Slavic Settlement Research Articles

The Teutonic crusade in Prussia: reconstruction of a medieval fortified settlement complex at Unisław

Abstract

FORMATION OF EARLY SLAVIC SETTLEMENT STRUCTURES BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF THE EXPLORATION OF MONUMENTS OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE FIRST MILLENNIUM IN THE BASIN OF THE HORYN RIVER

The processes of Slavic settlement between the Dnipro and the Carpathians in the early Middle Ages have been studied unevenly. Scientists characterized them based on the materials from Eastern Volhynia, Northern Bukovina, and Eastern Podillia. New archaeological sources obtained during the research of the monuments of the second half of the first millennium in the basin of the Horyn River allow us to trace the dynamics of the settlement of ancient Slavs in certain micro-regions and the formation of early medieval settlement structures, and the influence of various factors on these processes. In its flow, the river passes different landscapes and physical and geographical zones in terms, and such natural diversity had a corresponding effect on the processes of settlement.
 In total, about 300 settlements of the early Slavs have been explored in the region. The comparison of data from different chronological stages indicates a significant increase in their number, from 38 in the 6—7th centuries to 262 in the 10th century, that is, in 6.9 times. The peculiarity of the placement of early Slavic settlements in the Horyn River basin was their concentration within the Volhynian Upland (over 85 % of all settlements of the Raikovets culture are located here) and the weak population of Volhynian Polissia.
 Beginning from the 6—7th centuries the formation of individual nests of settlements can be observed in Volhynian Upland. In the basins of small rivers and streams, the nests of settlements are easier to outline, because they, as a rule, have distinct natural boundaries on the watersheds. According to the materials of the Raikovets culture, the nests of settlements are better detected at the final stage of its development in the late 9—10th centuries. At this time, they can be distinguished not only by the concentration of unfortified settlements, but also by the fortifications and burial mounds. The archaeological sources of the 8—10th centuries allow to allocate the nests of settlements in the whole territory of the Volhynian Upland and along the Horyn River within Volhynian Polissia. Their area is determined by the size of the basins of small rivers and streams from 25 to 60 square kilometers. Gradually, the number of settlements in individual nests increased; in the 10th century, on the Volhynian Upland they counted from 4 to 11. The structure of such nests became more complicated, fortifications appeared, and burial mounds were formed. Territorial groups of the settlements of the same age, along with their resource base in the form of agricultural lands, pastures, forests, etc., according to the researchers, are the archaeological equivalent of the Slavic community.

Volyntseve Complex of the Early Slavic Settlement Obukhiv 2

In the paper the materials of the VIII—IX centuries from the Early Slavic settlement Obukhiv 2 at the territory of the Middle Dnieper are analyzed. At the settlement 9 000 m2 were excavated and more then 100 archaeological objects from the I millenium AD have been explored. The stages of the development of Early Slavs material culture at the Middle Dnieper area are demonstrated. The dwellings, household pits and outdoor fireplaces belong to the Volyntseve phase(VIII—IX c. AD). To this phase the pithouses with log contractions and complicated wattle-and-daub kilns, hand- and weelmade “Volyntseve type” pottery, imported goods from Saltov culture etc. also belong. These materials permit to classify two types of material complexes of this settlement. Both complexes belong to the Volyntseve culture and reflect the stages of its formation and features of development. Complexes of the Obukhiv settlement of the third quarter of the I millenium AD allow us to say that the formation of the main features of the Volyntseve culture could occur on their basis. One can see it in the continuity of the territory settlement, the construction of houses and kilns, the ceramic complex, etc. The Obukhiv settlement, along with a number of Right-Bank Early-Slavic settlements, can be correlated with the annalistic tribe of Polans.

