FULL Slovakia - Bronze-Age Settlement
Dates: 13th July to 24th August 2008
Number of UK participants: 8
Duration: 6 weeks
The Slovak/Hungarian border town of Sahy has been the location for Grampus archaeology placements since 2001. The initial focus of these excavations was the medieval monastery, where participants have gained invaluable experience of excavating a site with complex stratigraphy and where several medieval burials have been discovered, recorded and excavated. Although the focus of the placement has now changed to a Bronze-Age site on the outskirts of the town, the following reports will give applicants a good insight into the earlier monastic excavations in Sahy and the experiences of previous UK participants living and working in this part of Slovakia.
read the report written by Peter Truman, a participant in the 2004 Sahy excavations
read the report written by Daniel Wray, a participant in the 2005 Sahy excavations
In 2006, a new factory construction led to the discovery of a new bronze-age site on the outskirts of Sahy. Our partners in Slovakia therefore moved the focus of the excavations from the monastery to the investigation of this incredibly important site. We are delighted to be able to offer the opportunity for UK archaeology students to join the Bronze-Age excavations at Sahy again in 2008.
Archaeology placement in Šahy 2007
The archeological site the group worked on a site of the so called "Hatvan culture". The people of the Hatvan culture lived in the period between 1850 - 1600 B.C., which belongs to the older Bronze Age in the Carpathian Basin. It was named after the archeological findspot next to the Hungarian town of Hatvan, and it covers the north-eastern part of the Hungarian Plain, the area between the Körös and Ipel Rivers. The fortified settlements can be characterized by cremation burial. The dead were not put in urns, but they were dispersed. The findspots are usually rich in ceramics, as well as objects made of bones and stone. Things made of bronze are rare.
The findspot in Šahy presents the remains of a settlement. The research was carried out in order to rescue the finds, since a substantial part of the site was destroyed by the preparatory works of the construction. 2 years ago, an employee of the National Institute of Archeology found a fireplace, a pot and a stone covered fireplace here. The task for 2007 was to examine a bigger area and of the ground removed from this area, which is expected to be rich in finds, and then continued the research layer by layer.
Tasks included:
- To find the edges of the site from ½ meter wide trenches
- To cut the site by a research trench in order to be able to document the relations between the individual layers within the site
- To make a research from layer to layer.
Read the report written by Helen cartwright, a participant on the bronze-age excavations in Sahy during summer 2006.
E.mail Grampus for more information or complete and submit the application form.
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Images From EASE Placement in Slovakia 2005
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Below: Images of the 2004 Excavations in Sahy
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