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The cemetery at the Church of St. Clement - new information from the rescue excavation in 2016.

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2020

Abstract

The chapter presents the results of a rescue archaeological excavation, that was conducted in 2016 at the Levý Hradec stronghold. The excavation expanded knowledge about the extent and dynamics of the early medieval churchyard at the Church of St.

Clement. In the southwest vicinity of the church, six graves from 12th - 13th century were captured.

The deceased were laid to rest stretched out in a supine position roughly in the W-E direction, without grave goods and apparently in wooden coffins. The intensive usage of the churchyard is evident in the overlapping of graves, bone dumps and bone fragments secondarily placed in the fill of grave pits and in the layer immediately covering the graves.

Stratigraphically, the churchyard horizon was located above a settlement situation with a fire pit and pottery from the 11th - 12th century. Finally, the horizon was overlapped by pebble stone paving, which indicates reduction of the cemetery area.