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V/2/2014
INTERDISCIPLINARIA ARCHAEOLOGICA
NATURAL SCIENCES IN ARCHAEOLOGY
homepage: http://www.iansa.eu
Decoding the Neolithic Building Complex: the Case of the Extraordinarily
Large House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
Jaromír Beneš
a,b*
, Václav Vondrovský
a
, Lenka Kovačiková
a,b,d
, Petr Šída
b,c
, Michaela Divišová
a,b
a
Institute of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31a, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
b
Laboratory of Archaeobotany and Palaeoecology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Na Zlaté stoce 3, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
c
Department of Archaeology, Philosophical Faculty, University of Hradec Králové, nám. Svobody 331, 500 03 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
d
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, University of West Bohemia, Sedláčkova 15, 306 14 Plzeň, Czech Republic
1. Introduction
Analyses of Neolithic houses in Central Europe are usually
based on artefactual and other material characteristics
associated with a content of sunken features in the near
surrounding of the building structure. It is believed that
discarded material from long sunken features, usually
referred to as “loam pits”, refects human activity around
the house (Pavlů 2000). Another concept emphasizes the
material and chronological heterogeneity of such deposits,
refecting the extended period of the space use and the
complicated taphonomy of the archaeological assemblages
(Květina, Končelová 2011a; 2011b). This paper presents a
methodological approach which refects both concepts. The
subject of investigation is one house from the area of the
Neolithic site of Hrdlovka. The site was excavated by the
corresponding author of this article in 1987–1990 (Beneš
1991a; 1991c) as part of large rescue excavations undertaken
in the forefeld of the open-cast mining area. The form of
analysis presented here could be useful as a methodological
approach for further research and a complete evaluation of
the site.
A specifc aim of this paper is to present an analytical
approach specifcally in connection with the extraordinarily
large house III from the Hrdlovka site. Prior to initiating
a detailed description analysis of the house III, a short
outline of the archaeological history of the site discovered
needs to be provided. The Neolithic site of Hrdlovka was
situated in north-west Bohemia in the Czech Republic in
the lowlands of the Podkrušnohoří basin extremely close
to the foothills of the Krušné Hory Mountains (Figure 1).
Volume V ● Issue 2/2014 ● Pages 99–118
*Corresponding author. E-mail: benes.jaromir@gmail.com
ARTICLE INFO
Article history:
Received: 21. November 2014
Accepted: 28. December 2014
Keywords:
Hrdlovka
Neolithic
Linear Pottery Culture (LBK)
Stroked Pottery Culture (SBK)
longhouse
ceramics
lithics
animal bones
multivariate analysis
ABSTRACT
The article presents the methodological approach used in the case of a Neolithic building complex,
where the subject of investigation is the long tripartite house III from the Hrdlovka site in the Czech
Republic. A method of chronological analysis is suggested and demonstrated. The site located in north-
west Bohemia was excavated in the area of an open-cast mine between the years 1987 and 1990 as
part of a rescue excavation. The house is an extraordinarily long building of a slightly trapezoid shape
with a length of 47.5 m. Archaeological assemblages originating from sunken features around the
building enabled the formulation of the relative chronology, based on data acquired from ceramic
fragments decoration, supported by a multivariate analysis. An analysis of ceramics individuals,
lithics and animal bones combined with radiocarbon data made several argumentation steps possible,
attempting to shed some light on the house III chronological position with respect to the transitional
Linear Pottery Culture/Stroked Pottery Culture (LBK IV/SBK I) period. The majority of the sunken
features appertain to the house unit; however, certain sunken features in the chosen 5 perimeter were
assigned as chronologically unrelated. Analysis of lithics recorded the use of local quartzite and
northern Bohemian metabasite, while the investigation of animal bones detected a common structure
of a domestic herd. Finally, the extraordinarily large
house itself is discussed, representing an example
of huge Neolithic architecture, which may have demonstrated prestige and power.
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Jaromír Beneš, Václav Vondrovský, Lenka Kovačiková, Petr Šída, Michaela Divišová: Decoding the Neolithic Building Complex: the Case of the Extraordinarily Large
House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
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The primary activity here was, and still is, open cast coal
quarrying where a major part of the lowland landscape,
including a vast portion of prehistoric and medieval sites,
was destroyed including the Hrdlovka site itself (Beneš
et
al
. 1993). Broadening of the open cast quarries in the 1960s
stimulated a number of archaeological rescue events, which
pre-dated the systematic feld salvage activity by the Institute
of Archaeology, Academy of Sciences in Prague, Branch
Most. Field identifcation of the Neolithic site of Hrdlovka
was connected with the systematic control of the approaching
huge open quarry Maxim Gorkij in 1987 (Beneš 1991b). The
entire site was mined away and currently no longer exists
(Figure 2).
The Neolithic site of Hrdlovka was situated at the bottom
of a moderate valley of the Loučenský potok creek. The
area with archaeological remains was located on a slightly
elevated plane between the Loučenský potok creek and a
small unnamed stream. The subsoil was built up here by
yellow Tertiary clay, which was infltrated by sand and with
remaining small islands of Quaternary loam. The topsoil
was partially scraped away by a quarrying company and the
uncovered area has been surveyed by an archaeologist. The
rescue feld activity began here immediately after the site
discovery in the spring of 1987 (Beneš 1991b). The strategy
of the feld activity was determined by the progress of the
open cast quarrying front. Archaeologists had to calculate
Figure 1.
Geographical position of the
Neolithic Hrdlovka site in the Podkrušnohorská
pánev basin which is currently deeply modifed
by mining activity (created by K. Křováková).
Figure 2.
Hrdlovka site location projected
onto a current aerial photo of the destroyed
area (map source in 2014, http://geoportal.
cuzk.cz).
0 1000 m
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
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with a short time span for all of the feld rescue activity there,
which took an entire three years.
