Non-destructive research into the deserted Havraň locality (Nymburk district) : a contribution to the form of early medieval centres of the lower rank
Abstract
This study sums up the results of analytical field-walking and large-scale geophysical survey conducted in the Havransko area, in the Vestec nad Mrlinou cadastral zone (Nymburk district, Central Bohemia). According to written sources, Havraň in the early Middle Ages played the part of an administrative centre of the lower rank, while in the high Middle Ages it included a manor of the motte and bailey type and several peasant farmsteads.
The objective of non-destructive archaeological research was, in particular, the study of the form of early medieval settlement and its transformations in the high Middle Ages. The non-destructive research confirmed the chronological classification of the site regarding the period between the early and late Middle Ages (between the 10th and the 15th century at the latest).
Based on the results of field-walking, relatively distinct settlement shifts in the individual phases can be observed, determined on the basis of technological pottery classes. Geophysical survey showed the highest concentration of settlement features on a terrain undulation stretching across the investigated area which also contained the largest accumulation of pottery revealed by field-walking.