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Reassessing Sveta Ana–Gradina: Archaeological Interpretations of a High and Late Medieval Stronghold
Tatjana Tkalčec
orcid.org/0000-0003-3963-7706
; Institut za arheologiju, Zagreb
*
* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
In the area of northern Croatia, in the interfluve of the Drava, Sava, Sutla and Danube rivers, the nobility built various types of their (private) fortified residences during the High and Late Middle Ages. Stone castles, more rarely built of brick, were erected by the king and high nobility, generally always with royal permission. The middle and lower nobility typically built their manors and small castles constructed of wood and earth, sometimes with structures built of brick or stone. The remains of these fortified residences, referred to in contemporary Croatian archaeological literature as late medieval hillforts/castles of gradište-type, can be identified in the field by a central elevation surrounded by an earthen rampart and defensive ditch, or by a system of ramparts and ditches. Archaeological investigations of late medieval small castles of gradište-type in Croatia began as early as the mid-20th century, and to date excavations, of varying extent, have been carried out at around thirty sites (Tkalčec 2021: 29–33, 51–54, Tab. 1). Of the small castles dated to the High Middle Ages, two lowland sites have been fully published so far: Turčišće near Domašinec in Međimurje, dated to the 12th and 13th centuries, and Torčec–Gradić in Podravina, erected in the 12th/13th or 13th century and functioning, with certain construction modifications, until the 15th century. This paper publishes the results of archaeological investigations of another small castle from the High and early Late Middle Ages in the Podravina region, namely a hillfort-type gradište at Sveta Ana near Đurđevac (Map 1).
The site bearing the indicative toponym Gradina, which in Croatian denotes a place where a fortress or central settlement once stood, is situated atop a steep hill, approximately 40 m above the village of Sveta Ana with a church dedicated to the same saint, which developed at the foot of the hill’s western slopes (Figs. 1, 2). In 2010 the Institute of Archaeology carried out small-scale trial excavations at the site, covering a total area of 15 m² (Fig. 3).
The stratigraphy of layers, pits and former wooden post-holes revealed two phases of occupation at the site (Fig. 4). The first represents the period of the castle’s construction with wooden buildings and the beginning of intensive occupation, evidenced in the excavated section by post-holes (SU 6/7, 8/9, 10/11, 12/13, 14/15 and 18/23) and two refuse pits (SUs 21/22 and 24/25). Intensive occupation resulted in the accumulation of a thick layer (SU 2). The fill stains of the refuse pits from the first phase (SUs 21/22 and 24/25) were identified already within the very bottom of SU 2, suggesting that they originated during the time when the wooden structure was already in use. In the second phase, identified by the cutting of posts and pits into SU 2, specifically into the upper surface of that layer, the wooden structures were evidently repaired, i.e. their load-bearing posts were replaced (post-holes SUs 16/17 and 26/27), while pit SU 3/4 attests to continued occupation during this second phase.
Analysis of the movable finds showed that material from both phases is typologically very uniform, indicating no long chronological interval. The finds recovered during the short excavation were not numerous (Table 1), but all point to a 13th-century date, with the possibility of continued use into the early 14th century. Radiocarbon analysis of an animal bone from pit SU 24/25 of the first phase yielded a date in the first half to the mid-13th century with a median of AD 1236, or more broadly from the late 12th century to the first decade of the second half of the 13th century (Fig. 13).
The kitchen pottery from both the first (Pl. 1; 2: 1–8, 11–12; 3: 1–4; 4: 1–9, 12–16, Figs. 5, 6) and second phases (Pl. 4: 10, 11, 19–23) shows the specific features of the same local pottery workshop: the rim forms and the choice of decoration motifs – single wavy lines or rows of intertwining single wavy lines – remain uniform and do not suggest a long chronological gap. Analogies can be found at sites dated to the 13th and 14th centuries. Among the tableware, bowl-shaped cups coated with a layer of earthen slip or engobe in light ochre colour from the first phase (Pl. 3, Figs. 7, 8) are notable; similar fragments were also present in contexts of the second phase. Analogies in Hungary and Croatia likewise point to the 13th and 14th centuries. Also noteworthy are fragments of a vessel – probably a jug or bottle – coated on the exterior with red earthen glaze, burnished and painted with a mesh-like pattern in light ochre (Pl. 2: 9, Figs. 9, 10), with analogies in Croatia from the 13th and 14th centuries.
Additionally, several fragments of vessels, cups or small jugs are coated with white engobe (Pl. 4: 17, 18, 24), and yellow jugs coated with light engobe and red painted are also present (Fig. 11). Apart from pottery sherds, a brick fragment of dimensions characteristic for 13th c., an iron knife, a fragment of an unidentified glass object, and a forged iron nail were recovered (Pl. 3: 5, 6; 4: 25, Fig. 12). Although the assemblage of animal bones is relatively small, the pattern at Sveta Ana clearly corresponds to that typical of so-called high-status sites, with a specific representation of animal species dominated by pigs and poultry, accompanied by young slaughtered individuals. It may be concluded that the typological-chronological analysis of the movable finds from the first phase of the castle indicates a 13th-century dating, with the overall impression that the finds lean chron ologically toward later rather than earlier periods of the 13th century. However results of radiocarbon analysis suggest the first half of the 13th century (Fig. 13). The second phase does not differ in any way from the first in terms of movable material. Given the small excavated area and the relatively small quantity of finds, further large-scale excavation could, of course, yield a different picture. Based on current evidence, however, it appears that little time elapsed between the two phases (as suggested by the uniformity of the material), yet enough time did pass for the need to replace the wooden load-bearing posts of the structures and buildings erected on the castles. Taking both factors into account, we may assume that the second and final phase of occupation at the castle (at least in the investigated part of the site) occurred during the first half of the 14th century.
The archaeological investigations were considered in the context of historical data on settlements, churches and castles in the area. The results of the archaeological research largely allow the identification of the castle with the medieval castrum Susicha. In preserved historical sources, Susicha Castle is mentioned late, only in 1341, and was still active in 1378. If Sveta Ana–Gradina is viewed as the possible medieval castrum Susicha, we also know that shortly before the mid-14th century it was held by Ban Mikac, whose castellan administered the estate. For some reason it lost importance and, according to historical sources, was abandoned in the second half or toward the end of the 14th century, with Đurđevac and its newly built fortress becoming the seigneurial centre. It should be noted that the decline in importance of a castle – perhaps due to specific seigneurial and economic factors – likely occurred over a longer period. In this sense, it is possible that life at the Sveta Ana small castle in the mid-14th century and in the first decades thereafter continued at a lower intensity, leaving no significant material traces or movable finds, at least not in the part excavated archaeologically. Therefore, although the typological characteristics of the material indicate that the second phase should not be dated later than the mid-14th century, this does not exclude the possibility that the castle nominally still existed for several subsequent decades.
Ključne riječi
Sveta Ana–Gradina; small castle; 13th century; tableware; nobility; social status
Hrčak ID:
346869
URI
Datum izdavanja:
21.12.2025.
Posjeta: 0 *