The Rise of Medieval Towns and States in East Central Europe (East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages 450-1450)

585 Pages·2010·7.89 MB·English

by  Jiří Macháček

Th e Rise of Medieval Towns
and States in East Central Europe
East Central and Eastern
Europe in the Middle Ages,
450–1450
General Editor
Florin Curta
VOLUME 10
Th e Rise of Medieval Towns
and States in East Central Europe
Early Medieval Centres as Social and
Economic Systems
By
Jiří Macháček
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2010
Cover illustration: Early Medieval Centre in Pohansko near Břeclav. Oilpainting.
Design by Jiří Macháček; painted by Libot Balák.
Th is book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Machácek, Jirí, 1971–
Th e rise of medieval towns and states in East Central Europe : early medieval
centres as social and economic systems / by Jiri Machacek.
p. cm. — (East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450 ; v. 10)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-18208-0 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Cities and towns, Medieval—
Europe, Central—History—To 1500. 2. Cities and towns, Medieval—Europe,
Eastern—History—To 1500. 3. Europe, Central—Antiquities. 4. Europe, Eastern—
Antiquities. 5. City and town life—Europe, Central—History—To 1500. 6. City and
town life—Europe, Eastern—History—To 1500. I. Title. II. Series.
DAW1046.M33 2010
943.7’021—dc22
2009051606
ISSN 1872-8103
ISBN 978 90 04 182(cid:17)8 0
Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
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printed in the netherlands
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ............................................................................. ix
Abbreviations ...................................................................................... xix
Acknowledgements ............................................................................. xxi
Chapter One Introduction ............................................................. 1
Chapter Two Methodology ............................................................ 7
2.1 Th e archaeological method ................................................. 9
2.1.1 Depositional and post-depositional processes ..... 9
2.1.2 Archaeological records in formal space ............... 13
2.1.3 Th e archaeological record in geographic space .... 22
2.2 Systems theory in archaeology ........................................... 25
Chapter Th ree Pohansko Near Břeclav—A Preliminary
Model ................................................................................................ 33
3.1 Th e history of research at Pohansko ................................. 33
3.2 Th e source base and the current state of research .......... 37
3.3 Pohansko near Břeclav—preliminary interpretation
models ..................................................................................... 61
Chapter Four Excavation in the Forest Nursery at
Pohansko .......................................................................................... 65
4.1 Settlement features from the Forest Nursery—analysis
and synthesis of their formal structure ............................. 67
4.1.1 Sunken-fl oored settlement features ....................... 68
4.1.2 Above-ground settlement features in the Forest
Nursery ....................................................................... 92
4.2 Chronological framing of the settlement in the Forest
Nursery ................................................................................... 112
4.2.1 Relative chronology—analysis and synthesis of
the formal structures of pottery assemblages ...... 114
4.2.2 Absolute chronology—dendrochronology ........... 201
4.3 Artefacts other than pottery from the Forest Nursery—
analysis and synthesis of the formal structures ............... 208
vi contents
4.3.1 Analysis of artefacts other than pottery and a
formalized descriptive system ................................ 208
4.3.2 Synthesis of the formal structures from the
assemblages with artefacts other than pottery .... 222
4.3.3 Validation of formal structures .............................. 235
4.3.4 Spatial arrangement of formal structures ............. 283
4.3.5 Interpretation ............................................................ 284
4.4 Graves from the Forest Nursery ........................................ 306
4.4.1 Analysis of graves and the formalized descriptive
system ......................................................................... 307
4.4.2 Synthesis of the formal structures of the
graves .......................................................................... 308
4.4.3 Validation of formal structures .............................. 311
4.4.4 Spatial distribution of the graves ........................... 328
4.4.5 Interpretation ............................................................ 334
4.5 Spatial structure of the settlement in the Forest Nursery
and the dynamics of its development in the context of
the settlement-planning concept of the early medieval
centre at Pohansko ............................................................... 343
4.5.1 Spatial structures in the Forest Nursery at
Pohansko .................................................................... 345
4.5.2 Validation of the spatial structures ....................... 353
4.5.3 Interpretation ............................................................ 381
Chapter Five Th e Early Medieval Centre as a System .............. 431
5.1 System defi nition .................................................................. 432
5.2 Th e population and settlement subsystem ....................... 433
5.3 Th e subsistence subsystem .................................................. 436
5.4 Th e craft technology subsystem ......................................... 441
5.5 Th e social subsystem ............................................................ 445
5.6 Th e projective and symbolic subsystem ............................ 449
5.7 Th e trade and communication subsystem ........................ 454
5.8 System inputs and outputs .................................................. 461
5.9 Th e multiplier eff ect in action and the interaction
between the subsystems ....................................................... 467
Chapter Six Th e Early Medieval Centre—Models and
Interpretation .................................................................................. 473
6.1 Th e munitio model ............................................................... 474
6.2 Th e palatium model ............................................................. 478
contents vii
6.3 Th e emporium model .......................................................... 484
6.4 Model comparison and interpretation .............................. 506
Chapter Seven Conclusion ............................................................. 519
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 539
General Index ...................................................................................... 557

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig. 1. Pohansko near Břeclav. Geographical position.
Fig. 2. Pohansko near Břeclav. Excavated areas (1958–2003): 1—Mag-
nate Court, 2—Forest Nursery (the so-called craft smen’s quarter),
3—North-Eastern Suburb, 4—Southern Suburb, 5—the so-called
Cremation Cemetery, 6—Eastern Gate, 7—Forest Dune, 8—Liech-
tenstein Chateau.
Fig. 3. Břeclav-Pohansko. Plan indicating the distribution of the early
Slavic (Prague-type culture) fi nds (according to Dostál 1985). 1—
Settlement I in the Magnate Court precinct; 2—Settlement II in
the Forest Nursery, under the rampart and in the North-Eastern
Suburb; 3—Cremation Cemetery; 4 to 9—dispersed early Slavic
(Prague-type culture) features and fi nds.
Fig. 4. Reconstruction of the fortifi cation and gate from Pohansko
near Břeclav (according to Dostál 1979; Dostál 1984).
Fig. 5. Part of a cross-section of the rampart at Pohansko near Břeclav
with the marked location of the stone front wall and the rear wooden
wall (according to Dostál 1978).
Fig. 6. Břeclav-Pohansko. Th e Magnate Court (according to Dostál
1978).
Fig. 7. Břeclav-Pohansko. Ground plan of the church remains and
their longitudinal cross-section (according to Dostál 1992).
Fig. 8. Břeclav-Pohansko. Th e Forest Nursery.
Fig. 9. Břeclav-Pohansko. Th e Cremation Cemetery.
Fig. 10. Břeclav-Pohansko. Th e Forest Dune (1999–2003).
Fig. 11. Břeclav-Pohansko. North-Eastern Suburb (according to Dostál
1978).
Fig. 12. Břeclav-Pohansko. Th e Southern Suburb (1975–1979).
Fig. 13. Early medieval settlement downstream of the Morava and the
Dyje (according to the State Archaeological Register).
Fig. 14. Břeclav—Líbivá. Th e early Slavic (Prague-type culture) and
Early Hillfort (Pre-Great Moravian) phases (according to Macháček
2001b).
Fig. 15. Břeclav—Líbivá. Th e Great Moravian phase (according to
Macháček 2001b).