Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.52064/vamz.54.1.22
Origins of medieval Đurđevac at the location of Sošice
Robert Čimin
orcid.org/0000-0001-5628-4135
Abstract
The development of sacred medieval edifices and the appurtenant
graveyards through four burial horizons has been investigated at
the archaeological site of Đurđevac-Sošice. This was done through
four archaeological campaigns of the Koprivnica Town Museum
in the period between 2016 and 2019. The site has been known for
a lengthy period of time, and in the literature it has been named
‘Pri turnu’ or ‘Za turnom’ after the remains of the church bell tower,
which was visible even in the first half of the 20th century. Research
has confirmed that the site had been used as a graveyard before
the oldest church existence, of the 12th century or the first half of
the 13th, was confirmed. The existence of this church was indirectly
documented through the settlement of sv. Juraj (St George) in one
document of 1270. The church could then have been made of wood,
while the first church made of brick was built around 1300. In its
basic layout, with minor construction interventions, it was used
until the turn of the 16th century, when a larger late-Gothic church
was built, with a bell tower on the western front. During all that
time, the church and its surrounding area were used as a graveyard.
There, 243 skeletal graves were investigated. The number
of burial finds shows that this is a significant sacred site, around
which the settlement stretched to the north (Sošice 2) and southeast
(Sošice 3). The archaeological and historical investigations
conducted have confirmed that, during the developed and late
Middle Ages at the location of Sošice, there was the centre of the
important parish of St George in the church organization of the
Archdeaconry of Gornja Komarnica, as well as the (trading) district
centre of the municipality (borough) in the administrative organization
of the dual estate of Prodaviz/Đurđevac.
Keywords
Podravina, Đurđevac, Middle Ages, church, graveyard, burial finds, settlement
Hrčak ID:
266463
URI
Publication date:
6.12.2021.
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