Fourth Season of Archaeological Excavations at the Prečno pole I Site in Torčec

U arheološkim iskopavanjima ranosrednjovjekovnog naselja Prečno pole I. u 2008. godini istražene su tri sonde, ukupne površine 692 m2. Dvije su sonde (S-5 i S-7) u kojima se očekivalo eventualno rasprostiranje ranosrednjovjekovnoga groblja, bile u potpunosti sterilne. U sondi S-6 istražen je dio naselja prepoznat prijašnjih godina i evidentirano je 9 novih kulturnih tvorevina. Od toga mogu se izdvojiti tri naseobinska objekta od kojih je jedan, onaj smješten najbliže meandru, veoma dobro očuvan te je dao osnovne konstruktivne i oblikovne elemente ranosrednjovjekovnih kuća u ovom naselju otvorenog tipa. Od pokretnih nalaza iz istraženih objekata valja izdvojiti polovicu mlinskog kamena - žrvnja, brončanu karičicu, spiralni ulomak karičice, željeznu britvu, ulomke željeznih nožića te ulomak koštanog češlja. Od keramičkih nalaza pronađeni su ulomci pršljena te mnoštvo ulomaka običnih kuhinjskih lonaca i pekača. Na prikupljenim ulomcima ističu se ukrasi češljastom valovnicom na ramenima i trbusima posuda, ali i na vanjskim i unutarnjim stranama rubova jednostavnih profilacija. Sve su to odlike ranosrednjovjekovne keramike koja se uklapa u dosadašnje rezultate istraživanja. Ovo naselje prostiralo se uz sam južni rub isušenog meandra, a oblicima kuća i pokretnim nalazima, uklapa se u sliku naseljavanja poznatu u okolnim zemljama jugoistočne Europe tijekom ranoga srednjega vijeka.In the archaeological excavations conducted in 2008, three archaeological digs were opened. The overall excavated surface in all three trial trenches (S-5, S-6 and S-7) was 692 m². Two trial trenches (S-5 and S-7), in which a possible early medieval cemetery was expected, were completely sterile. Therefore, based on the excavation results thus far, it can be concluded that the skeletal burial found in the archaeological excavations of 2005, dated with the help of the C 14 analysis to the latter half of the eight century, was individual; no other burials were discovered. The cemetery was probably at another nearby, yet undefined place. Trial trench S-6 yielded very good results. The continuation of the settlement excavated in past years was registered in it. A total of nine cultural formations were excavated. Among them, three residential structures can be identified, of which the one situated closest to the meander was very well preserved, and it brought about the basic construction and form elements of early medieval houses in this open-type settlement. The form of residential houses was rectangular, with an east-west orientation, with a round fireplace at the western side of the structure. At the southern side of the fireplace, within the structure itself, in its western part, there was a thick wooden pillar that bore some type of roof structure. The roof structure may have leaned on the structure’s eastern periphery, since a slight, round broadening was registered, without digs along the line of the pillar bearing the roof construction. At the western side of the structure there was a deep fireplace, possibly with a domed construction, the remains of which collapsed into the structure further east. The form and construction elements of the other two, rather poorly preserved residential structures can only be assumed, since all excavated structures were very shallow, directly beneath ploughed soil, and in some parts only several centimetres were preserved. Besides residential houses, two round formations and one oval shallow formation were found; it is not possible to identify their primary function with certainty, but it is possible that they represent some auxiliary structures near the houses. Furthermore, two shallow pillars and a round, smaller formation were registered and excavated as well, also of unknown function. Among the moveable finds from the excavated structures, those worth mentioning are: half of a millstone/grindstone, a bronze ring, a spiral fragment of a ring, an iron razor, fragments of small iron knives, and a fragment of a bone comb. Out of the ceramics, fragments of whorls were found, and numerous fragments of simple kitchen pots and baking pans. On the collected fragments, decorations with a combed wavy line on the vessel’s shoulders and bellies, but also on the outer and inner sides of simple-profiled brims stand out. All of these are characteristics of early medieval pottery which fit well in the excavation results thus far. The excessively large surface of the archaeological digs in S-5, S-6 and S-7 of approximately 700 m² was excavated this year, which – along with the approximately 208 m² of S-4, opened in 2007, with no archaeological finds in the southern zones, leads to the conclusion that the medieval settlement extended along the southern periphery of the meander, and that in the follow-up of the excavations trial trenches should be dug directly along the old, dried-out branch of the Drava River. The selection of settlement positions along old meanders and river beds, and the square or rectangular shape of the structures comply with the picture of settlements known in other nearby South-east European countries in the Early Middle Ages