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Ilok - Castle of the Dukes of Ilok. 2004 Excavation Results
Željko Tomičić
Marko Dizdar
Bartul Šiljeg
Darija Ložnjak Dizdar
Abstract
In the northern part of the late medieval Castle of the Dukes of Ilok, systematic archaeological conservation excavations in Ilok have been conducted for four years. In 2004 excavations covered the area north-west of the fortified base of the Castle of the Ilok Dukes, with examination of the architectural link between the north-western part of the Castle and the currently visible complex of defensive walls in the west. Investigation of late medieval archi- tecture encompassed the western faces of the piers on the western side of the investigated Castle, whereas it was concluded that the northern pier, along with the furthest northern pier, belongs to a cross-like organized post of the north-western corner of the late medieval Castle. Apart from the architecture, layers and structures west of the Castle of the Ilok Dukes were investigated, which testify to the continued settlement of the Upper Town of Ilok since prehistoric times. The late medieval trench for the western wall of the Ilok Castle was excavated. The trench cut the Late Antiquity pit that was sunken into the prehistoric layer. A Late Hallstatt semidwelling pit was found as well. Numerous finds, particularly those of Antiquity-period and Late Medieval coins and luxurious Late Medieval stove-tiles, will help date the stratigraphically investigated structures and layers.
A surprising aspect about the excavations conducted so far is the lack of layers from the early or high Middle Ages, which can be ascribed to the preparation of the terrain for construction of the magnificent Late Medieval Castle of the Ilok Dukes that had to have its foundations on solid, compact earth, i.e. a loess layer. This notable building, which altered the appearance of the western part of the Ilok Plateau once and for all, was a turning point for the position of the site at which it was erected in the middle of the fifteenth century, as it gained residential status.
Interventions during construction of the late medieval Castle paid no attention to stratigraphic layers and structures of the rich past of the area, which - according to the remains of remains - was rich since the Early Bronze Age. Numerous questions remain open: archaeological remains, i.e. layers of one hundred and fifty years of the Ottoman presence, are missing, as is the picture of the architectural complex of the Late Medieval Castle and its links with the simultaneous defensive walls and the central courtyard. Also, the excavations shall present the settlement of this area before building the Castle, in the Middle Ages, as well as in Antiquity and the prehistoric period. Some issues could be partly explained by the present excavations, and they will probably be largely resolved after excavations in the entire western part of the plateau chosen by the Dukes of Ilok as the construction site for their Castle.
Keywords
Ilok; Dukes of Ilok; Late Middle Ages; Gothic period; Antiquity; Prehistory
Hrčak ID:
649
URI
Publication date:
23.3.2005.
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