WAYS OF BURYING AT THE VILLAGE DEVIN IN THE 13TH UP TO THE 18TH CENTURIES

• Authors: Keller I. , Placha V. , Divilekova D.
• Languages of publication: SK

Abstracts

EN

The present-day village Devin is situated 10 km to the west of Slovak capital Bratislava. During the 15th century the originally promising settlement under the castle gradually developed to the small flourishing medieval city fortified with a wall and making use of all privileges. Its dominant feature was a church from the 13th century, oldest part of which was the oblong nave corresponding with the present one including rectangular presbytery. The church was rebuilt and readapted for several times to its present-day classicistic appearance. By the end of the 13th century the dead bodies were buried at the cemetery situated on the southeastern knoll of the fortified settlement in Devin. Later the deceased were buried in the village, near the new church. Originally the church was consecrated to Virgin Mary. Later, in 1841, it is already meant as the Holy Cross Church. The oldest known written record of its existence is a deed of Bratislava charter dated to May 28th, 1307. The church and cemetery were originally protected by a 3.8 m deep ditch. Its ending seems to be linked with a new fence - a stone wall built as a part of big church reconstruction in the 15th century or with its renovation after having been burnt down by Turks in 1529. The archaeological excavations revealed 113 graves, some of them damaged; in many cases only several bones were preserved from the dead bodies. Grave goods found in 22 graves consisted of devotional artefacts - medallions, small crosses, reliquaries, rosaries, amulets, small mounts, belt buckles, tramps, clasps, a ring fragment, coins and rings, the oldest of which are dated into the 13th century. In three graves remains of coffin woods and in one textile remnants were preserved. The finding situations and finds suggest that burying at this cemetery had started at the end of the 13th century and it lasted till the 18th century, when (in 1770) burying in the vicinity of churches was banned by a royal regulation. A new cemetery was founded on the border of Devin behind the village western gate near the way to Devinska Nova Ves.

Keywords

EN

DEVOTIONAL ARTEFACTS; GRAVES AT DEVIN VILLAGE (13TH-18TH C.)

Discipline

• ARCHAEOLOGY: ARCHAEOLOGY

• Publisher: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Archaeological Institute
• Journal: Slovenská archeológia (Slovak Archaeology)
• Year: 2007
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 127-186
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Keller I.

author

Placha V.

author

Divilekova D.

• V. Placha, Banikova 4, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

08SKAAAA03467096