In 2003, a feature – presumably a grave – was uncovered during an investigation in the southern part of Nitra-Dolné Krškany. Based on the radiocarbon dating, the grave was dated to the end of the Late Neolithic (5830 ±40 BP) – most likely the phase I of Lengyel culture. Due to the violation of the contexts, it was impossible to determine whether the feature was a grave within a settlement or a burial at the bottom of a storage pit. We were also able to obtain new knowledge about the feature no. 16 – a conical storage pit with five skeletons lying on its bottom. The radiocarbon dating indicates that the feature could be dated between 3570 ±35 and 3550 ±35 BP. Feature no. 16 can be linked with Nitra culture, probably its Nitra-Únětice phase. The context indicates that the bodies were intentionally deposited in the feature (not discarded). The central skeleton is, most likely, a man in a so-called frog position with arms in an artificial adoration gesture. Above him was laid a child who apparently died violently. The find allows various interpretations. However, the author prefers the explanation that the deceased were intentionally deposited in the grave with a certain cult intention.
In the study a unique collection of finds from a Germanic underground shelter is presented, which is rare in the over-Danubian Barbaricum of present-day Slovakia. The object is a part of a Germanic settlement site that was situated on the left-bank slope of Gidra brook. It is interesting that at the same place two Roman temporary camps were situated as well. Considering the finds, several fragments of scale armour, various sheet-metal parts of weaponry, metal belt mounts, etc. are the most remarkable. A so-called proprietary mount with the inscription indicating the owner's affiliation with Turma was found here, too. Special attention has been paid to a bronze sheet-metal fragment decorated by beating-hallmarking. In decorating sections a female figure alternates a male one. Probably it was a mount of a soldier's shield or protective equipment. Rather big group of finds consists of iron artefacts, sometimes together with bronze ones, building fittings, nails, knife, spear shoe, punch, etc. Metal artefacts in the collection of finds can be characterised as a raw material for further smith-working or processing. The authors assumed a smithy standing in the close vicinity of a dwelling, remains of which got into the shelter filling immediately after its destruction. This hypothesis has to be taken into consideration also in specifying the object chronology. Numerous charcoals in the filling could indicate the shelter was destroyed by fire. Hence, chronology of finds is very close to the time of the shelter working. The question is why the Germans left the finds at the site. No answer has been available now. The relation of the two Roman temporary camps and the Germanic settlement site is a question as well. Probably they did not exist simultaneously. A hypothesis is possible that the Germans had settled in the vicinity of a vanished temporary camp, they built their settlement here and used many of things obtained from the destroyed camp. During the next Roman attack the Germanic settlement site was destroyed and burnt down. Artefacts from the surface objects got into the underground shelter filling. Then the Romans built another camp in the close vicinity. Unambiguous solving of the mutual relation of the Germanic objects and Roman temporary camps should certainly contribute to understanding of complicated questions of the Roman penetration on the territory of present-day western Slovakia and of further Roman and Germanic existence in this space as well.
The present study discusses the inventory of finds from a sunken house that decayed in the last third of the 3rd c. or the first half of the 4th c. The feature was investigated in 2010. The backfill layers contain a relatively large number of archaeological finds – pottery, glass, bronze, iron, bone and antler artefacts. Specifically, the collection of finds includes a coin, bone and bronze needles, spindle whorls, an amulet, iron knives, nails and fragments of tools. The analysis of pottery shows that the majority of ceramics were used for dining purposes while larger vessels – storage containers – are rare. Only a minor part of the pottery finds from the feature are Roman imports. Special attention is paid to the iron amulet box and the fragment of a clay vessel with a rooster-like (or hen-like) spout. The research together with other surveys in the Upper Žitava region corroborates the view that – contrary to previous beliefs – the region was densely settled from the end of the 2nd c. to the 5th c.
The study summarises results of rescue archaeological excavations at Školska Street in the Nitra city centre. We have documented a burial ground fragment established at the turn of the 10th and 11th century and used probably until the turn of the 11th and 12th century. Graves contained mainly pieces of jewellery – S-shaped earrings, bracelets, rings, and pearls from necklaces. We have also found bracelets (woven and bar) indicating that it could be one of the oldest burial grounds with this type of finds in Nitra old town. Pieces of ceramics have been found only in graves. We have also discovered relics of medieval and early modern settlement facilities. 47 features represent four main periods: 9th–10th century, 11th–12th/13th century, 13th–15th century, and early modern period. The study provided a significant discovery, namely that at the turn of the 10th and 11th century, the Great Moravian settlement transformed into a burial ground. The area transformed again into a settlement with a cluster of workshops (bone and antler) sometime in the 13th century however. Since then, the site has been continuously inhabited.
This article informs about the results of rescue archaeological excavations made during the building of R1 expressway by Nitra. On the site at the location Malé Janíkovce that was excavated in the years 2008 and 2009, settlement of various prehistoric and historical eras was identified. The main focus of the article is the Early Medieval graveyard. Eight skeletal burials were examined. Based on the grave inventories and radiocarbon dating (made by laboratory in Poznan), they can be dated in the period of the heyday of the Avar Kaghanate. The results of the excavations of this graveyard are evaluated in the scope of the Avar settlement of the northern part of the Carpathian Basin.
Great Moravian monuments have attracted special attention of both professionals and laypeoplefor a long time. In this paper we focus on only two of the Great Moravian sites studied at the Institute of Archaeology, Slovak Academy of Sciences (IA SAS ). One of the locations is Nitra, the former seat of Great Moravian dukes and Hungarian kings founded in 828. In the 9th century, the town was a large political and cultural centre. Relics from this period (such as remains of fortifications and sacral buildings) can be found on the castle hill and in the area of old military barracks situated in the foothills of Zobor. Unfortunately, some of the relics have been irreversibly lost due to the intense growth of the city and related construction activities. The second site is Bojná, with an agglomeration of five earth fortifications. The most significant of these is a twelve-hectare hillfort of Valy, where we have reconstructed or marked the most interesting historical constructions in situ. Here, visitors can see reconstructions of one of the gates, fragments of the impressive fortifications, and dwellings located inside the hillfort. In the village centre, they can also visit an archaeological museum. Each year, thanks to successful cooperation with local communities and representatives of municipalities, the sites and their history are revived during Nitra Days or the St. Cyril and Methodius Day
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