Rises and Falls of a Regional Power Center. An Overview of the Current State of Knowledge of the Prehistoric Fortified Area at Vladař in Western Bohemia
Abstract
The paper provides a summary of existing information on the Vladař archaeological site collected during the course of two successive grant projects. The work provides information on the unpublished results of an archaeological excavation at the acropolis; in addition to new information on the dating of the peripheral fortifications of the settlement suburb, the paper also presents the first results of an excavation of well-preserved cisterns in the suburb.
The dendrochronological dating of the oak beams from the timber retaining wall of the cistern places the structure in the first half of the 5 century BC. The interdisciplinary study of the site utilises the broadest possible spectrum of approaches and methods.
A key role is played by palaeoenvironmental methods, the application of which is enabled by the exceptionably favourable conditions at the site. The extraordinaryoccurrence of stratified wetland contexts at the acropolis and in the settlement suburb makes Vladař an archaeological site of international importance.