Czech-American Rmíz Research Program (CARPRO): 1998 Activity Report©

Added September 15, 1998. Updated January 14, 2007, 07:11 hours.

Czech-American Rmíz Research Program (CARPRO): 1998 Activity Report©

Revision 2.4

By
Maximilian O. Baldia, Christel Chandler and Douglas Frink

Table of Content

List of Figures

Tables

1. The first OCR dates from the Czech Republic

Research Purpose

It is the purpose of this report to inform you of the ongoing research progress of the Rmíz Project with particular focus on the Rmíz textile. The fieldwork took place from June 8, 1998 until June 29, 1998.

The Rmíz Research Project in the Czech Republic is a collaborative, long-term research project between American archaeologists and archaeologists in the Czech Republic, intended to gain an understanding of possible sub-cultural differences within the Funnel Beaker (TRB) culture area. The objective is to plan a regional analysis of the hilltop settlements in the Central Moravian landscape and the social and economic forces for their construction. It is of primary concern to gain an understanding of the textile technology employed by the people of that time, and to establish the first absolute or chronometric dates of the fortified settlements. Doing so would enhance the relative dating scheme that is based on the Czech ceramic sequence (typo-chronology).

Research Area and Background

Located in Central Europe (Fig. 1), the ancient hilltop fort Rmíz by Laskov, Czech Republic (Fig. 2), appears to be among the most ancient in a long chain of eleven similar "central sites" dotting the Early Neolithic/Copper Age Moravian landscape (Fig. 7). In Moravia, this period is characterized by the appearance of pottery from the Funnel Beaker culture (TRB). Evidence of the earliest stone-built defensive wall in Central and Northern Europe, together with its state of preservation, sheer size (17 ha / 42 acres) and multiple construction phases make Rmíz one of the most significant sites in Central Europe. It is a pivotal site in the control of communication and the burgeoning copper trade. Located some 50 miles SW of the strategic Moravian Gap or Gate, traditionally viewed as the pass for the "Amber Road," the research area is critical to the connection between Northern and Southeastern Europe.

Cultural Affiliation and Chronology

In Northern Europe the TRB belongs to the Early Neolithic Period dated 4100/3900 - 3500/3400 cal. BC, which is followed by the Middle Neolithic, lasting up to 2900/2800 BC. This is part of the Copper Age or Eneolithic in Central Europe.

Centered far to the north (Fig. 3), the TRB is only one of several overlapping and partly coexisting pottery stiles in Moravia. The early TRB seems intrusive in this region that was once dominated by the first people using domesticated plants and animals. These early farmers' settlements concentrated around the central and upper Danube as well as its tributaries around 6000 BC. In time, these people reached the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Oder River, the Low Countries and parts of France. They are known as Linearbandkeramik (LBK) or Bandkeramik culture, which originally made pottery that had incised linear, band-like motifs. In time regional differences developed. In the east and southeast the LBK-derived Lengyel sphere has been isolated. In the research area Lenyel pottery evolved into Moravian Painted Ware (MMK) by about 4500 BC, using elegant abstract painted motifs. By ca. 4000 BC the Late MMK coexists stratigraphically with other pottery styles and reverts to incised motifs. Other styles of the region include Jordanów (Jordnov = Czech, Jordansmühl = German) found in Silesia, southern Poland, and parts of Moravia, as well as Michelsberg, a largely undecorated pottery centered west of the Lenyel sphere. At about the same time early TRB pottery appears in the same strata as the other pottery, implying a considerable chronological and spatial overlap between Late Lengyel and early TRB pottery. The complicated cultural relationships of ca 4000-2900 BC are delineated in Fig. 4.

The TRB is divided into several regional groups, which change through time. Generally speaking, the pottery in Moravia belongs to the South Group. Its earliest ceramics are related to the Baalberge style (Smíd 1994a). Baalberge type-site is located in Central Germany). The pottery is found primarily along the upper Elbe of Bohemia and Central Germany. Baalberge may, therefore, be intrusive in Moravia, where it ultimately replaces the ancient Danubian-derived Late Lengyel stiles.

The Moravian TRB can be divided into two main phases:

TRB I = ca. 4000-3600/3500 BC
TRB II = ca. 3600/3500-3200? BC

Unfortunately, the precise dating of these phases is uncertain. The few available existing TRB I C14 dates come largely from outside the research area (Fig. 5). This stresses the acute necessity for the systematic gathering of absolute dates. There seem to be even fewer dates available for the TRB II. The precise end of the TRB is as unclear as its beginning. However, sometime around 3400 BC, the influence of the Baden culture, centered in the Carpathian Basin and Austria, started to replace the TRB in the Moravia and parts of Poland.

