A day at the Archeopark, part III

Hello!

Please find part I here. You can also pull up the map there. Part II is here.

The Acropolis was not only important for defense, but all ceremonies occurred here. Weddings, funerals, and important gatherings. The guide did not mention rituals (or she did and it didn't get translated to me!), but there were many drawings of people sitting semicircle around a person and a tree. I should probably google on slavic rituals and then hit the library. :)


Only the highest ranked people lived within the acropolis. Here are two of the three housing types:

I did not find out the distinction between the housing types, but the roofs were made with straw or reed. The lipa or linen tree was used as well in construction. The lipa leaf is the symbol of the Slavics.

Wiebrza was soaked and then used as rope.



Next we have the inside of the first house:

Note that the floors were actually dug out to 1.5m deep, and in this house the floor is only about 0.5m deep, though it is hard to tell. The subterranean section kept the house cool in the summer and hot in the winter. To the left, cut off from the photo, is the bed with skins on it.

Next is the interior of another house:

Note both houses have fire rings. There were no chimneys and smoke worked through the roofs.

I didn't have a chance to photograph the third house well. You can see it clearly in part II, however, in at least two different photos.



Next we have the kilns. This was used to melt and process iron.

This was one type of oven, for making flat bread:

And this was used to grind wheat into flour by turning the top part:




















This then, is the long house. Unfortunately the guide could not say what happened within the large building.

You'll note some metal tools on the wall, along with various shields and skins. I'm not sure if that stick was for the chief or the religious leader or ? (So many questions, so little time on the tour.)

Next we have a writing tab, with the Russian-like alphabet shown on the card. The writing piece was used to inscribe and also to smooth over the tablet so something else could be written.

A few tablets listing part of the Slavic Pantheon. I have not had this translated yet. Anyone interested, leave a comment and I'll let you know when I find out.

Perun and Veles are listed on this set, and they are my favorite gods so far :)



Next, a showcase of all the natural dyes. The tags list their source, but again- not enough time to have it all translated to me. Indigo was rare and very expensive. If I recall correctly, it was only worn by people of status. The dress on the wall depicts typical woman's clothing.

This is typical men's wear:

And these are typical tools:

They had shackles for prisoners or possibly for slaves. The scissors were very sharp, and the tour guide demonstrated on a kid's hair.When a boy was 6 years old, he received his first hair cut. Afterwards he was no longer his mother's responsibility to raise, but his fathers.


Next, more shields!

I wish I had a close up of the bows and arrows...

Thus ends our tour. I managed to get a nice shot of the wall on the way out:

And one last shot of the bridge:

So, clearly there is still a lot for me to learn here. It was a nice glimpse into early medieval life, however, and I really enjoyed touring the site.


fin.

A day at the Archeopark, part II

Hello!

Please find part I here. You can also pull up the map there. I now plan on splitting this post into three parts. Part II will also be a more overview and orientation post, and part III will finally delve into the culture and lodging in more depth.


Continuing where we left off, crossing the bridge to the Acropolis, you can see the palisades in detail now.

(Okay, I'm cheating, this was taken from the access road with a zoom lens, just downhill from the bridge. Thus the palisades look properly imposing.)


Entering the acropolis then, we see a few houses on the north end.

It is important to note that during re-creating the fortress, they only built three houses; one of each type they found here. There were originally far more houses. I also learned that they have only uncovered about 20% of the area. Because of this, they have not actually found a longhouse, but they know it should be here based on findings from similar fortresses in the area. More on the housing in part III.


So, turning 180 and facing the gate through which we entered, we can see the main part of the defenses.

On the right, at the edge of the photo, you can see a rising hill of earth. This is untouched ground, left for future archeologists and technology to explore. I plan on returning to the Archeopark every time I return to Eastern Europe (hopefully every year) and seeing what else has been discovered.



Next, a quick peak at the west wall:

Hidden behind the ramparts is the side gate, at the top of the access road. The Archeopark uses this as an exit for the tourists, which is a shame since I wanted to go through the main gate again ;)


Moving on, if you would join me on the east wall:


We can look down and see the beautiful construction.


Yes, those are wood logs along the floor, cut in half, and alternating between flat and rounded sides. Beautiful, no?

In addition to this solid construction, the space under the floor was completely filled with stones. That way, when something solid struck the wall, it would not easily collapse. Even so, I would not want to be one of the people charged with moving all those stones!



Next, another look across the Acropolis, this time from the wall.



Turning to the East now, we have an excellent view of the valley:


And we can walk along the wall and look south, over the first Předhradí (and down at the access road):



Lastly, a view from the wall down to the front gate:



Thus concludes part II. I hope you enjoyed the walk-through. Part III will be up soon.

