Abstract
Abstract Water wells are the most unique finds from the Early Neolithic period in Central Europe. These features provide unusual insight into societies and their settlements, as well as into the water management process. This article presents the updated results of material analyses and excavations of Early Neolithic wells at Mohelnice, Brno-Bohunice and Uničov in Moravia, Czech Republic. We studied the possibilities of the spatial and temporal distribution of wells on the example of these settlements. The social relation between the large longhouses and the wells in their immediate neighbourhood has not been proven. On the contrary, they could have been communal wells, serving the inhabitants of the entire settlement. Moreover, it turned out that in the Moravian region, geomorphological conditions were a key factor for choosing the location to build a well. By comparing radiocarbon dates, we estimated the time span of the existence of wells with respect to each other and to the settlements. Sealing and repairs of the well constructions prove that the first farmers maintained the wells over a long period of time. Studies of the well’s vertical sections shed light on its usage and decline; intentional backfilling of the well seems to have been common. Water management covered an entire cycle of activities, including the making of wooden buckets, which were mainly used for the pulling of water from wells.
Highlights
Around the mid-sixth millennium BC, the transition to the Neolithic way of life took place in the Middle Danube region (Bánffy & Oross, 2010)
2.1.1 Mohelnice-U Cukrovaru The town of Mohelnice lies in the north-eastern corner of Central Moravia, at the foot of the Nízký Jeseník Upland (Culek et al, 2005)
Water management covered an entire cycle of activities from bringing water from the source, through its storage and use to waste water disposal
Summary
2.1 Sites and Fieldwork2.1.1 Mohelnice-U Cukrovaru The town of Mohelnice lies in the north-eastern corner of Central Moravia, at the foot of the Nízký Jeseník Upland (Culek et al, 2005). Neolithic settlement was situated about 200 m away from the present-day bed of the Morava River and about 2 km east of Mohelnice. The settlement extended around a hilltop at an elevation of 270 m a.s.l. The hill sloped down to the Morava River, to the elevations of 252–255 m a.s.l. In the period 1964–2019, a total of 71 samples for radiocarbon dating were taken from the lining or fill of all wells and from the settlement features. In the period 1964–2019, a total of 71 samples for radiocarbon dating were taken from the lining or fill of all wells and from the settlement features They comprised charred and uncharred plant macro remains, uncharred wood, charcoal, animal and human bones and tar. Dendroarchaeological investigation of tool marks on the wooden finds was performed on the freshly excavated timber from Uničov (Rybníček et al, 2018; Vostrovská et al, 2020, p. 68)
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