The Fortified Sites of Central Moravia

During the Neolithic and the Copper Age (Eneolithic) a large number of sites were constructed with walls and ditches (Fig. 6). These walls and ditches are often referred to as causewayed enclosures (Andersen 1975, 1996). Rmíz is part of a ca. 60 km long chain of eleven such sites, ranging from Rmíz and Olomouc in the north to Brno in the south (Fig. 7). The immediate research area contains a total of nine sites in a ca. 340 km² area, not counting the tomb groups that hint at additional villages and somewhat contemporaneous Late Lengyel sites. The sites have been only briefly surveyed and are threatened by pot hunters, as well as agricultural and industrial development.

Rmíz appears to be the most important and best preserved of these fortified sites. Nine test trenches have established its general age and construction sequence (Smíd 1995 Fig. 3). In addition, an estimated 10% of the nearby satellite site of Laskov, located below Rmíz, has been unearthed (Smíd in press). Rmíz itself is located on a steep promontory (Fig. 8), which presents a rather imposing feature in the Hana Valley (Fig. 9).

The Hill Fort of Rmíz and its Probable Construction Phases

Rmíz is a multi phase (TRB I and II) walled hilltop site with a TRB II satellite copper production site and two adjacent burial mound clusters. The satellite site of Laskov is some 400 m SW, but in the valley below, adjacent to two Lengyel sites. It is close to a creek that feeds the narrow Sumice stream and yielded a partly destroyed "kiln" and copper slag. The two tomb clusters are located 200 and 800 m north of Rmíz.

There are four enclosures at Rmíz (Fig. 8). A shallow trapezoidal ditch and palisade define the outermost perimeter in the north. This enclosure encompassed 17.5 ha (Zone 1). Indications are that it was concomitant with the earliest occupation (TRB I) and could have functioned as a coral. However, the lack of diagnostic artifacts directly associated with the feature makes its dating uncertain.

The massive stone-faced rampart system with its ditch (Zone 3) dates to the TRB I. The pottery style indicates that it was erected during TRB I B (Baalberge phase) and the test results from our 1998 research, described below, imply that this area was first occupied around 3800 BC. The area enclosed by this unique stone wall system is 9.4 ha. The 1.4 m thick wall is made of local stone slabs, occasionally reaching a length of ca. 100 cm. A platform of 1.2 m separated the wall from the ditch, which was hewn into the bedrock.

Outside of this rampart is a spring-fed reservoir, that was later incorporated into a second fortified area (Zone 2). This 11 ha zone of settlement debris was demarcated by another wall and ditch during the TRB II. The earth wall to ditch height differential reaches 2.7 m in places. The smallest fortification (Zone 4) encloses the highest area of Rmíz. On the steep southern slope, an undated refuse heap or midden occurs. A brief survey indicates rubble and well preserved but undated animal bones on the surface. This area, like the rest of Rmíz, requires careful long-term archaeological investigation.

The Rmíz Tombs and Textile

Adjacent to Rmíz are three tomb clusters. The most distant one must belong to an unknown "central site," that guarded the far end of the Sumice valley. Kremela I is 800 m and Kremela II is merely 200 m north of the palisade.

Kremela I consists of 58 mounds. They range from round tumuli to oval and rectilinear long-mounds, varying in length from 6-29 m and in width from 5-12 m. Mounds can reach a maximum height of nearly 2 m. The excavation of Mound 2 revealed a rectangular drywall enclosure. Within the eastern end of the enclosure, along the central axis, two cremation burials were unearthed. Among the cremation remains were fragments of cloth. The tomb provided evidence of minimally two construction phases. The first was the enclosure in which the burial took place. This was covered up with clay to the height of the enclosure. Stratigraphically, it is apparent that the burial took place before the mound was completed which constitutes first evidence ever of multiple building phases. Further research will delineate more details on the exact context of the artifact.

At Kremela II, seventeen mounds can be identified. Their length range from 6-11 m. Mounds 8 and 9 were excavated. Mound 8 contained two cremation burials at its eastern end. Mound 9 contained three cremation burials buried in pots, which were placed upside down. Each pot had been broken with a well-aimed hit. One urn contained remains of a child. The two others contained bones of one or two adults. The occurrence of multiple burials in the same grave is thus far unique. The grave also contained twelve additional pots.

The excavations have not yet yielded burial evidence of the earliest phases, for Kremela I Mound 2 belongs to TRB II A. Kremela II Mound 9 belongs to TRB II B, when the TRB comes to an end in Moravia. However, excavations of other tomb clusters fill in the knowledge of burial practices and traditions that can be linked to Rmíz.

