Zbigniew Robak
Address: Masaryk University
Faculty of Arts
Department of Archaeology and Museology
Arna Nováka 1/1
602 00 Brno
Czechia
Slovak Academy of Sciences
Institute of Archaeology
Dept. of Middle Ages and Early Modern Age
ul. Akademicka 2
949 21 Nitra
Slovakia
Faculty of Arts
Department of Archaeology and Museology
Arna Nováka 1/1
602 00 Brno
Czechia
Slovak Academy of Sciences
Institute of Archaeology
Dept. of Middle Ages and Early Modern Age
ul. Akademicka 2
949 21 Nitra
Slovakia
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Papers by Zbigniew Robak
In the hilly and mountainous cadastre of the village of Bojná, there are six sites of early-medieval origin or those that were used in the early Middle Ages. Sites I–III and V are hillforts, site IV is a line of fortifications and site VI is a group of barrows. Archaeological research to date has focused primarily on the largest fortifications and the richest site, Bojná I Valy. The work on sites II–V was limited to probing of the fortifications, mainly to obtain data on their chronology. The Bojná VI barrow cemetery is currently being investigated.
The dominant feature of the entire agglomeration is the Bojná I Valy
stronghold and most attention has been paid to its research. It consists
of a system of monumental fortifications located on the crest of a hill. It was constructed in the 890’s and functioned until the beginning or the first quarter of the 10th century. The phenomenon of Bojná I is the high number of iron deposits most of which come from the interior of the fortress, but some were found in chambers of the rampart. Bojná I is at the same time the only site in the whole agglomeration where deposits occur.
The other sites, although less impressive visually, are not inferior to Bojná I in terms of scientific value. Bojná II is an example of a site of excellent strategic value, used almost continuously since Roman times by all groups living in the Bojná region. Bojná III hillfort appears to be one of the oldest early-medieval hillfort in the whole of Slovakia. Its symbolic importance for the local agglomeration is also emphasised by the exclusive barrow cemetery, which was established after the hillfort use had ended. The Bojná IV and V sites are elements of a complex system of local defensive architecture. The Bojná VI biritual burial ground provided a unique finding of a surface cremation burial.
In 2019, new trenches were open on plots 2 and 8 in the central part of the Bojna I Valy hillfort. The trenches (LXII-LXV and LXVII) provided interesting finds. Most interestingly, among things, there were numerous iron rings from a chain armour. In 2020, these trenches were extended and further rings were found. Their detailed analysis will help to establish whether this is the site of manufacture.
In addition to the stationary excavations, extensive surface surveys were carried out on the hillfort and in the surrounding area. During these surveys, part of the western and southern parts of the fortress forefields were examined. An interesting find was a deposit of iron objects (No. 29) hidden in a crumbled rampart. Coins from the 16th century in turn confirm the use of the road passing through the fortification in that period.
Surface surveys also covered the Bojná II hillfort. A significant part of the finds come from the period of the Migration Period, which corroborates earlier assumptions about the chronology of this site. Among the early medieval finds, it is worth mentioning a fragment of a half-moon-shaped (lunula) earring.
Fig. 1. Bojná I Valy: 1 – Polish half-penny of the Alexander I MONETA REGIS POLONIAE (KOP389); 2 – Hungarian denarius of the Ferdinand I PATRONA UNGARIAE (ÉH745). 3 – silver earring bead. Drawn by Ž. Nagová.
Fig. 2. The iron deposit no. 29 in situ. Photo: K. Pieta
Bojná (Topoľčany district), Valy (Bojná I), Hradisko (Bojná II), Mladý háj (Bojná IV) and Bojná V (Nová Lehota/Bojná) sites, linear fortification, Late Bronze Age, Hallstatt period, Middle La Tène period, Migration period, Early Middle Ages (9th – 10th centuries). Finds deposited at: Institute of Archaeology of SAS, Nitra.
During the thirteenth season, we continued research on the western forecourt and on the central area of the Valy hillfort. At the same time, surveys and soundings of other sites were carried out.
Several trenches were opened in the central part of the hillfort. In trenches LXII and LXVII, among other things, we found 24 separate iron rings from the ring armour. The rings were clustered in the northern part of both trenches over an area of several square metres. Feature 55, a deep oval pit with perpendicular walls, probably an outbuilding, was partially excavated in trench LXVI. Its fill contained numerous pieces of pottery, grease and parts of warrior equipment and armour (Fig. 42: 1). Similar items were found in the surface layer of the neighbouring trench LXIV. In the northern part of the western forecourt in area 4, trench XLV was extended to cut through the rampart and an outer ditch. The principle of construction of the rampart was very similar to that of the main fortification. The body of the wall consisted of four horizontal layers of earth 40 – 50 cm thick, overlain by wooden grids. The first two layers were laid horizontally, thus levelling the slight slope of the original terrain. Remnants of the humus layer preserved under the mound. Because the trench was very narrow, it was not possible to determine whether the rampart had a chambered construction or was only supported by timber walls or wattle, which did not survived. Few stones were found in the ditch filled to a depth of 140 cm with soil (Fig. 42: 2). In area 4, we continued the exploration of the western forebay development with a system of long narrow sections and square probes aimed to capture any additional settlement features. An interesting find was the discovery of a lower quernstone (stator) in trench LXI/b. It seems that the stator was found in its original location (Fig. 42: 3).
