8. 3. 2017 Medieval iron boiler

An interesting find was made five years ago at a site in Znojmo where a garage was planned. It was a giant iron boiler from the tenth century. Its capacity was seventy to one hundred litres. It was preserved in its entirety.

Archaeologists discovered the pot on the site of a future garage in the Hradiště district of Znojmo. They managed to remove the whole vessel from the ground. The archaeologist David Humpola admitted at the time that he had never seen such a large iron pot, and a well-preserved one at that.

The archaeological survey was necessary because the owner wanted to build a garage directly on the original fortifications of the Great Moravian hillfort. "The pot is unique in that it has been preserved in its entirety and we managed to remove it," the archaeologist said at the time.

There has also been research into the construction of the original timber and clay wall. The archaeologists examined the local layers. They came across the so-called fire horizon, which, according to Humpola, indicates the demise of the local fortress.

The biggest find that the archaeologists made was a pit at the base of the fortification. It was probably used as a warehouse. "During the excavation we found three complete interlocking millstones or millstones. They were used to grind grain in a circular motion. In the cellar itself, they were stacked. On top of them was a pair of ceramic vessels, and over the whole pile was the aforementioned iron cauldron. It was composed of riveted plates," the archaeologist added.

In addition to the iron pot, archaeologists also discovered another similar artefact. Specifically, it was a ceramic vessel of a bottle shape with decoration typical of the mid-tenth century. The archaeologists planned to exhibit the finds in the South Moravian Museum in Znojmo.

Archaeologists have long enjoyed success in Znojmo. Last year, for example, they announced discoveries that may rewrite the dating of Christian activity from the time of Great Moravia. Archaeologists have been investigating the Church of St. Hippolytus. Then there is the now-defunct wing of the Premonstratensian monastery in Louka.

"It was confirmed that St. Hippolytus is the oldest Christian shrine in Znojmo. The research will answer the question of what the Romanesque predecessors of the current Gothic-Baroque church looked like. It will be a sensation for Znojmo and the whole of Moravia," said Znojmo historian Jiří Kacetl, adding that he would not reveal specific discoveries for the time being.

Sources: www.denik.cz, www.archaiabrno.org