Traditional Culture of the Gorals: In Search of the Archaic

This article presents the results of the identification of archaic elements in the traditional spiritual culture of the Gorals, who settled in the mountainous Carpathian regions in southern Poland and northern Slovakia (the Tatras, Beskids, and Magura). Despite the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the region (Slavic settlement from Lesser Poland, German colonization, Wallachian migration with a strong Ruthenian influence and being a part of both Hungary and Austro-Hungary), a number of archaic features are preserved in the language and spiritual culture of the Gorals. These features can be revealed by comparing the beliefs, rites, customs, motivations, texts and vocabulary with other Slavic traditions, not only with those of neighbors, but also with those that are more distant from the Carpathians, such as Polessie and Southern Slavia. We present an overview of archaisms in the field of folk astronomy (vocabulary and ideas about the personification of the month), folk meteorology (customs and beliefs regarding protection against hail and storm) and family rituals (birth rituals, weddings and funeral rites). Archaic representations from the field of folk demonology are examined in more detail: beliefs and vocabulary describing demons and half demons (witches and sorcerers, cloud-breakers and weather demons), evil eyes and  corruption and ways to overcome them, and legends about werewolves; lexico-semantic archaisms (derivatives of the verb *činiti with the meanings ‘to throw / to remove spoilage, evil eye’); and folklore-mythological archaisms (the motive of “moralizing songs” performed by mythological characters). We conclude there is a tangible influence of not only Slovak, but also of East Slavic traditional culture. The chronological framework and spatial vector of this influence requires further study.

From Prosperity to Oblivion: The Slavic Settlement at Gaarz in Ostholstein

On several occasions during the 20th c. archaeological finds were brought to light at Gaarz. A great part of the finds from this site in Ostholstein (Germany) hints at a Slavic settlement there. During surveys with the metal detector from the year 2012 onwards, a steadily growing mass of metal finds was uncovered. Some of these are of high quality and attest to wealth which exceeds the scope of merely rural settlements. In this paper some of the archaeological material is presented and the function of this “new” site in the vicinity of the central place of Starigard/Oldenburg is discussed.

SLAVIC ELEMENTS IN THE NAMES OF CONTEMPORARY INHABITANTS OF VIĻĀNI (EASTERN LATVIA)

The article depicts some distinctive features present in the anthroponymic system of the inhabitants of Viļāni, a town in eastern Latvia known for the former Slavic (Polish, Russian, Belarusian) settlements. Personal names are evidence of coexistence of several nations and of the overlapping of various cultural and linguistic influences in the area of Latgale. 500 surnames, excerpted from a list of 1100, demonstrate their Slavic origin. The article discusses assimilation processes, including graphic changes that result from the process of adaptation of Slavic names to Latvian, and analyses typical Slavic suffixes used to derive personal names (-wski, -ko, -owicz). This research deals with the difficulty of unequivocal attribution of some surnames to a specific Slavic language. One of the sources of this research is 19th-century records with the names of the inhabitants of Viļāni drawn up by Stefania Ulanowska, author of “Łotysze Inflant Polskich” (1891–1895).

Slawisches in den Siedlungsnamen der Steiermark. Gedanken zur Kontaktonomastik

The study is inspired by the lexicon of toponyms in Styria (see Lochner von Huttenbach, F., 2015). The lexicon exemplifies the pre-German layer of Slavic toponyms, and their adoption into German. The study examines the data through the theory and methodology of contact onomastics, especially related to Slavic-German area. Inter-language adoption of names always involves a confrontation of naming and proprial systems. The naming potential/choices as well as the dialects of the adopting languages must be taken into consideration, alongside motivational aspects. The areal distribution also plays a very important role here (it considerably contributes to the research of pre-Slavic topolexemes and structures of proper names, as well as the geographical delimitation of the Slavic settlements and showing areas of Slavic-German contact). The findings are presented in the form of comments, models, tables, lists of proper names, and on maps.

SROVNÁVACÍ STUDIE POVRCHU KŘEMENNÝCH ZRN NA LOKALITÁCH JIŽNÍ A JIHOVÝCHODNÍ MORAVY

Between 2013–2014, archeological researches at the Mikulčice site were performed. During these researches, necessity of a quartz grains surface study in the Moravian Sahara arose. There is a significant archaeological monument situated near the village of Mikulčice – a Slavic settlement, whose youngest bedrock is formed by fluvial sediments of extinct riverarms of the river Morava, and sand dunes composed of wind-blown sands of the Moravian Sahara. On these sand dunes, the most important churches and palaces of the settlement are found. The sandy sediments can reach up to 30 m thickness in the area of the Moravian Sahara.Samples of sandy sediments were taken from several locations of this site, and also from several other sites of south Moravia, which are sedimentary genetically different from the studied area. One sample of aeolian sand from the desert Rub-al Khali of Arabian Peninsula was provided for comparison.After gathering this small collection of sand grain samples, they were individually modified to the required study form and analyzed according to the demands of the method of exoscopy. At first, one hundred quartzgrains were separated from each sample of the collection using a stereo microscope. After that a detailed study and imaging with the scanning electronmicroscope (SEM) followed.The collection of sands from Mikulčice of the same genetical origin was compared to other samples of genetically known origin (fluvial, eolian...). The final comparison of all samples was performed by the method of multivariate analysis with NMDS. The results show that development of sediments at the archeological site Mikulčice most probably took place in very similar sedimentary environment. In this environment, the eolian transport and the fluvial transport with lower kinetic energy played important role.

