“We managed to find the skeleton of a child,” Petr Krištuf from the Department of Archeology at the Faculty of Arts of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen told Práva – it participates in the research together with the Center for Theoretical Studies of Charles University and the Czech University of Agriculture. “Apparently it belonged to an important family, not everyone was built similar mounds, of course,” he said.
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The remains lay in a massive, about-foot-deep tomb pit that had an internal wooden structure. “The child was placed in a crouched position on his side,” Christian said. “The mound itself was probably modified several times and served as a ritual site for several centuries,” added Krištuf, according to whom the findings of hundreds of fragments of ceramic vessels in front of the eastern facade of the mound testify.
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The only one in the Czech Republic
It was founded about 3800 BC, ie at the beginning of the funnel cup culture, and is said to be one of the oldest in Europe. It measures 86 in length and up to 26 meters in width. “It is the best preserved funeral monument of this type in Bohemia. We do not know a similar situation from this period in our territory, “Krištuf pointed out.
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The research began this spring with aerial photography, soil sounding and geophysical surveys. “At that time, we had an idea of the shape of the mound. We managed to find out the probable position of the burial chamber and capture a mound embankment about a meter high, “Krištuf reminded. “Such high mound embankments from the Stone Age are not preserved in Bohemia. Most of them were located in long-term agricultural areas and were long ago plowed or deliberately dismantled, “he added.
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The archaeological excavation of selected parts of the mound itself began on August 7 and will continue. “But it is already clear that the children’s grave was central,” Kristufuf pointed out. Subsequent analyzes should help archaeologists to discover the construction of the mound, its exact dating or to provide information about the buried child.
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