The rise and decline of the central settlement of Fidvár near Vráble (Southwestern Slovakia) - Studies on the economy, social structure and political organization of a social unit within its wider surroundings
Final Report Abstract
Geographical, mining-archaeological, botanical and archaeological investigations within the framework of a package application have analysed the settlement and cemetery of Fidvár near Vráble (south-western Slovakia) as well as the surrounding settlement landscape. Through the retrieval of archaeological and natural scientific data, the changes in the settlement and cemetery can be reconstructed in the context of the surrounding landscape and environment. In the area of an abandoned Copper Age settlement of the Kosihy-Čaka culture, a 0.4 ha small fortified settlement (wooden earthen rampart, ditch: 4 m deep, max. 12 m wide) emerges around 2050 cal BC. This part of the settlement is destroyed to 90% due to slope erosion of the Žitava river. Based on comparison with similar settlements in southwestern Slovakia, we assume the existence of 8-12 simultaneous house buildings. A larger settlement of 12 ha in size existed around 1850 cal BC through the fusion of several small settlements since 1950 cal BC (Vráble IIC). In this period, 12-14 groups of houses (8-12 houses each) can be reconstructed. A 3-4 m deep ditch and a palisade surrounded the settlement. After the settlement was destroyed by fire, a smaller settlement of 1.2 ha was built around 1730 cal BC (Vráble III), which was again strongly fortified (wooden earthen rampart, ditch: 6-7 deep, max. 18 m wide). Here 2-4 groups of houses can be found. Approximately 200 m south of the settlement lies a cemetery limited by a terrace of the Žitava in the south and southeast. Based on test sections and magnetic prospection data, the area covered 3 ha. A total of 43 graves was excavated, all except of two were disturbed by secondary openings. Their ritual (?) destruction dates predominantly to the period of abandonment of the large settlement (end of Vráble IIC). Only some of the inhabitants of the large settlement were buried here. The destruction of the settlement around 1730 cal BC and secondary openings of graves may indicate exogenous or endogenous conflicts. Evidence for it is delivered by the currently still ongoing anthropological investigations on bones of the 43 graves showing an unusually high number of traumas. The investigations were focused on the comparison of house inventories in the central and peripheral area of the settlement to get clues on possible social and economic differences of the inhabitants. The lifestock is dominated by cattle, followed by pig and sheep/goat. The percentage of wild animals is about 8 %. In the archaeobotanical investigations, macroremains (charcoal) from the different phases of the settlement show no decrease of oak in favour of “low-grade” woods, therefore no signs of resource shortage. Palynological data to investigate this question are unfortunately not available from the surroundings of the settlement, as suitable archives do not exist. The continuation and expansion of the natural scientific and archaeological studies let us expect further robust conclusions.
Publications
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The Early Bronze Age settlement of Fidvár, Vráble (Slovakia): reconstructing prehistoric settlement patterns using portable XRF. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40(7), 2942-2960.
Gauss, Roland K.; Bátora, J.; Nowaczinski, Erich; Rassmann, Knut & Schukraft, Gerd
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Natural science results in their archaeological context – Case studies on the Early Bronze Age settlement Fidvár near Vráble, Slovakia. EAA, Istanbul, 374
Schlütz, F.; Ivanova, M.; Nowaczinski, E. & Bittmann, F.
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On the potential of ditch and pit fillings as geoarchaeological archives, studies from the Early Bronze Age Fidvár near Vráble, SW-Slovakia. Gemeinsame Jahrestagung des AK Geoarchäologie und der AG Paläopedologie, Aachen, 22
Schlütz, F.; Ivanova, M.; Nowaczinski, E. & Bittmann, F.
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Vom Winde verweht bis ganz lokal – Mikro- und Makroreste aus archäologischen Verfüllungen: 8. Deutscher Archäologiekongress. Berlin. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269101628
Schlütz, F.; Ivanova, M.; Nowaczinski, E. & Bittmann, F.
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Archäobotanische und pollenanalytische Untersuchungen zur Subsistenz und Umwelteinfluss der bronzezeitlichen Siedlung Fidvár bei Vráble (Slowakei). Siedlungs- und Küstenforschung im südlichen Nordseegebiet 38, 271-285
Schlütz, F. & Bittmann, F.
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Centrálne sídlisko zo staršej doby bronzovej vo Vrábloch. In: J. Bátora/P. Toth, Ked Bronz vystriedal Med. Zborník príspevkov z XXIII. medzinárodného sympózia „Staršia doba bronzová v Čechách, na Morave a na Slovensku“. Levice 8.–11. októbra 2013 (Bratislava/Nitra 2015) 123–138
Bátora, J.; Toth, P. & Rassmann, K.
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Environmental change caused by the Early Bronze Age settlement Fidvar near Vráble, SW Slovakia. XIX INQUA, Nagoya
Schlütz, F. & Bittmann, F.