Measurement of Time by the Ancient Slavs<br>Merjenje časa pri starih Slovanih</br>

The paper explores time measurements and perception of time by the ancient Slavs in the pre-Migration Period and Slavic settlement of Central and Southern Europe. It attempts to reconstruct a year, seasonal, month-like division and naming, as well as lunar and solar time measurement. Moreover, it explores and attempts to reconstruct what were the common Slavic month names that, is before 5th–7th centuries. It also, discusses the issue of adoption of Julian calendar across the Slavdom in the period between the 9th–11th centuries. The research is based on scarce limited written historical records as it explores the times before writing came to the Slavs. Hence to a large degree it relies on abundant ethnographic sources, as well as on linguistics. Therefore, in principle it employs a comparative methodology and often draws from Indo-European examples.

Die regio Neletici ubi est Vurcine civitas im Licht der Ortsnamen

The study concerning the Slavic district Neletici on the Mulde River follows up on the research done on the Slavic settlement of the Leipzig Land and also of the pagus Quezici (around and to the west of Eilenburg) and is based on the same methodical principles. Taking into account relevant research done by Horst Naumann and Ernst Eichler 96 Slavic place names are again analysed in regard to etymology, formation und meaning. Accordingly, the use of two multi-colored maps aid in illustrating the area settled by the Slavs who immigrated from Bohemia. The core area of the regio Neletici is not the territory directly around Wurzen but lies to the north between the Mulde an the Lossabach. The borders of Neletici are distinctly established by the Slavic districts Chutici and Quezici in the west and northwest and by the Slavic settlements on the Elbe River. The border to the south could be determined even more precisely by analogical research.

From Slavic Settlements to Independent State: The Continuity of Ukrainian Nationhood in a School History Textbook

From Slavic Settlements to Independent State: The Continuity of Ukrainian Nationhood in a School History Textbook

Birds in the medieval culture and economy of the East Slavs in the 10–13th centuries AD

The paper is devoted to a re-examination of the bird remains from the numerous East Slavic settlements (10–13th centuries AD). Species diversity suggests that medieval people in the Eastern Europe used birds for food, falconry, in ritual and, possibly, for aviary specimens and pets. Furthermore, bird feathers were used for preparing arrows. The most popular bird of prey was goshawk. Primary game birds were ducks, geese, swans, common crane and corvids along with black grouse and capercaillie in forest zones. The archaeological data present evidence for the use of wild birds (e.g., hooded crow) in funeral ceremonies for the first time. The majority of the identified birds have not changed their distribution, but in recent times some of these taxa have become rarer. Red-breasted goose is now extant in the area but its remains were found in the medieval layers, although this species could have been an occasional visitor in the Ukraine. Archaeological data and historical sources prove that white stork has lived in the territory of Ukraine since the Middle Ages or even earlier. The most common domestic poultry for the East Slavs was chicken. Domestic ducks and geese were much rarer. Historical documents were also consulted in this study and these also contribute to our understanding of the role of birds in the life of the East Slavs.

Deapelativna krajevna imena z determinantami Graf‑, Herr‑ in Pape‑/Pfaffe‑ na območju med Saalo in Niso

Avtorica v prispevku obravnava deapelativna krajevna imena z determinantami Graf‑, Herr‑ in Pape‑/Pfaffe‑ na območju med Saalo in Niso. V tem nemško‑slovanskem naselitvenem področju ne obstajajo vedno slovanske ustreznice k nemškim krajevnoimenskim tvorbam.

Der ostseeslawische Kultstrand bei Ralswiek auf Rügen (8. - 10. Jh.). Bemerkungen zu einem neuen archäologischen DokumentationsbandSlovanska kultna obala ob Baltiku pri Ralswieku na Rügnu/Rujani (8. – 10. st.). Pripombe k novemu zvezku arheološke dokumentacije

The author discusses the discovery of two Slavic cult sanctuaries from the eighth to tenth centuries. Both were found close to the Slavic-Scandinavian settlement and port Ralswiek along the Baltic Sea on the island of Rügen. The older sanctuary had been abandoned because of the rising sea level and had been replaced by a more recent one, which was destroyed by fire. As both were built close to the water, the author argues that the sanctuaries were consecrated to a female water goddess, probably Mokoš. The article continues with a discussion of the Slavic settlement of Rügen and of the possibility of contact with the German natives. Evidence of this includes analysis of pollen samples, while the pottery remnants argue otherwise. The author sees a methological-interpretative problem in this inconsistency.

