Tracing Hidden Structures: Prospection and Verification of an Early Medieval Homestead at Pohansko
| Autoři | |
|---|---|
| Rok publikování | 2025 |
| Druh | Další prezentace na konferencích |
| Fakulta / Pracoviště MU | |
| Citace | |
| Popis | The Early Medieval stronghold of Pohansko has been archaeologically investigated for more than sixty years, yet new methods continue to refine our understanding of its internal spatial organisation. The central area of the stronghold comprises several homesteads, roads, burial grounds, church, and other features. Within the homesteads, archaeological remains are typically distributed along their edges with central open spaces in the middle of the homestead. The internal structure and functional interpretation of these homesteads remain insufficiently explored. This study focuses on the verification of non-destructive geoarchaeological and geophysical prospection techniques through archaeological excavation. A selected unexcavated homestead in the central part of the stronghold was surveyed using a combination of magnetometry, magnetic susceptibility mapping, geochemistry analysis, microartefact distribution analysis, and multivariate statistical methods to identify potential anthropogenic structures and activity zones. Based on the prospection results, several distinct areas were identified: an open central zone with no detectable activity, possible traces of non-sunken (above-ground) features, waste management areas, and evidence for non-ferrous metal production or metalworking. To test these interpretations, a verification trench was excavated, allowing a direct comparison between input hypothesis and archaeological situation. The excavation confirmed the presence of an above-ground structure corresponding to the geophysical signal and revealed archaeological contexts consistent with the predicted activity zones. A dense grid of geochemical samples was collected to support further spatial and functional interpretation. This integrated approach demonstrates the high potential of combining non-invasive prospection and targeted excavation for interpreting settlement organisation within early medieval fortified sites. |
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