A day at the Archeopark, Chotěbuz-Podobora. Part I

Fortification: Akropole of 'Old Cieszyn'
Location: Chotěbuz-Podobora, Czech
Built: 8th to 11th century

I am no longer jealous of the French and their authentically authentic castle (see earlier post), as I have been to an authentically authentic fortress that is also in the process of being completed.

The Akropole, or Akropol, or Acropolis, or if you will--Citadel--at Chotěbuz-Podobora is now an Archeopark. It is unique within Czech as it is an outdoor museum and rebuilt on the original site.


The archeological discovery was made in 1978 and reconstruction began only recently. The park will be finished later this year, and there is little available about it in English at this time. (If anyone finds a source, please let me know!) Because of this, I hope to provide a very detailed blog post, in two parts, on the history and culture.


You may visit http://www.muzeumct.cz/pobocky/pobocky/chotebuz.php for more photos or if you read in Czech, but the site is not currently available in other languages.

In the 8th century an important trading route, the Amber Road, ran from the Adriatic Sea to the Baltic Sea (more here). The Acropolis was an important stopping point on the route and the Slavics here conducted a great deal of trade.

In 1155, the site was first mentioned in writing, and was referred to as Old Cieszyn. During the 10th and 11th century, however, people had moved from ‘Old Cieszyn,’ and none lived there by the 12th century. It is believed these people built Castle Hill, the construction of which began in the 10th century. This is likely due to the destruction of the stronghold at ‘Old Cieszyn’.

Going back to the 8th to 4th century B.C., during the late Bronze age and the Halstadt Period, pagan people had a settlement here. An unfortified or minimally enclosed settlement gradually became fortified. But during the 5th century B.C., the early settlement was conquered and burnt down by people who set fire and ran. At an excavation site in the first Předhradí or bailey, they found the burnt bones of the people who hid there during the attack. They also found broken jewelery and the remains of a cow that was pregnant. The fire destroyed the stable and caused the roof to collapse on the cow. This helped preserve her and her fetus, the later of which was kept moist in the uterus.

Then there was nothing on this opportune hill for twelve centuries.


So, to begin our tour, I once again found myself at the bottom of the hill, just in time for a tour group that was heading out. Mind, the tour was in Czech mostly, but it all worked out in the end, particularly when the tour guide took an extra 1/2 hour to go over things again with me and answer questions :)

So, please excuse the poor photo quality, but here we are at the base of the hill:


As far as I could tell, the stairs were the only unauthentic item. Obviously not useful for carts and here is the one place I saw metal nails in use.


***



Now here we are, at the top of the stairs, looking up at the corner of the Acropolis, or 'Highest City.'

Let me take you back to the map for orientation and explanation. Again, please bear with me through the technical part and please open the map image in a new window for future reference. (Though perhaps not as required at this fortification). This is an overview of the fortress, approximately as it looked around the 11th century, and as it looks now.


So, clockwise from the top: Acropolis. Long House. Palisade. Slavic fort, tower, and entrance gate. Bridge. Little bridge at entrance. 1st and 2nd Předhradí -> Literally 'under castle' (Podgród in Polish and Bailey in English). Next area of development (the 2nd Předhradí is not completed) (This is the area at the bottom- the 2nd Předhradí). Access road. Original ground (to be excavated later). House replicas. If that's unclear, someone yell at me in the comments, or keep reading. :)

The fortress covered an area 400m long by 110 wide.

It is interesting to note that the Olza River once ran past the base of the hill, where the entrance and little bridge now lies. The Olza ran here until the 18th century, when flooding created a new corridor for the river. It now runs 500-700 meters further east, past Castle Hill in Cieszyn. A small stream runs there now, along the road.


Climbing up the access road and hanging a left at the top, we reach the first Předhradí.


This clay kiln, sitting in the first Předhradí, was used to bake bread. The tour guide mentioned that they made bread in it once and it turned out quite nice. :) I will be covering kilns more in my second post.



The next shot is looking almost straight across. Please ignore the metal structure, which may have been for the archeologists.


You can see the pit and the mound of dirt from the excavations. This is where they found the preserved cow I mentioned earlier. At the back of the pit, you see a steep hill. This wraps around to behind where I was standing and is part of the acropolis' defenses. Next we walked back behind that metal framework, and downhill into the trees-


This ditch was dug out and the earth raised around the first Předhradí. If I recall correctly, the difference in height is 8 meters. To my left is the second Předhradí, which is further downhill. We didn't go there on the tour as it's not complete, but wheat, oats, and other grains were grown there.

So, crossing the 1st Předhradí again and heading north, we arrive at the acropolis:



The bridge was made entirely without nails, and you can see the joinery and wood peg (I'm sure it has a technical English word associated with it- I saw this once on TV but forgot!) used during construction.


Nice, no? The fortress is also made without metal nails.



Lastly, an aerial shot of the reconstructed fortress:


This concludes part I of our tour. As soon as I can, I will continue our tour inside the acropolis and tell you more about the people who lived there.