The site with traces of the Neolithic features and artefacts
was divided in several smaller areas called “V”, “SJ”, “Z”
and “B” (Figure 3). The areas were determined somewhat
technically based on their surface condition and technical
accessibility. The most endangered eastern area V (the
closest area to the quarrying front) was due to a lack of time
only sampled by long mechanical trenches in the east-west
direction, enabling simple evidence of house plans and the
excavation of only chosen associated units, usually sunken
“loam pits”.
The area SJ was investigated with particular attention and
with relatively enough time in comparison with the other
areas (Figure 4). The excavation here was determined by the
existence of long provisional depositions of arable soil, which
had been scraped away by heavy machinery with a tilting
bucket prior to the archaeological survey (Figure 5). This area
was chosen for complex excavation in detail. Apart from the
Neolithic period, the area is characterised by the presence
of archaeological features dating to the Eneolithic (the
Late Neolithic) and the La Tène period. The last mentioned
chronological component is represented here by a cluster of
sunken houses and loam pits lying south of the La Tène ditch.
Certain archaeological components at the Hrdlovka site dating
back to the Corded Ware period, the Early Bronze Age and
the Early Medieval period were recorded, excavated, analysed
and have already been published on (Beneš 1999; Beneš,
Dobeš 1992; Meduna 2011).
The remaining areas Z and B were investigated with a lack
of time over the years 1989 and 1990. Area Z was sampled
by long mechanical trenches maintaining a similar approach
as in the case of area V and area B; it was uncovered using a
wheel tractor-scraper.
It has been more than 20 years since the end of the
rescue excavation analytical work concerning the Neolithic
Hrdlovka site, which began as a research grant under the
leadership of the director of excavation. The primary goal of
the current Hrdlovka research project is to present the results
of the old rescue investigation to the public within the context
of recent methodology. The research project comprises a
complete evaluation of this unique site. The most important
factor for the Hrdlovka site was the extremely good visibility
of the building details of the Neolithic architecture in
the feld, this even being enhanced by the colour contrast
between the yellow tertiary clay and the extremely dark infll
of the Neolithic features and structures. The specifc reason
for initiating the research project was the processing and
Figure 3.
Plan for the Hrdlovka site. House
III is highlighted in yellow.
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Jaromír Beneš, Václav Vondrovský, Lenka Kovačiková, Petr Šída, Michaela Divišová: Decoding the Neolithic Building Complex: the Case of the Extraordinarily Large
House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
102
Figure 4.
Hrdlovka. Plan of the area SJ with
house III. Excavation 1987–1991.
evaluation of material obtained from 58 detected Neolithic
houses. The preliminary dating of half of the completely
excavated house ground plans and the related sunken
features to the Stroked Pottery Culture (SBK) makes this site
rare within the context of the Central European Neolithic
(Beneš 1991a; 1991c).
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Jaromír Beneš, Václav Vondrovský, Lenka Kovačiková, Petr Šída, Michaela Divišová: Decoding the Neolithic Building Complex: the Case of the Extraordinarily Large
House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
103
Figure 5.
View of the excavated ground
plan of house III in the year 1987 (photo
J. Beneš).
Figure 6.
Setting of house III in the area SJ (left) and sunken features, spatially associated with house III in 5 m perimeter (right).
1.1 House III
The example of Hrdlovka house III is an excellent opportunity
to demonstrate the method which was used in the analytical
work in the current post-excavation process. The architecture
of house III with associated ceramic artefacts, lithics and
animal bones provides a complex research challenge in
current Neolithic studies of the LBK and SBK periods. The
choice of the house was based on several conditions. The
tripartite ground plan of the house was almost completely
preserved, not considerably overlapped by any other ground
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Jaromír Beneš, Václav Vondrovský, Lenka Kovačiková, Petr Šída, Michaela Divišová: Decoding the Neolithic Building Complex: the Case of the Extraordinarily Large
House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
104
plans. The length of the house III is 47.5 m and in this aspect
could be considered one of the longest houses within the
area of the Czech Republic (Figure 6). The ground plan of
the house is slightly trapezoidal (the width varies from 8.6
to 9.5 m), although it is questionable, if the difference of
approximately one metre was intentional or not with the
context of such an enormous length (Table 1). The inner
structure of the postholes is relatively regular, consisting of
3 rows of bearing posts. The dimensions of some of the large
posthole pits reach even 1.25 m in diameter, while the darker
shadows of the wooden posts were well visible in contrast to
the colouring during excavation indicating that the diameters
of the wooden poles vary between 40 and 45 cm (Figure 7).
The northern part of the house was limited by a huge
wall trench, which is rectangular and orientated identically
with the rest of the ground plan. The western part slightly
extends into the middle part and both parts are divided
by a so-called corridor. The eastern part of the northern
trench is shorter resulting in a gap in the house wall.
Construction of the northern part could have been either
Table 1.
House III metric characteristics.
LengthWidthAreaDeclinationConstruction
southern part
11.19.584.417°
single wall
middle part*
22–179.617°
double wall
northern part
14.48.6114.217°
trench
house
47.5–378.217°–
*including corridor
Figure 7.
Comparison of inner and wall
postholes. Profles show the well preserved
‘shadows’ of former wooden posts.
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
105
open at this place (less probable) to the east or covered by
some lighter archaeologically unpreserved construction.
The middle part of the building was limited from the west
and east by smaller double postholes shaping the western
and eastern walls. The wall posts of the house ground plan
show diameters of 15–20 cm, while the bearing posts in
the middle part remained extremely strong. Doubled walls
are particularly characteristic for ground plans as of the
end of the LBK period. The southern part comprises a
simple row of postholes, though it should be considered
that this part was discovered in the season 1989, unlike
the rest of the ground plan discovered in the seasons
1987 and 1988. There could be small differences in the
overburden depth, although the depth of the mechanical
uncovering was carefully controlled. It is not excluded that
the empty space in the eastern wall in the southern part of
the house could also indicate some lighter construction or
an open space. An interesting detail is represented by one
doubled posthole in the southern frontage, which could be
interpreted as reparation treatment
1
. In the case of Hrdlovka
it is also important to consider incoherent sands under the
thin geological layer of the yellow clay, which are at these
locations in the bedrock situated closer to the surface.