Anthropogenic Dark Earth in Northern Germany — The Nordic Analogue to terra preta de Índio in Amazonia

During an archaeological excavation of a Slavic settlement (10th/11th C. A.D.) in Brünkendorf (Wendland region in Northern Germany), a thick black soil (Nordic Dark Earth) was discovered that resembled the famous terra preta phenomenon. For the humid tropics, terra preta could act as model for sustainable agricultural practices and for long-term CO2-sequestration into terrestrial ecosystems. The question was whether this Nordic Dark Earth had similar properties and genesis as the famous Amazonian Dark Earth in order to find a model for sustainable agricultural practices and long term CO2-sequestration in temperate zones. For this purpose, a multi-analytical approach was used to characterise the sandy-textured Nordic Dark Earth in comparison to less anthropogenically influenced soils in the adjacent area in respect of ecological conditions (pH, electric conductivity, cation exchange capacity, amino sugar) and input materials. Total element contents (C, N, P, Ca, Mg, K, Na, Fe, Cu, K, Zn, Mn and Ba) were highly enriched in the Nordic Dark Earth compared to the reference soil. Faecal biomarkers such as stanols and bile acids indicated animal manure from omnivores and herbivores but also human excrements. Amino sugar analyses showed that Nordic Dark Earth contained higher amounts of microbial residues being dominated by soil fungi. Black carbon content of about 30Mgha−1 in the Nordic Dark Earth was about four times higher compared to the adjacent soil and in the same order of magnitude compared to terra preta.The input materials and resulting soil chemical characteristics of the Nordic Dark Earth were comparable to those of Amazonian Dark Earth suggesting that their genesis was also comparable. Amazonian Dark Earth and Nordic Dark Earth were created by surface deposition and/or shallow soil incorporation of waste materials including human and animal excrements together with charred organic matter. Over time, soil organisms degraded and metabolized these materials leaving behind deep black stable soil organic matter. The existence of the Nordic Dark Earth in the temperature zone of Europe demonstrates the capability of sandy-textured soils to maintain high soil organic matter contents and nutrient retention over hundreds of years. Deeper insights are needed urgently to understand soil organic matter stabilization mechanisms in this sandy soil to promote conceptual models for sustainable land use and long-term C sequestration.It is argued that the knowledge of Nordic Dark Earth probably was an important part of the Viking–Slavic subsistence agriculture system, which could have had a great impact on the development of the Viking age emporia in the 9th/10th C. A.D.

Birds from the Old East Slavic settlement “Igren 8” (12th–13th century AD; Ukraine)

The work presents the results of the analysis of a species diversity of the Old East Slavic settlement “Igren 8”(Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine). The settlement occupied the area of nearly 15 hawhich was relatively large for this region. In Medieval period around the mouths of tributaries to the delta of the Dnieperdense forests were located, although the region is located in the south forest-steppe zone and the steppe zone. The majority of hunted birds belong to the group Anatidae (at least 72% of the minimum possible number of individuals). Poultry played the minor role in the diet of the residents of the medieval settlement “Igren 8”. We have drawn the conclusion about birds from “Igren 8”inhabiting water with thickets of the hygrophyte vegetation on the periphery. Nowadays, there are many embryophytes such as Phragmites australis, Typha spp., Glyceria maxima, Acorus calamus and others in these places. Hygrophytes covering of reservoirs is typically less than 20%.

A millennium of Belgrade (sixth-sixteenth centuries): A short overview

This paper gives an overview of the history of Belgrade from the reign of Justinian I (527-565), i.e. the time of Slavic settlement, to the Ottoman conquest in 1521. The millennium can be divided into three thematic and chronological units: the Byzantine era (up to 1204), the Serbian era and, finally, the Ottoman era (fifteenth-sixteenth centuries). Within the Byzantine cultural orbit, and especially during the twelfth century, the city played a major role in the relations between the Byzantine Empire and Hungary. Byzantine emperors sojourned in Belgrade on multiple occasions. The city reached its peak during the reign of Despot Stefan in the early fifteenth century. After his death in 1427, the Ottoman threat cast its shadow over the city. Its inhabitants, the Serbs, defended Belgrade for almost a century (1427-1521), thus defending the whole of Central Europe. Belgrade?s fall into the Ottoman hands was followed by the demise of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1526. Even Vienna was threatened by the Ottomans, in 1529.