Tomb Evolution and the Oldest Textile Remnant in Central and North Europe

The first burial mounds date to the TRB I B2, that is the later part of the Baalberge phase (Fig. 4). This may imply internal social changes through time. The tiny chambers, made of stone slabs, contain single individuals, resting on their side in a flexed position. This layout is typical for the entire Baalberge group, suggesting intensive interregional communication, with Central Germany. The second stage of burial construction developed during the TRB II A. The mound's stone cover is largely replaced with rectangular to oval drywall, implying increased emphasis on the external aspects of the tomb, as shown at the Rmíz tomb cluster Kremela I, Mound 2. In addition, the cists are replaced by a burial area, serving as platform for cremation urns. The individual burials harbor personal belongings, including cloth, pendants, and beads. A few kilometers south of Rmíz, Mound 4 at Borí II (Slatinky) contained numerous pots, including a collared flask and a ground stone ax (Smíd 1990), linking the Moravian death cult to the TRB in Poland, Scandinavia, and Germany.

The final stage correlates with the TRB II B (Ohrozim phase). Stone construction disappears from the mound entirely with the occasional exception of a smattering of stones used to cover the grave. One of the two graves in an egg-shaped mound at Slatinky had an upside down urn placed into a pit (ibid.). On top of it were two smaller upside-down pots. The TRB emphasis on relatively elaborate tombs wanes, as the Baden pottery stile, coming from the Carpathian Basin in the south, begins to dominate.

Test Excavation

A 1 m by 1 m test pit was dug at a randomly selected location within the Rmíz site. The test pit was excavated to 113 cm below the surface. The lowest defined level of 106-113 cm consisted of sapolite (decomposing rock) and clay.

Artifacts from the test excavation included chunks of burnt clay, probably from the wattle and daub construction of one or more burnt houses. Evidence for houses is exceedingly rare in the entire TRB culture area (Podborský et al.1993 Fig. 95, 113).

Among the upper rubble was a ceramic spindle whorl, 5 cm in diameter with a central hole 0.9 cm (Fig. 12 - 13. Similar textile production related tools, including loom weights, are on exhibit at the Museum of Olomouc (Fig. 10). The temper of the newly discovered spindle whorl includes fine quartz/quartzite grains. The spindle whorl has a light brick- red coloration with blotches of yellow ochre. There are minute black spots on the outside and inside of the artifacts, which could be some form of pigment (e.g. paint) or the remains of burnt organic mater, including yarn. It is possible that the burn marks occurred as the result of a house fire.

The remaining cultural material from the test excavation consists of animal and human bones, teeth, and numerous pottery sherds, including those classified as Early Baalberge TRB Phase I by Smíd.

OCR Results

To ascertain the feasibility of employing the new Oxidizable Carbon Ratio (OCR) soil dating method in Central Europe, and to gain the first insights into the local pedogenesis and "absolute" chronology, soil samples were taken 5 cm intervals during the test excavation.

The new OCR procedure focuses on the effect of the biochemical degradation of charcoal and humic material in the soil. This can be measured by the ratio of the total carbon to the readily oxidizable carbon. Since the rate of biochemical degradation of the relatively stable forms of organic matter varies within the specific physical and environmental contexts of the sample, the ages of the individual (oxidizable) carbon sample are determined by a formula that is designed to account for the biological influences of oxygen, moisture, temperature, and the soil's reactivity (Frink 1992, 1994). The test results, prepared by Douglas Frink, OCR CARBON DATING, INC., 57 RIVER ROAD, SUITE 1020, ESSEX, VT 05452, demonstrated the feasibility of using the OCR procedure in the Czech Republic and provided the first full sequence of dates in Moravia (Table 1). They are described below:

Sometime after 1705 AD (perhaps around 1850-1900) the area was destabilized and active erosion brought roughly 5-9 cm of soil down slope to the area chosen for the test pit. The erosion buried the earlier soil deposits.

This second pedon, beginning at about 10 cm below the present surface, was stable for some 4500 years.[1] It consists of colluvial soils washed down from either the second rampart, or from up slope near the first rampart and ditch. The actual age of this destabilization occurred some time between 3250 and 2999 cal BC.[2] Given the relatively gentle slope along this portion of the site, 50 cm of colluvial deposits suggest that the area may not have had any significant vegetation at all.

The area sampled by the test pit indicates abandonment as the living area sometime after 3250 BC.[3] This would coincide with the presumed demise of the Funnel Beaker culture (TRB) at the southern fringes of its distribution. The Southern TRB was apparently gradually replaced by the Austro-Hungarian Baden culture, whose influences are observable as far away as Switzerland by 3400 BC.