This situation could have forced builders to reinforce the
construction. Overlaps of longitudinal walls, so-called
antes, extend beyond the southern plan of the ground
plan. Based on certain above-mentioned characteristics,
house III is close to the late LBK group 1b according to
Modderman’s typology (Modderman 1986).
In the northern wall trench, the identifed postholes were
inserted into its body. The postholes with a larger diameter
were situated in the corners, the smaller between them at a
regular distance (as can be deduced from the situation in the
southern part of the trench). The trench was discovered by
a method of longitudinal profles, which unfortunately did
not provide such quality information as transversal profles
used in other houses (
e.g.
I, II, VIII), where it was possible
to identify the “shadows” of carpenter construction work.
These planks were most likely positioned vertically in the
trench with added supporting posts.
2. Material and Methods
The hand-drawn feld documentation was transformed and
processed in the virtual GIS interface. For the purposes of
the material and archaeological situations, analyses were
also created at the Hrdlovka Database in the MS Offce
Access 2010 interface. The concept and certain descriptive
systems come from the database elaborated for the Bylany
settlement, Czech Republic (Květina, Pavlů 2007), which
carried out long-term research at this site and established
the standard for such extensive assemblage processing.
After completion of the processing of all the Neolithic
1
An analogical situation was detected in LBK ground plans in 2013 on the
site of Těšetice-Kyjovice (oral announcement by Z. Hájek).
components from Hrdlovka, the database will be accessible
for researchers as an analogy searching tool.
Analysis of the material associated with the house ground
plan proceeded in the following steps. Firstly, the nearest
vicinity of the house was defned based on the methodology
developed by I. Pavlů. It suggests a 5 m perimeter as the
closest activity area (Pavlů 1977, 13–14) as the arbitrary
defnition of the house activity area. Based on our approach
(Figure 6, right), this area represents only a spatial, not
necessarily a functionally and chronologically associated
unit. Such parameters can be used as a hypothesis that the
majority of the sunken features were with high probability
part of the house III building complex. Naturally, one cannot
exclude more distant sunken features as part of the building
complex, however, their affliation is not easy to detect and
recognize. Additionally, features in the house interior (339
and 1093) were included, although their functional affnity
to the house is questionable (see below). On the basis of the
5 m perimeter, feature 345 was included, even though it is
penetrated by the house III wall. Its assemblage has a role in
the control sample in the analyses.
The second step is the analysis of the particular kinds of
archaeological assemblages. The sunken features spatially
associated with house III contained ceramics, lithics, daub and
animal bones (Figure 8). Ceramic fragments were assigned to
the ceramic
individuals
during laboratory elaboration at the
level of the archaeological contexts (layer or feature). Unlike
other periods of prehistory, the decoration of Neolithic pottery
is common and relatively chronologically sensitive, which
enables the solution of specifc questions (Květina 2005,
10). Based on ceramic decoration, the descriptive system
of the Czech LBK created during Bylany site processing
(
e.g.
Pavlů, Zápotocká 1978; 1983; Pavlů
et al
. 1985; 1987)
and the descriptive system of Czech SBK elaborated by
M. Zápotocká (1978; 1998) were used.
In our analysis we use specifc terminology, where the
crucial term is the
decorative style
. This notion was established
according to a grouping of
decoration elements
appearing
together in the archaeological contexts within the frame of a
single building complex at the Bylany site in eastern Bohemia
(CHRON86: Pavlů
et al
. 1986, 314–315). Both approaches
comprising elements and styles are used and compared.
In the case of Hrdlovka, certain changes in the
commonly accepted Bylany system were performed and
adopted. Primarily, the LBK and SBK components were
incorporated into one unit, which needed in certain cases
a fusion of both descriptive systems (
e.g.
the shapes of
vessels, knobs, handles). The basic analysed entity was the
ceramic individual, which is defned as a fragment of one
vessel contained in a specifc context (usually a layer). The
factor of matching played an important role. We assume
that only the physical matching is irreversible evidence
of a common origin of fragments (
cf.
Káčerik 2011, 678).
Material retrieved from settlement deposits (in contrast
with, for example, funeral sites) was specifcally affected by
strong fragmentation of ceramic vessels and archaeological
deposition in the contexts was diverse.
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Jaromír Beneš, Václav Vondrovský, Lenka Kovačiková, Petr Šída, Michaela Divišová: Decoding the Neolithic Building Complex: the Case of the Extraordinarily Large
House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
106
Figure 8.
Sunken features spatially associated with house III. The colour spectrum indicates the amount of material related to the excavated context volume
(kg/m
3
). The feature volume was calculated as a product of the feature area and maximal depth (see Květina 2010, 364).
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
107
After the ceramics description, unconstrained ordination
technique Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was used
to analyse the composition of the particular decoration
techniques (elements) of ceramic fragments found within
the recorded features (8 features in total) and to analyse the
composition of styles of ceramic fragments found within the
recorded features. The Canoco for Windows 4.5 package (ter
Braak, Šmilauer 2002) was used for all multivariate analyses.
The stone industry from Hrdlovka was evaluated using
the method published in Šída (2007). The greatest attention
was dedicated to the technotypological description and
raw material determination. A complex description of the
attributes of artefacts and other lithics ordered in a normalized
database was used. The main attributes of the artefact
are technotypes and raw material description completed
with three main artefact dimensions. Additional traits such
as reburning, patination and other characteristics were
recorded. Such a formalisation enables a comparison with
other lithics assemblages. Raw material determination is
based on Přichystal (2009) and Šída, Kachlík (2009).
