9 Sep 2015 Pennies under the chapel floor
Categories: Minting - Numismatics , Finds and rescue research in the Czech Republic , Calendar
The coins from the seventeenth century were discovered by archaeologists using metal detectors in the Chapel of the Virgin Mary in Dobrčice. These included a silver denarius of Emperor Matthias II. "The youngest coin found is a silver denarius of Matthias II from 1611 minted in the Kremnica mint. The other two small coins represent denarii of the Polish city of Poznan, which were minted at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries during the reign of Sigismund III.
These two coins were made of copper, which is why they have not been preserved in good quality. The fourth coin is even worse. Even though it was made of silver, its condition was so bad that experts were unable to determine its age.
In addition to the coins, archaeologists also discovered fragments of utilitarian pottery. A large proportion were glazed pieces. Archaeologists from Přerov carried out excavations in the interior of the Chapel of the Virgin Mary.
Workers were carrying out rehabilitation works there because it was necessary to improve the statics of the whole building. The chapel dates from the third quarter of the eighteenth century. Its foundations were embedded in an older levelling which sat on a subsoil of loess.
The small chapel is located in the "centre" of the village. Dobrčice is a small village in the south-eastern part of the Přerov district. It is located seven kilometres southeast of Přerov. They have over two hundred inhabitants and an area of 220 hectares.
The chapel is one of the local attractions. Since it was built in 1773, it belongs to the late Baroque period. It is a small religious building measuring 5.6 by 3.81 metres.
The prismatic bell tower, which is located above the facade, is an interesting feature. "The bell with the reliefs of St. Mary and St. Florian is suspended in it. According to the inscription frieze, it was cast in Olomouc in 1774 by the bell-maker Wolfgang Strauber," said the archaeologists who examined the chapel.
Sources: www.dobrcice.cz, www.rozhlas.cz
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