Exploration of the western unfortified forefield of the Valy hillfort (part Trhovisko) supported the view that the area was used at the time of the hillfort’s existence. At a distance of 120 m south-west of the moat and rampart of the forecourt, a mass find of iron objects was found near an occasional water source (deposit no. 28). Trench LXVIII, measuring 150 × 130 cm, was opened in the spot of the find and the find was cleaned and documented in situ. The depot (Fig. 43) contained 40 objects: 24 axe-bars, four ploughshares, two sickles, two short scythes, three scythes, a bucket handle with attachments, half of an iron chunk, and three objects of undetermined function, perhaps parts of a chariot.
Two cuts through the rampart were made at Bojná II. The double line of the ramparts and ditches of the main fortification was manually surveyed with a narrow cut. Charcoal samples were taken from the bottom of the middle ditch and from the top of the body of the front wall for radiocarbon dating. The results (1190 ±30 and 1210 ±30 BP) suggest dating of the samples to the Great Moravian period. The second hand-dug cut crossed the external fortification, clearly visible in the terrain. Charcoal samples were taken from the bottom of the trench for radiocarbon dating. The resulting date (1220 ±30 BP) is consistent with the above data obtained from the perimeter fortification.
At the Bojná IV – Mladý Háj site, we made a cut through the ditch and the rampart of the linear fortification. Based on the obtained profile, we can conclude that a simple embankment without distinct layers was built on a previously prepared and levelled surface. A sample taken from a small concentration of charcoal provided a date of 1525 ±30 BP. However, this date cannot be taken as reliable and decisive for the chronology of the feature.
In 2019, activities also focused on the surface survey of the inner area of the Bojná V Halšiny-Žihľavník hillfort, which is the largest fortification of the entire agglomeration. Older excavations and pits left by amateur excavators were examined. We also collected pottery from the surface and surveyed the site using metal detectors.
During the 12th season, research at the Valy hillfort focused on the examination of the western forecourt and rescue research of the eastern gate, in conjunction with the supervision of its reconstruction. In the area of the gateway, a fragment of the newly uncovered northern profile was excavated and documented. This complemented the documentation of the gate wing profiles from 2012 and 2013. The findings from previous seasons, when regular exploration was focused on the gate, were confirmed. An interesting finding was the discovery of the original walking horizon – a humus layer beneath the base, levelling layer of the front chamber. In the northern part of the western forecourt (area 4) in trench LI, a rectangular feature 47 (Fig. 66: 1), measuring 250 × 110 cm and 110–130 cm deep, was explored. A pit, probably a cellar, was cut into the bedrock. It included perpendicular walls and charred slabs, probably from the floor or a collapsed cover, laying on the flat bottom. A knife was found in the backfill of the feature, along with a stone triangular whetstone (Fig. 66: 2, 3). From Feature 47 samples were collected for radiocarbon dating. A date of 1165 ±30 BP (carbon from the backfill near the grinding stone) can be accepted as reliable however 950 ±30 BP (the collapsed cover) will need to be verified by the analysis of other samples. At the Bojná III Žihľavník hillfort on the Obora site in the vicinity of the mounds, trenches 8 and 9 from 2010, which intersected the double line of a very low mound, were recovered and extended to verify LiDAR images. The rampart on this site consisted of a simple soil embankment with no obvious layering, held on either side by some sort of spillway or another wall, of which only the troughs and stake pits alongside the foundations survive. In trenches 8 and 9 a layer of stones survived below the surface, which may have originally served as the lining of the bank. In the trenches
on the more easily accessible opposite side of the hillfort, in the Vartovka site, the fortification proved to be more robust, with a more complex course. Also at these points, the rampart is a simple embankment with a ditch, but weakly visible layers of embankments could be observed. No structural elements were found. Similarly, no organic relics, necessary for samples for chronological analyses, could be identified. The embankments of the mounds contained no finds. However, early medieval pottery was found in the backfill of the ditches. The fortification of the Žihľavník thus remains undated. Based on the findings so far, the early medieval settlement from the inner area of the hillfort can be dated back to the 7th – 9th centuries.
In the western part of the foregrounds, in trench XLV, we found a sunken house (feature no. 44) with a well-preserved stone furnace (Fig. 44: 3, 4). Inside the furnace, there was a hoard containing iron axe-like bars stuck in two bundles (20 and 17 pieces, respectively), a horse bit and two hooked keys (Fig. 44: 5, 6). Chronologically, the hoard is related to the decline of the Valy hillfort – dated as after 908. This helps to determine the chronology of the finds as well as other items found in the feature backfill.
Finally, as a part of preliminary works related to the reconstruction of the eastern gate, we cut the outer moat below the rampart down to the rampart destruction with a trench (XLVI). The original depth and width of the moat could reach even 2 m. In the moat were no stones from the rampart construction. At the top of the northern wing of the eastern gate, we opened another trench (XLVII), which confirmed the presence of structural elements of the embankment. The excavations revealed transverse log constructions with preserved stone shelling of the chamber partition. The method used to strengthen the fortifications here was identical to the western part of the main wall.