The archaeozoological analysis was carried out at the
Laboratory of Archaeobotany and Palaeoecology in České
Budějovice. The faunal spectra were established using the
Number of Identifed Specimens (NISP). The Minimum
Number of Individuals (MNI) was calculated from dental
remains. The estimation of age at death of the animals was
based on the stages of tooth eruption, replacement and wear.
For the cattle, the age at death was estimated according to
the stages of tooth eruption and replacement provided by
Higham (1967) and the abrasion indexes for the molars
proposed by Ducos (1968). For sheep and goats the Payne’s
wear stages (1973) were used. The age at death for pigs was
estimated from the abrasion stages of the lower jaw teeth
(Grant 1982).
Selected animal bones from sunken features, associated
with the house III ground plan, were analysed in the Poznan
radiocarbon laboratory to obtain relevant
14
C dating.
Collagen from animal bones was used for AMS dating. The
calibration was carried out with the OxCal software.
The fnal step in the analytical process comprises a
comparison of the studied assemblages of ceramics in sunken
features and their position in order to defne the relative
chronology of the house III building unit. Such an approach
is crucial for the determination of the spatial relevancy or
irrelevancy of the ceramics from particular sunken features
in the sense of their chronological position.
3. Results
3.1 Ceramics
Altogether 1619 ceramic individuals (1803 fragments,
23,351 g) from sunken features surrounding house III were
comprised into the analysis. The frst observed group includes
metric characteristics (size, thickness, weight and curve). In
companion with the degree of abrasion, it serves particularly
for the determination of the analysed context fragmentation
(Table 2). The rate of fragmentation is commonly high in
the Hrdlovka site. The entire vessel (preserved in its profle
from rim to bottom) was not detected in the surroundings
of house III at all and only 6 whole vessels were present in
the assemblage of the entire Hrdlovka site. Although it was
possible to match 16% of the fragments within the house III
assemblage, most of them represent about 2 or 3 matched
pieces. In the case of the house III assemblages, 29% was
composed of decorated individuals (linear, stroked, technical
and plastic decoration) (Figure 9).
3.2 Lithics
The assemblage consists of 91 artefacts (Table 3). The
chipped industry is represented by 67 artefacts (73.6%). The
debitage is represented by 71.6% of the chipped industry;
the remaining artefacts are retouched tools. Typical types of
the Neolithic period such as end-scrapers (7 pieces, 10.4%),
truncated blades (sickle blades, 6.9%), laterally retouched
blades (3.4%) and notched blades (2.3%) can be found among
them. There was only one retouched fake (1.5%) present in
the collection. Debitage consists of 24 blades (35.8%), 12
fakes (17.9%) 11 amorphous fragments (16.4%) and 1 core
(1.5%). Sickle fash was recorded on only 2 artefacts (3%),
10 artefacts bear signs of utilisation (14.9%), 4 artefacts are
burnt (6%).
Local quartzite from north-west Bohemia represents
the predominant material for the chipped stone industry
Table 2.
Ceramic metric characteristics expressed by mean and standard deviation.
FeatureIndiv.Frag.
Frag/
Individ
Size*Thickness (mm)Weight (g)Curve** (mm)
X
σ
X
σ
X
σ
X
σ
261112612341.12.40.916.762.61218.981.251.5
30512161.331.830.585.331.443.52.681.421.31
339861201.42.940.996.862.2815.1614.742.232.1
3452132361.112.610.856.512.0612.413.541.761.61
10901301361.052.380.96.882.4111.7314.31.241.23
109252611.172.380.667.132.6612.3317.601.190.97
total161918031.112.460.916.752.512.1417.71.371.54
*size was measured by a circle template with a 2 cm step.
**curve express rate of the fragment bend.
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
108
production (40 pieces, 59.7%). Flint (SGS) from a 50 km
distant source is used (25 pieces, 37.3%). Quite exceptionally
there was the use of limnosilicite recorded. This material
originates in the basin of Permocarbon in the Kladno region
or Pilsen region some 70 km distant. There was also one
piece of Bavarian chert from a distance of more than 250 km
imported (1.5%). Based on the chipped stone assemblage,
the community could be characterised as self-supplying,
there is no evidence of either over-production of blades from
cores or transport of semi-fnished products around the area
of the house (Šída 2007).
The polished industry is represented by 9 artefacts. There
is no evidence of traces of polished industry production in the
vicinity of the house. Finds of polished industry fragments
and sandstone could be connected with common re-
utilisation of tools. All the artefacts of polished industry are
damaged and one case of secondary reuse as hammerstone is
recorded. Three fragments of polished tools are evidenced;
one fragment of stone adze and one fake of polished tool
and three polished axes are recorded. The most interesting
artefact represents a small drilled pendant from schist found
within the infll of feature 305. Quite common material for
the polished industry is metabasite of the Jizerské hory type
(Šída 2007), which is represented by 7 pieces. Two remaining
artefacts are made from microdiorite and from schist. One
fragment of adze and one fragment of axe are burnt.
Figure 9.
Spectrum of ceramic decoration
within sunken features.
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
109
Additional stone industry is represented by 15 artefacts,
particularly by fragments of grinding stones (10 pieces,
66.7%) with traces of use, 3 of them are burnt. The material
used, which includes coarse sandstone, quartz sandstone,
arkosa sandstone, quartzite, and fne quartzite, is extremely
variable. A fat whetstone and polisher were present in the
near vicinity of the house. One manuport (see Table 3) from
quartz sandstone was originally prepared as a polisher, but
was devaluated by burning.
3.3 Animal bones
The osteological data totalled 552 faunal remains found in
fve archaeological features (261, 345, 1090 B, 1090 C and
1092). Faunal spectrum is summarized in Table 4.
The share of identifed faunal remains was low (29.5%,
NISP=163). The amount of undetermined bone elements was
preponderated (70.5%, N=389). The total weight of animal
bones was 587 g (average weight of one fragment was 1.1 g).
