conditions on the time lag. Our comparison shows that the time lag has been decreasing with the passing of calendar years (from a time lag of 250 years for AD 1000 to approx. 80 years for AD 1400). Towns and places close to major towns also have a shorter time lag in their historical dating (the difference is almost 100 years). These results make an interpretation of the historical dating of medieval towns and villages more complicated. The length of the time lag and its dispersion means that, for the purposes of settlement dating, historical dating needs to be combined with other dating methods (especially in the medieval period). Our results also identify a possible bias in the chronology of landscape transformation. • Written sources are not reliable for dating medieval settlements in Central Europe. • We have assessed the concordance between written sources and archaeological data. • The usual time lag in written sources decreases with increasing calendar year. • Around AD 1200, the typical time lag of written sources is 150 years. • Around AD 1600, written sources agree with archaeological data in 70% of the cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]