The first occupation ascertainable from the test pit predates 3742 BC and most likely occurred around 3812 BC. This matches the Miroslav Smíd's impression, based on the pottery typology, that the earliest TRB (Baalberge with Michelsberg affinities) is not represented at the site. (Michelsberg pottery occurs primarily along the Rhein/Rhine River.) This earliest TRB phase probably dates to about 4000 BC in Bohemia and Germany. Most importantly, it suggests that the Rmíz stone faced rampart, the oldest such feature found in Central and North Europe, could indeed date to about 3800 BC. This makes it equivalent to the first stone walls reported in France (N. Andersen 1997).

In addition to information about the earliest and latest occupation at Rmíz, an apparent three prepared house floors and one (trash / burial) pit came to light. These features belong to cultural activity dated between ca. 3812 and 3250 BC. The upper floor dates to about 3542 BC, the second to ca. 3662 BC and the lowermost to about 3742 BC. The pit feature contains organic material that date to 3812 BC, and contains slightly older organic materials dating to 3827 BC capping the feature. The site was abandoned after 3250 BC as indicated by washed in soil deposits capping the cultural soil deposits.

Ongoing Work

Current research focuses on the Rmíz textile (Fig. 11). It is thought to be made of wool, but a fiber analysis needs to be done to validate this view. Therefore, different textile specialists have been contacted, requesting suggestions as to where and by whom this fiber analysis ought to be conducted. (cf. Oldest Cloth/New Test Results). Further more, no textile from this time period has as yet been radiocarbon dated. A C14 date (a destructive procedure) on the textile will follow the fiber analysis. Due to the small amount of available organic material, the more expensive particle accelerator (AMS) method of dating the cloth will be required.

Dating the collagen of the animal and human remains plus C14 dating of soil humates and charcoal may provide independent verification of the OCR results.

The artifact analysis and visual documentation, including photographs are in progress and will result in updates of this report.

Computerized mapping of the landscape around Rmíz is in preparation and the feasibility of utilizing satellite based mapping in the Czech Republic is under consideration.

Future Textile Research

A comparative research strategy is planned to analyze textiles from Austria, Germany and the mummies of possibly Indo-European speakers of West China to see if reported similarities suggest connections such as trading or a possible common origin (Baldia 1995). Spatial distribution of specific weaving technology, loom weight usage and fiber preferences will be conducted.

Internet Utilization

The research team publishes a progress report about the ongoing research on the web, and updates it periodically.

Discussion

The 1998 fieldwork indicates that the Rmíz research area gives every promise of having been a major center with metallurgy, cloth production, trade and communication, monumental architecture (occasionally reaching nearly megalithic proportions) and very possibly an incipient or even complex status inequality. Previous surveys, preliminary excavations, but especially the 1998 field research indicate that this strategically located settlement was established at an early stage of the TRB occupation in Moravia. Most significantly, Rmíz is the oldest known hilltop settlement in North and Central Europe with a stone-faced rampart and ditch system, which may now be dated to ca. 3800 BC. The outer palisade and ditch, enclosing the 17 ha the site at this period. The preliminary results show that the site was apparently densely occupied, providing evidence of successive house floors, house fires, burials, trash pits and cloth production. Abandonment of the living area seems to date sometime after 3250 BC. The nearby copper-producing site of Laskov, coexisted with the later development of Rmíz and exhibits considerable economic activity.

Rmíz is the northwestern most link in a long chain of eleven similar "central" sites dotting the Neolithic/Copper Age central Moravian landscape. Together they suggest control of communication in the Drahane Highlands, the Hana Valley, and access to the Moravian Gate. The Moravian Gate has traditionally been viewed as part of the "Amber Road," connecting Scandinavia with Southeastern Europe. The metallurgical footprint of copper found near Rmíz and the site distribution suggests a line of communication with the Mondsee culture of Austria (Type-site location) and the TRB in Poland. The Moravian tendency to build enclosed "central sites" coupled with nearby satellite sites, such as Rmíz and Laskov, has also been reported from the southern Polish TRB (Bogucki 1988:141-43, Fig. 6.4). This together with similarities in pottery, trade in lithics, etc. may indicate a far-flung communication and trade network, responsible for the first appearance of copper in Scandinavia (3600/3400 BC), where no local copper sources were available.

Recommendation

It is urgent to investigate the region, using combining Czech and American theories and methods, before economic development and industrial expansion eradicate these usually well preserved places. The urgency is increased by the threat of pot hunters, who in late 1997 recklessly pitted at least one of the large sites and excavated a several cubic meter large hole at Rmíz itself in the spring of 1998.

Bibliography

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1997 Sarup Vol. 1. The Sarup enclosures. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications XXXIII:1. Aarhus University Press, Århus.

Baldia, M. O.

1995 A Spatial Analysis of Megalithic Tombs. Vol. 1-2. Ph. D. Dissertation. Southern Methodist University.

Bogucki, Peter

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