The low weight of animal remains revealed the considerable
fragmentation and damage of osteological material which
negatively infuenced its determination. The remains of Bovinae
were predominantly registered (
Bos
sp.; NISP=143; 87.7 % of
total NISP) where the cattle bones predominated (
Bos taurus
;
NISP=141; 86.5%). Only one bone belonged to aurochs (
Bos
primigenius
; NISP=1; 0.6%). The identifcation of this taxon
was based on osteometric analysis (Degerbøl, Fredskild 1970).
The remains of sheep and goats (
Ovis/Capra
; NISP=12; 7.4%)
and pigs (
Sus
sp.; NISP=8; 4.9%) were discovered sporadically.
Table 3.
Stone industry assemblage.
Flint
Tušimice Quartzite
Skršín Quartzite
Kamenná Voda Quartzite
Limnosilicite
Bavarian Chert
Schist
Microdiorite
Metabasite Of Jizera Mountains
Coarse Sandstone
Fine Sandstone
Quartz Sandstone
Sandstone
Arkosa Sandstone
Quartz Porphyre
Quartzite
Fine Quartzite
Conglomerate
Total
% Of Group
% Total
amorphous fragment
25311116.412.1
blade
11
9
4
24
35.826.4
fake561
12
17.913.2
core
1
1
1.51.1
debitage
18217110000000000000
48
71.652.7
scraper
331
7
10.47.7
cross retouched blades
321
6
9
6.6
laterally retouched blades
21
3
43.3
notch on blade
11
2
32.2
retouched fake1
1
1.51.1
types7
6
5001000000000000
19
28.4
20.9
chipped industry
252712111000000000000
67
100
73.6
hoof like axe
1
1
11.11.1
axe
3
3
33.33.3
drilled pendant
1
1
11.11.1
fake of polished tool1
1
11.11.1
fragment of polished tool
12
3
33.33.3
polished industry
000000117000000000
9
100
9.9
grinding stone
311311
10
66.711.0
amourphous fragments
1
1
6.71.1
hammerstone/axe1
1
6.71.1
fat whetstone1
1
6.71.1
polisher
1
1
6.71.1
manuport *
1
1
6.71.1
other industry
000000001311213111
15
100
16.5
total25271211111831121311191100
%
27.529.713.21.11.11.11.11.18.83.31.11.12.21.13.31.11.11.1
100
* stone transported by humans
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
110
Teeth and their fragments, in particular the resistant remains
of teeth enamel, were represented as the most frequently
components (N=145; 26.3% of total fnds). Apart from
the teeth, autopodial bones were found (N=35; 6.3%). The
mentioned animal remains weathered slower in comparison
with other parts of the skeleton (Behrensmeyer 1978).
Fragments of vertebra, skull or shoulder blade occurred
rarely (N=8; 1.4%).
In spite of a poor preservation of analysed teeth, a
slaughtering age of six cattle individuals could be estimated
(Table 4). The age of two individuals was between 5 and
18 months. The other two were killed before the age of
30 months. These four individuals were slaughtered until
reaching their maximum weight. Number of cattle older
than 30 months was low. One individual was slaughtered
between 5 and 8 years and a second one lived more than
9 years. Concerning small ungulates, a sheep/goat aged
between 12 and 36 months and pig slaughtered between 8
and 22 months were determined. Unfortunately, number
of teeth of the domestic animals was too small to provide
reliable information about economy of the Neolithic people
living at this site.
3.4 Daub
Daub was identifed in all features apart from 1093 and 262 in
the surroundings of house III. Categories of weight, size and
eventually construction imprints were observed (Table 5).
The highest amount (32% of the overall weight) and fraction
size (pieces measuring 15–20 cm in diameter) was recorded
in feature 339. The daub in this feature forms a 10 cm thick
layer distinguishing the upper and lower layers within this
feature. A similar pattern with a 5 cm thick layer indicates
feature 261. Certain rectangular shaped construction
imprints provide evidence of the presence of planks made by
carpentry techniques.
3.5 Chronology of the building complex
The relative chronology based on ceramics attributes from
sunken features spatially associated with house III indicates
its focal point between the LBK IV and SBK I periods
according to the Bohemian Neolithic chronology (Pavlů,
Zápotocká 2007, 27–49) (Figure 10). This result is supported
by the high frequency of thin band decoration (alfa 30) and the
presence of transitional techniques: a spade line accompanied
by strokes and single strokes. The last mentioned mode of
decoration, however, greatly exceeds in quantity the classical
double strokes. Younger SBK techniques (multiple strokes
arranged in an unusual curvilinear motif) and two intrusive
Table 4.
Faunal spectrum in the studied assemblage.
TaxonNISPMNI
Cattle
(
Bos taurus
)1416
Aurochs (
Bos primigenius
)11
Cattle/aurochs (
Bos taurus/primigenius
)1–
Caprines
(Ovis/Capra)
123
Pig
(Sus domesticus)
11
Pig/wild boar (
Sus domesticus/scrofa
)7–
CategoryN–
Large mammal
17–
Medium mammal
2–
Undetermined mammal370–
Total55211
Table 5.
Daub contains. An overview in features spatially associated with house III.
FeatureLayer
SectorSize*Weight (g)Imprints**Summary (g)
2610–20
W sector
1, 21 244
no
3 726
26120–base
W sector
1, 21 400
no
2610–base
W sector
1, 2295
no
2610–base
NE sector
1, 2787
no
3050–base
W sector
1, 2455
no
455
3390–20
W sector
1, 2, 3, 42 307
yes
6 325
3390–base
E sector
1, 2, 3, 44 018
yes
3450–base
E sector
1253
no
2 595
3450–base
None
1, 21 448
no
3450–base
SW sector
3214
no
3450–base
NW sector
1, 2680
no
1090 A0–base
E sector
136
no
36
5 766
1090 B0–base
E sector
1, 21 535
no
1 535
1090 C0–15
W sector
1, 23 652
yes
4 195
1090 C15–base
W sector
1, 2543
yes
10920–base
E sector
1, 2514
no
653
10920–base
W sector
1139
no
total19 520
* diameter: 1 – <5 cm; 2 – 5–10 cm; 3 – 10–15 cm; 4 – 15–20 cm
**imprints of house construction components
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
111
La Tène fragments were also present in the upper layers of
features 1090 B and C, which created a slight deviation in
the overall summary. House III assemblage is nevertheless
comparable with LBK IVb/SBK I assemblage at the Hrbovice-
Chabařovice site distant 18 km north-east of Hrdlovka.
