Hrad Hůrky u Vranovic, okr. Příbram. Dosavadní stav poznání a výsledky nedestruktivního archeologického výzkumu

Abstract

The article deals with the present research into the neglected fortifications in the Brdy foothills. The complex destructive archeological research, analysis of written sources, and the historical-geographical analysis that were carried out offer a wholly different view of the site than is offered by present scholarship, which assumes it was a fortress of the local lower nobility in the 14th century. The completed research has provided information on a relatively extensive building site with minimal traces of construction, an incomplete fortification, and destruction by a massive fire. Via an analysis of potsherds, we can date the site to the first half of the 15th century. Based on this, we favor two unusual interpretations in the context of the present state of knowledge on Czech fortified settlements. The first is the unfinished and extensive residence of a prominent noble family from the beginning of the 15th century. The second is a fortification serving to house military units in the period of the Hussite wars. The present state of knowledge also does not rule out a sequence of both of these aforementioned functions.