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Dating Archaeological Cultures by Their Moats? A Case Study from the Early Bronze Age Settlement Fidvár near Vráble, SW Slovakia. Radiocarbon, 58(2), 331-343.
Schlütz, Frank & Bittmann, Felix
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Economic and social insights from C- and N-isotopes of rich cereal finds. 17th IWGP, Paris
Schlütz, F. & Bittmann, F.
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Prospection Results in the Žitava Valley. Študijné zvesti Archeologického ústavu SAV Nitra 60: 79–96
Müller-Scheeßel, N.; Bátora, J.; Reiter, S.; Radloff, K. & Tóth P.
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Territorien, Kontrolle und Konflikte. Befestigte Siedlungen als Spiegel sozialer Veränderungen in der Bronzezeit. In: Busch, W.-R. (Hrsg.) Vor 3000 Jahren. Die erste Geesthachterin und Ihre Zeit. Annäherungen an den Fund einer Frau aus der älteren Bronzezeit von Grünhof Tesperhude, Ortsteil von Geesthacht, 153–167
Rassmann, K.
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Archaeobotanical and isotope studies on the economy of the Early Bronze Age settlement Fidvár near Vráble, Slovakia, EAA Barcelona 2018
Schlütz, F. & Bittmann, F.
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The Vráble toolbox: A multidisciplinary investigation of settlement change. In: Heeb, B.S., Szentmiklosi, A., Krause, R., Wemhoff, M. (Hrsg.) The Rise And Fall Of Defended Sites In Late Bronze And Early Iron Age Of South-East Europe. 89–100
Rassmann, K.; Reiter, S.; Müller-Scheeßel, N. & Bátora, J.
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Tracing Taphonomic Processes. Multiple layer analysis of ceramic distribution from surface collection and excavation at the Early Bronze Age settlement of Vráble- Fidvar. Slovenska Archaeologia 56(2): 1–16
Rassmann, K.; Bátora, J.; Müller-Scheeßel, N.; Reiter, S.; Ivanova, M.; Behrens, A.; Radloff, K. & Baca, M.
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Vráble, Slowakei. Die Forschungen auf dem frühbronzezeitlichen Gräberfeld. Die Arbeiten seit 2015. eDai-F e-Forschungsberichte 2018-1, 2018, 96–100
Stucky, K.
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Vráble, Slowakei. Herausbildung und Niedergang des frühbronzezeitlichen Siedlungszentrums – Untersuchungen zu Wirtschaft, Sozialstruktur und politischer Organisation eines Sozialverbandes und seines Umfeldes. Überblick und die Arbeiten in der Siedlung 2017. eDai-F e-Forschungsberichte 2018-1: 101–108
Skorna, H.; Kalmbach, J. & Bátora, J.
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A budgeting approach for estimating matter fluxes in archaeosediments, a new method to infer site formation and settlement activity: Examples from a transect of multi-layered Bronze Age settlement mounds. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 26(2019, 8), 101916.
Martini, S.J.; Athanassov, B.; Frangipane, M.; Rassmann, K.; Stockhammer, P.W. & Dreibrodt, S.
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Gedanken zur Verfüllungsgeschichte zweier Gruben und Gräben anhand von botanischen Makroresten, Holzkohlen, Schneckengehäusen und Pollen: Boden, Archäosedimente und Taphonomie 6. Arbeitstreffen, Leipzig
Schlütz, F.
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Isotope analyses on charred cereals to identify former soil conditions, cultivation practices and sociological differences. 40th Annual Meeting of the German Association for Stable Isotope Research, Dresden
Schlütz, F.
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Diachronic isotope studies on economy and changing social structures of the Early Bronze Age settlement Fidvár near Vráble, Slovakia. Landscapes VI, Kiel 2019
Schlütz, F.
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Frühbronzezeitliche Befestigungen im oberen Žitavatal: Prozesse von Synoikismos und Dinoikismos. Slovenská archeológia,LXVIII(Suppl. 1), 417-428.
Müller-Scheeßel, Nils; Gerbecks, Philipp & Rassmann, Knut
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Grave Disturbances. (2020, 7, 31). Wallstein Verlag.
Müller-Scheeßel, N.; Bátora, J.; Gresky, J.; Reiter, S.; Stucky, K. & Rassmann, K.
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Subterranean Silos at Vráble, Southwestern Slovakia. Slovenská archeológia,LXVIII(Suppl. 1), 257-271.
Ivanova, Maria; Schlütz, Frank & Benecke, Norbert
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How to discover ploidy levels of charred free-threshing wheat caryopses?. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 32(1), 105-108.
Schlütz, Frank & Bittmann, Felix
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House holding and food ‘hoarding’: plant foods in Bronze Age houses in the Carpathian Basin. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369024115
Filipović, D.; Schlütz, F.; Filatova, S.; Jovanović, D.; Ljuština, M.; Bittmann, F. & Kirleis, W.