Here the transitional phase is represented in particular by
feature 31 characterized by the presence of parallel double
strokes. The proportion of this technique, although signifcant
for LBK/SBK transition, was quite low (4.7%) (Zápotocká,
Muška 2007, 62). Additionally, the techniques of parallel and
single strokes were observed in the transitional phase of the
Dresden-Prohlis site in the Dresdener Elbtalweitung area in
Saxony (Link 2012). In Hrdlovka, a mixture of stroked and
linear techniques is represented by the line accompanied by
single strokes on one side (Figure 14: feature 1092). In both
the above-mentioned sites, these chronologically signifcant
techniques were present in features together with late LBK
elements and classical double strokes in chevron motives,
multiple strokes also occasionally occur.
Feature 305 is kept aside due to its low number of ceramic
individuals, its infll contained only (apart from some
unspecifed fragments) fragments of one vessel decorated
with a wide band (alfa 20). Feature 345 is out of the horizontal
stratigraphy pattern because it lies in clear superposition to
Figure 10.
Chronological box and whisker
plot. Chronological phases were transformed
to a numeral ordinal scale. A row of numbers
was assigned to each LBK or SBK decorated
fragment. The frequency of the number
appearance creates the base of the plot. The
whiskers indicate the rather hypothetical
range of styles contained in the features. The
blue box represents the intersection of style
ranges. Kruskal-Wallis test:
H (5; N= 1159) =539.0027 p =0.000.
Figure 11.
Colour contrasts indicate
superposition of the house III postholes and
feature 345 (photo J. Beneš).
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
112
Figure 12.
Species (decoration elements on
ceramic individuals) and samples (features)
biplot of the PCA analyses are depicted. The
frst and second PCA axes explained 32.7%
and 28.2% of the variability in the species
data, respectively.
The same analysis, but
in terms of decoration styles, was carried
out. This analysis (Figure 13) did not
demonstrate such differences among the
three groups of features.
Figure 13.
Species (styles of ceramic
individuals) and samples (features) biplot
of the PCA analyses are depicted. The frst
and second PCA axes explained 35.2% and
27.7% of the variability in the species data,
respectively.
the ground plan of house III (Figure 11). It plays the role
of control assemblage in the analyses which seems to be
useful in case of feature 339. The short distance between the
feature rim and the house III wall postholes might refer to the
superposition (the upper parts, in which a disruption would be
noticed, vanished due to overburden). However, feature 339
could also be the inner house pit. These are sometimes
interpreted as cellars (Pechtl 2009b, 285, 289), which may
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
113
have been used in a slightly different way than grain silos
(Pavlů 2011, 42). At the Bylany site the material from the
cellars is chronologically older than the other building
complex pits. It is still considered, however, a functional
part of the house (Pavlů 2000, 219). Indirect evidence in case
of features 339 and 345 represents the spectra of lithic raw
materials. The fll of feature 339 contained, in contrast to the
others, an artefact made of Bavarian chert. The spectrum of
grinding stones materials also differs in feature 345 (arkosa
sandstone, fne quartzite and conglomerate). These artefacts
were made from local materials and complete exploitation
of the sources suggests more frequent raw material change
in the timespan than in the case of other lithic industry.
The metric and decoration aspects of the ceramics from
feature 339 were different from the rest (Table 2, Figure 8).
Evidence of rather rapid flling of the feature (in the sense of
processual time) is also provided. The functional affnity of
feature 1093 to the house complex could not be proved or
rejected based on the lack of data. The entire infll provided
only one fragment of polished stone axe.
Figure 14.
Examples of ceramic individuals found in the features associated with house III (drawn by M. Divišová).
0 5 cm
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
114
The distribution of ceramics decoration in the house III
surroundings was also analysed using the PCA ordination.
Figure 12 indicates the distribution of ceramics on the level
of decoration elements with no respect to styles (see above).
Here three groupings can be observed. The chronological
heterogeneity (in agreement with Figure 10) of the house III
spatially associated features was confrmed, particularly in
the case of features 345 and 339. In addition, feature 261
proved to be an outlier due to the high representation of
stroked elements. Feature 261 could therefore be affliated
with other structure, such as the neighbouring house II,
where the ceramics decoration is formed predominantly
by double strokes and whose construction refers to the
SBK architecture. This could also be affected, however,
by the quantitative difference of SBK (183) and LBK (32)
individuals. The SBK ceramic individuals are, although
present in smaller fractions (weight: mean 5.54; standard
deviation 5.25), compared to the LBK (weight: mean 20.24;
standard deviation 57.2).
Apart from relative chronology, absolute dating of the
building complex using radiocarbon data was applied.
Animal bones were dated instead of charcoal in order to
avoid data distortion. Unfortunately it became apparent
that the majority of the bones had an insuffcient amount of
collagen content. Only 36% of the submitted samples were
successful in the case of the entire Hrdlovka site. Another
Figure 15.
House III and the chronological
position of the spatially related sunken
features after analysis. The yellow colour
indicates chronologically related features.
