Fortified Settlements of the 9th and 10th Centuries ad in Central Europe: structure, function and symbolism

Open access article. © Society for Medieval Archaeology 2012.The structure, function(s)and symbolism of early medieval (9th-10th centuries ad) fortified settlements from central Europe, in particular today's Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, are examined in this paper. It offers an overview of the current state of research together with new insights based on analysis of the site of Gars-Thunau in Lower Austria. Special emphasis is given to the position of the fortified sites in the landscape, to the elements of the built environment and their spatial organisation, as well as to graves within the fortified area. The region under study was situated on the SE border of the Carolingian (and later the Ottonian) Empire, with some of the discussed sites lying in the territory of the 'Great Moravian Empire' in the 9th and 10th centuries. These sites can therefore provide important comparative data for researchers working in other parts of the Carolingian Empire and neighbouring regions.Alexander von Humboldt FoundationAustrian Science Fun

Soil vs. glass: an integrated approach towards the characterization of soil as a burial environment for the glassware of Cucagna Castle (Friuli, Italy)

This research is performed on a selection of archaeological glass finds with corresponding soil samples, excavated on the site of the High Medieval castle Cucagna in Friuli/Northern Italy. In the frame of understanding medieval glass technology and the chemical-physical conditions that influenced the state of preservation of the glass finds, this study uses a multi-analytical line-up of methods to characterize the composition of the glass and basic parameters of the soil including texture, mineralogical composition, pH, redox potential (Eh) and electric conductivity (EC). The results show that glass corrosion in soil not only depends on acidity, alkalinity or glass composition but also on the texture of the soil, measurable as grain-size distribution, and the mineralogical composition. The compositional groups of the glassware from Cucagna indicate the use of various raw material sources, pointing to Northern and Central Italian glass workshops with primary or secondary glass production.[GRAPHICS].FdA – Publicaties zonder aanstelling Universiteit Leide