Publication details
The Urnfield culture on The Czecho-Slovak border
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2019 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Interactions et échanges durant la protohistoire : Actes des IIIe rencontres doctorales internationales. Bibracte EPCC, 3 |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The purpose of this article is to characterize the development of the Urnfield culture (1300-800 BC) in the border regions between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The study area extends more precisely into Moravia (990 km2) and Slovakia (970 km2) in an area divided in two by the White Carpathian Mountains. A database of sites has been created to characterize cultural dynamics and examine their differential evolution (Fig. 1). There is an early emergence of cemeteries typical of the Urnfield culture, associated with open settlements, in the Váh River basin. Statistical analysis of cemetery pottery has shown that its style is of oriental origin (Fig. 2). We then observe the absorption of stylistic elements from the southwest and the emergence of features that will be specific to the final “Silesian” phase (Fig. 3). There was also a significant increase in the occupation of mountainous areas (Fig. 1), then, after the establishment of high fortified sites, a cultural stagnation that led to the disappearance of the Urnfield culture at the beginning of the Iron Age. In summary, the Moravian part of the study area was initially a marginal area of the Urnfield culture that developed in the middle Váh valley. This culture then developed into a homogeneous regional entity. |