0 10 m
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
115
problem concerning radiocarbon dates in the 5 m perimeter
area of house III is that no date was successfully obtained
from the sunken features from the eastern part (features 1090
A, B, C; 1092). Only 2 radiocarbon data were obtained from
the animal bones from the infll of other sunken features
of house III area despite an effort to repeat the attempt
several times (Table 6). Successful dating of the bone from
feature 261 seems not to be related to house III and the
early SBK house II, as indicated by relative chronology.
Radiocarbon date from animal bone from feature 345 is
much younger and cannot be connected with the relative
chronological setting of ceramics from this sunken feature.
It indicates the somewhat younger (Early Eneolithic)
deposition of animal bone in the successive archaeological
period.
Despite the problem described above, it can be summarized
that the ceramic individuals from the sunken features along
the eastern wall of house III can be classifed into the LBK
IV/SBK I interval (Figure 14). The material from the sunken
features along the western wall cannot be related to house III.
The sunken feature 345 infll is much older and the infll of
feature 261 is younger and can be related to another building
structure (Figure 15). The sunken features inside the house
plan cannot be associated with house III (feature 339) or
their relation to house III is unknown.
Based on the relative chronology we have determined that
only features 1090 and 1092 are synchronous with house III.
After the removal of osteological fnds from features 261
and 345 from the analysis, the proportion of bones and teeth
severely damaged by weathering declined by 10%. The
representation of weakly weathered fragments increased by
8.8%. The above-mentioned indicates the better preservation
of the assemblage. With regard to the fauna, the removed
material from features 261 and 345 represents a reduction
in the species spectrum, as the remains of pigs and aurochs
disappeared. Only the remains of cattle and sheep/goat
remained among the fndings in features 1090 and 1092.
Only 12 lithic artefacts were located in these features,
one of which is lost. 4 grinding stones and 7 pieces of
chipped industry have survived. The grinding stones were
made of quartz porphyre and coarse-grained sandstone (2
and 2 pieces). Among the chipped industry, 3 amorphous
fragments (quartzite of type Skršín and Tušimice and fint),
3 blades (fint) and a scraper made of Skršín type quartzite
were detected. The collection, which can be identifed with
house III, is extremely small and does not allow any statistical
comparison. It fts into the general context of older Neolithic
stone industry collections (Šída 2007). Assemblages of
the older and younger Neolithic generally do not display a
variability which would allow for recognizing the different
phases of cultures defned by variability in ceramics.
4. Discussion
Extraordinarily large houses used to be considered focal
places of social agency in settlements, a kind of club
house. The argumentation was based on the fact that only
one extraordinary house appeared per one settlement phase
(Soudský 1969). The structure, distribution and infll of the
sunken features surrounding house III evince a common
pattern observable with most long houses. In this respect
extremely large houses in Central Europe do not differ from
ordinary ones. No correlation between the size of houses
and the surrounding features size has been demonstrated
(Lenneis 2013, 46), with this also being the case at the
Hrdlovka site in the case of house III (in the current state of
data processing). Based on this evidence, large houses did not
have a special economic status, although it is questionable if
sunken feature size is related in a linear way to the economic
potential of the house inhabitants.
It is generally accepted that the house was the
centre of social life in the Neolithic society, which was
complementary joined with their beliefs and cosmology
(Hofmann, Smyth 2013). In constructing extremely long
houses, more emphasis was placed on the household group
itself and closely associated groups, such as neighbours or
relatives. Stratifcation of Neolithic society could therefore
be observed on the level of different households. This can
be seen in the erection of extremely large houses, which
can be considered evidence for competition among various
households within the settlement (Pechtl 2009a, 193 after
Hofmann 2006, 115–118). As indicated in the analysis of
the large house phenomenon, there is a concentration of
extremely long houses in one region and a clustering of
enclosures in other regions (Pechtl 2009a, 192–193, Figure 5
and 6). North-west Bohemia and Saxony belong to the frst
category of such regions, which could lead to a consideration
of a similar development in these two bordering areas. Apart
from our evidence from Hrdlovka, two other extremely long
houses were investigated here, Březno (42.5 m, Pleinerová,
Pavlů 1979) and Postoloprty (41.3 m, Soudský 1969). There
is a need to test if an interrelation exceeding the Krušné hory
mountains might also be observed on the basis of ceramics
decoration.
Our methodology demonstrates the possibility for working
with the Neolithic assemblages, which originated in the
complicated feature taphonomy in the sense of an artefact
or ecofact which had deposited over the long term or short
term in a sunken, but extremely open feature. Our analysis
indicates, despite the partial heterogeneity of the materials
from the features enclosing house III, that only part of the
ceramics belong to the particular Neolithic period. This
means that the analytical method used here shows relevant
Table 6.
Radiocarbon dates from the features spatially associated with house III.
Lab.no.Name of sampleFeatureLocationBPProbabilityBC_cal
Poz-51265Hrdlovka 4261W half; 0–20 cm5660±4095,4%4596–4439
Poz-55406Hrdlovka 1C3450–bottom4960±7095,4%3943–3855
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
116
results in the sense of a statistically defned probability. In
contrast, the radiocarbon date obtained from the animal
bone (feature 345, Poz-55406) indicates a much younger
age (possibly even the Late Neolithic) of a bone deposition
within a still more or less open feature. Proper absolute
dating of the bioarchaeological material should claim for the
series of AMS data from one sunken feature. Unfortunately,
the Hrdlovka site was not sampled for archaeobotanical
remains, which could offer suitable biological material for
AMS dating, during the excavation in the 1980s. It is a
limiting factor for a more precise absolute chronology of the
particular features and materials in Hrdlovka generally. A
chronology based on a “traditional” methodology (adopted
Bylany site system), combined with multivariate statistics,
seems to be suitable and effective.
Neolithic long houses chronology is traditionally based on
a so-called building complex defnition (Pavlů 1977, 13–14).
This approach presumes that sunken features surrounding
the house were used by inhabitants as a garbage space (
e.g.
