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Results of Rescue Archaeological Excavation at the Castle of the Dukes of Ilok in 2006
Željko Tomičić
Marko Dizdar
Bartul Šiljeg
Hrvoje Kalafatić
Kristina Jelinčić
orcid.org/0000-0002-1236-734X
Kristina Turkalj
Juraj Belaj
Abstract
Archaeological research on the position of Dvor knezova Iločkih (Court of the Dukes of Ilok) in Ilok has been carried out systematically since 2001. In 2006, the research was focused on the efforts to define the north part of Gothic palace, the central yard and the northwest corner with its ramparts and towers.
The first stage of research, which referred to the north wing of the palace and the yard, was carried out with difficulties because of numerous installations (gas, electricity, water), which are still in use. Baroque reconstructions, carried out by the Odeschalchi family, have been documented (the first reconstruction recorded was carried in the first quarter of the 18th century, the last by the end of the 19th century). The discovery of three limekilns, situated by the north front of the south wall of the north palace wing, which produced damage upon the wall, is related to the first Baroque renovation.
The channel system, that points to the systematic scheme of water drainage from the castle and the surrounding buildings, is related to the reconstructions carried out by Baltazar III; the last reconstruction was performed during the reign of Innocent II. The built sewage system produced considerable damage on the north wing walls, the late medieval layers as well as the objects situated in the palace yard. Of the objects in the investigated part of the yard, foundation footings, built of bricks bound in yellow plaster, as well as a rectangular structure with a circular “accumulator tank”, made of bricks bound in clay, have been preserved. Chronologically, these objects may be classified as belonging to the Ottoman or early Baroque stage. The pavement of the castle from the Baroque stage had been made of stones with sharp edges, which could be found only in the south of the south curtain wall, while the original Gothic grade level was not found. However, in the northwest corner of the yard, because of the sagging of layers, a part of the Gothic floor has been preserved, which was composed of pebbles and large rubble. The sagging of layers occurred because of the burial of the object defined as a late medieval cellar, buried before the palace was constructed. Regarding the late medieval horizon, which preceded the palace of the Dukes of Ilok, an oven was discovered in the rooms No. 3 and 4, as well as a wall in the ditch by the west curtain wall.
The north wing of the palace of the Dukes of Ilok, built in the middle of the 15th century, was completely defined. It consisted of four rooms with plaster and brick floorings. The flooring level shows that we are dealing with cellar rooms. The flooring in the rooms was placed on a pre-loess layer, while the flooring in rooms No. 3 and 4 was placed on culture layers, which elevated them to a level higher by around half a meter. The curtain walls were built simultaneously, while the south wall was built subsequently.
On the north side of the palace, five buttresses were defined, which form a constituent part of the north curtain wall, as well as two buttresses on the west side of the palace. Above the floor in rooms No. 3 and 4, a burn layer with short crossbow arrows was found, a proof of the hardships of the palace during the siege by Vladislav II Jagelović in 1494 or during the Ottoman conquest in 1526.
On the very north edge of the plateau, the remains of an object are situated, belonging to the Baroque stage of the castle reconstruction. The ground plan of the object may be seen in the cadastral plan from 1863.
The second stage of the research referred to the area between the west walls and the palace, as well as the northwest corner, where a tower of a four-angular ground plan was situated. The layer between the palace and the ramparts contained numerous fragments of polychromatic glazed oven tiles, ornamented with various figures, which probably stem from the rooms situated on the upper palace floor. These tiles had been imported from Central European workshops during the second half of the 15th century.
In the research of 2006, traces of settlements from the Antiquity and Prehistory were also documented. Remains of Antique architecture and five Early Roman graves were discovered. In the graves, numerous autochtonous and imported ceramic, glass and bronze objects were found. Out of these discoveries, most significant are grave No. 5, containing a sword in a sheath and a cingulum, as well as grave No. 3 with a bronze sheath. Continuous traces of Prehistoric settlements, ranging from the Neolithic to the Late Iron Age, have been recorded. Gornji grad (the Upper Town), was most densely inhabited during the Kalakača stage of the Bosut group in the Early Iron Age.
Keywords
Ilok; The Dukes of Ilok; palace; Late Middle Ages; castle Odescalchi; Modern time; Ottoman period; Roman settlement; Cucium; Early Roman cemetery; prehistoric settlements
Hrčak ID:
13225
URI
Publication date:
5.6.2007.
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