Medieval Churches in Shushica Valley (South Albania) and the Slavonic Bishopric of St. Clement of Ohrid

There were numerous Slavic settlements in South Albania (including the valley of Shushica River) at the end of the 1st millennium. In the second half of the 9th c. a significant part of this region was conquered by the 1st Bulgarian Kingdom, and after 870 there were established ecclesiastical dioceses which became part of the church organization of the Kingdom. Slavonic ecclesiastical schools were established in that region as well, after 886 in the context of the so-called “Slavonic project” of the Bulgarian prince, Boris. St. Clement took an active part in this project. It was South Albania where the first Slavonic bishopric in Southeast Europe was founded, in 893, when St. Clement was appointed bishop. His bishopric was organized according ethnic principle, so that St. Clement was called “the bishop of Slavonic people.” The center of Clement’s bishopric was in Velica, which is related to the modern settlement Velçë in the Shushica valley. There are ruins of a cross-in-square church with a narthex in the Asomat region, which is located near Velica. The church was built at the end of the 9th‒beginning of the 10th cc. and dedicated to the Archangel Michael. The plan of this church is identical with that of the so-called “pronaos” of the church built by St. Clement in his Ohrid monastery. In St. Clement’s bishopric Church Slavonic was used as a liturgical language. For that purpose, a set of Byzantine liturgical books was translated from Greek into Church Slavonic, and Clement took an active part in this process. Liturgical pecularities of these books partially observed in Greek manuscripts of South Italian provenance testify to the hypothesis that Greek sources of the earliest Church Slavonic translations belonged to liturgical tradition of Epirus, similar to those of South Italy. This also proves the location of St. Clement’s bishopric in the valley of the Shushica River.

Pasture Names with Romance and Slavic Roots Facilitate Dissection of Y Chromosome Variation in an Exclusively German-Speaking Alpine Region

The small alpine district of East Tyrol (Austria) has an exceptional demographic history. It was contemporaneously inhabited by members of the Romance, the Slavic and the Germanic language groups for centuries. Since the Late Middle Ages, however, the population of the principally agrarian-oriented area is solely Germanic speaking. Historic facts about East Tyrol's colonization are rare, but spatial density-distribution analysis based on the etymology of place-names has facilitated accurate spatial mapping of the various language groups' former settlement regions. To test for present-day Y chromosome population substructure, molecular genetic data were compared to the information attained by the linguistic analysis of pasture names. The linguistic data were used for subdividing East Tyrol into two regions of former Romance (A) and Slavic (B) settlement. Samples from 270 East Tyrolean men were genotyped for 17 Y-chromosomal microsatellites (Y-STRs) and 27 single nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNPs). Analysis of the probands' surnames revealed no evidence for spatial genetic structuring. Also, spatial autocorrelation analysis did not indicate significant correlation between genetic (Y-STR haplotypes) and geographic distance. Haplogroup R-M17 chromosomes, however, were absent in region A, but constituted one of the most frequent haplogroups in region B. The R-M343 (R1b) clade showed a marked and complementary frequency distribution pattern in these two regions. To further test East Tyrol's modern Y-chromosomal landscape for geographic patterning attributable to the early history of settlement in this alpine area, principal coordinates analysis was performed. The Y-STR haplotypes from region A clearly clustered with those of Romance reference populations and the samples from region B matched best with Germanic speaking reference populations. The combined use of onomastic and molecular genetic data revealed and mapped the marked structuring of the distribution of Y chromosomes in an alpine region that has been culturally homogeneous for centuries.

Difficult middles, hybridity and ambivalence of a medieval frontier: the cultural landscape of Lolland and Falster (Denmark)

This article focuses on the cultural and political landscape of the Danish islands of Lolland and Falster in the Middle Ages. The close economic and dynastic relationships between medieval Denmark and the Slavic area south of the Baltic Sea, as well as Slavic settlement on the islands, contributed to the emergence of complex realities and attitudes, as well as a particular ‘in-betweenness’ of the islanders. By analysing archaeological and historical sources as well as borrowing concepts from postcolonial scholarship, the processes that developed in this borderland geography are explored. The paper highlights hybridity in material culture, pays attention to the ambivalence towards ‘national’ projects and underlines the complex and multi-positional identities of the islanders.