Pavlů 2000; Hachem 2000; Lenneis 2013). According to other
scholars, however, the flling process began after the house
was abandoned (Květina, Končelová 2011a, 214). In other
words, the material from the sunken features is in
post quem
relation with the active usage of the house. It is questionable if
the time-span between the house usage and its abandonment
would have an impact on the archaeological material in
terms of ceramics chronological sensitivity. It is important
to bear in mind that the Neolithic long house life-span is
estimated at usually ca. 25 years (
e.g.
Modderman 1972, 85;
Stäuble 1997, 138; Lüning 2005, 153), which corresponds
with one human generation. This estimation is now under
criticism based on dendrochronological data (Schmidt
et
al.
2005). Higher durability of the LBK houses is assumed if
we take into account the durability of oak wood usually used
for their construction (Beneš 2004, 146).
The infll of sunken features is a result of human agency
and waste depositing in combination with natural factors,
but according to many scholars an archaeological image
can arise from various different ways of human behaviour
(
e.g.
Schiffer 1987). For an understanding of this process,
the spatial organisation of long houses agency is crucial.
Traditionally, the tripartite division of the Neolithic houses
has been observed (
e.g.
Whittle 1996, 163). There is
agreement that the middle part of the house is commonly
affliated with the habitat zone, in contrast to usage of
the other parts which is a subject of discussion (
e.g.
Modderman 1972; Stäuble 1994; Coudart 1998). The
different results for the long house surrounding space can
be observed in the relevant literature. Settlement refuse
analysis of the Neckenmarkt site, for example, demonstrated
the southern part of the house surroundings as the focal
place of human agency (Lenneis 2001, 49–78). Mold site,
Lower Austria, in contrast, revealed a different pattern of
activity concentrated along the house longitudinal walls
(Lenneis 2013, 45). Interesting results are also brought to
light by means of animal bones analysis. According to the
material gained from the North European Plain region,
A. Marciniak (2008) suggests a model of cattle and pig
ritual consumption in places among individual houses, while
goat/sheep bones distribution in house surroundings likely
refects common household consumption. Arrangement of
animal bones at the Cuiry-lés-Chaudardes site indicates a
spatial division of the settlement: in the north-west part boar
and other wild taxa, in the south-west sheep, while cattle
prevailed in other parts. This division is also refected in the
house size. This is interpreted as evidence of different family
groups (Hachem 1995). Similarly, research in the Rhineland
region indicates spatial trends based on family affliation
within the settlement. The suggested model also assumes the
existence of house yards as a space for specifc household
activities (Classen 2005).
Based on the above-mentioned examples, it can be
assumed that the basic “artefactual environment” was
established by the LBK package although the patterns
of human behaviour may differ from site to site. In the
Hrdlovka case a number of the above discussed agencies
can be identifed. This is particularly the case of feature 261
which seems to be chronologically associated with house II,
although it spatially respects the house III ground plan. These
kinds of spatial relations are also observed on the Bylany
site (Pavlů 2000, 295). This archaeological picture may
refect either symbolic, in terms of the house of ancestors,
or functional issues such as the presence of garbage dumps
or a conglomeration of abandoned and actively used houses
(Květina, Končelová 2011a, 214).
With respect to the ceramic decoration, the transitional
LBK/SBK phase represented by Hrdlovka house III has
been compared to the east Bohemia region, namely with
the Bylany site. Here, unlike Hrdlovka, where a thin band
(alfa 30) predominates, late LBK phases are characterised by
thick notes on pre-outlined or no line and alfa 30 is extremely
rare (Květina, Pavlů 2007). The temporal onset of individual
decoration elements may differ in particular regions.
5. Conclusion
House III with its length of 47.5 m is the extraordinary
example of Neolithic architecture. Despite this statement,
an analysis of this huge structure indicates that the building
complex of house III demonstrates traits of a common
ground plan layout with a typical arrangement of “loam pits”
which do not diverge from comparable building complexes.
This fact generally indicates no differences between
extraordinarily long houses and much smaller ones.
Our approach involved a three step analysis of house III
and spatially associated features based on ceramic
fragments, animal bones, stone industry and daub. This
methodology demonstrated a possibility for working with
Neolithic assemblages, which originated in the complicated
feature taphonomy in the sense of an artefact or ecofact’s
long term or short term deposition. The frst step includes
the acceptance of the hypothesis that the nearest sunken
features in a perimeter of 5 m around a house ground plan
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House III from Hrdlovka, Czech Republic
117
were spatially and, possibly, functionally connected with the
building unit. Such a hypothesis was tested in the following
step by means of artefacts and ecofacts (in this case lithics
and animal bones). A correlation analysis confrmed the
affliation of the majority of the sunken features to the
house III activity area, while certain sunken features were
associated only spatially.
In the fnal step only the artefacts and ecofacts from
the sunken features affliated to the house III ground plan
(feature 1090 A, B, C; 1092) should be considered, if we
only evaluate “the life of house III”. This demonstrates
the reduction of the informative value of the building
complex after the exclusion of chronologically non-related
assemblages.
The chronology of ceramic individuals from certain sunken
features along the eastern wall of house III determines the
building unit into the LBK IV/SBK I interval, unfortunately
in the case of house III without the direct support of
radiocarbon data. It is apparent that the application of the
Bylany site chronological system to the region of north-west
Bohemia might distort the picture of the local chronology.
Although the Bylany chronology refects basic trends, a
detailed relative chronology of the Hrdlovka site would need
to be performed from the beginning. In spite of the fact that
the distribution of lithics is well known, almost nothing is
known about the spread of ceramic decoration, either in the
form of artefacts or ideas. Bearing this in mind, the specifc
features of the Neolithic in north-west Bohemia will be the
subject of our further study.
Acknowledgements
The research was supported by grant no. P405/12/2173 of the
Grant Agency of the Czech Republic. We would like express
many thanks to Marek Bastl for his generous assistance with
the statistics and Kateřina Křováková for the arrangement of
certain fgures.
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