The aim of this study is to analyse the correlation between finds and ditches, the duration of ditch fills, and the manner of the demise of Late Neolithic rondels (Kreisgrabenanlagen) in the Czech Republic. Two comparable long-term projects are discussed here: Kolín (central Bohemia) and Vchynice (north-west Bohemia). Qualitative, quantitative, and spatial analyses of the different categories of finds (pottery fragments, lithics, daub, and faunal remains) from the ditch fills show that only finds from the bottom layers of the ditches were contemporary with the primary function of the rondels. However, the bottom layers often only contained a few artefacts. The richest parts of the ditches, the middle and upper layers, from both sites illustrated similar characteristics: after the rondels lost their primary function, the ditches were filled by both natural and cultural agents over a long period. As a consequence, some previous, and widely accepted, interpretations of the relationship between individual areas of rondels and their relationship with surrounding features, as well as the relationship of the finds from ditch fills to rondel function and chronology, need to be revisited.
This paper could also be a contribution to a new concept for understanding space and time in Neolithic settlements. We abandoned the methodological concept of construction complexes of houses and used individual archaeological features as the basic analytical unit. The analysis of quantitative correlations of decorative style conducted on this basis produced five style groups; four of these belonged to a LBK style, and it was these that were spatially distinct at the Bylany settlement. The discovered spatial patterns of style correspond in general to the existing chronology of the site. This means that chronological horizons understood both as intervals on the time axis and as geographic units are not dependent on “construction complexes” or even on individual houses. The value of this study does not lie in a more detailed chronological division of the Neolithic settlement at Bylany, but in a confirmation of the robustness of its existing form; the study also draws attention to a possible problem in the concept of construction complexes.
ABSTRACT:The aim of the project is to apply 3D scanning technology to create a virtual museum providing a picture of the Neolithic culture, based on the example of the settlement in Bylany (Czech Republic), dating from the 6th -5th millennium B.C. The main parameter of the applied research is to set up a methodology for recording and presenting archaeological finds digitally. The basic technology is optical 3D scanning of artefacts that exactly reflect the 3D surface geometry and will bring new presentation possibilities. Acquired digital records can also serve as well as for research and educational purposes on all academic levels. The project's most important output consists in a virtual museum on the web of the Neolithic settlement area. Moreover, the open library of 3D scans will integrate a thematic GIS map of the Bylany site and its virtual model showing different forms of the immovable heritage (i.e., houses, circle enclosures and villages).
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