Excavation of Cemetery at Loretánské Square in Prague – Hradčany - Burial practices during Middle and High Ages in the light of sources from excavations of Dr. I. Borkovský (1934–1935)

PhDr. Ivana Boháčová, Ph.D. (GA AV ČR) 2009-2011

Funerary range (> 600 burials) in the vicinity of the residence was investigated in the 30ies of the last C.; research has not yet been evaluated. Hereby, a unique source for transformation studies concerning realms of the dead and the living and funerary rites starting from later Early Middle Ages (2nd half of the 11th C.) was obtained, as well as a large collection of Late ‘hillfort’ funerary equipment. Site can be characterized as a complex settlement stratigraphy that was heavily and repeatedly disturbed by burials already during Early Middle Ages. Project’s aim is to: 1. provide access to sources from this milieu for generally conceived studies; 2. characterize site’s separate burial stages from the viewpoint of changes in funerary rites in space and time. Principal output: publication of the annotated manuscript of Borkovský’s excavation report updated with guide to the source collection; partial output: studies concerning selected issues.