Doubravčice, Kolín dist., Central Bohemian Region
Prehistoric and Early Medieval hillfort ‘Staré Zámky’, Medieval fort Šember
(600–400 BC, 8th cent., 14th–15th cent.)
Prehistorc and Early Medieval bank with a ditch.
Photo J. Mařík, 2014.
In the 8th century AD, the prehistoric hillfort at ‘Staré Zámky’ became one of the first Early Medieval fortified centres in Bohemia; together with other hillforts, it formed an interesting group of centres in the eastern part of today’s central Bohemia. The promontory was thought to have been surrounded by eight lines of fortifications built in various periods but, as archaeologists believe today, most of them (with the exceptions of A and B) may also represent medieval field boundaries. A small castle (‘Šember’) belonging to the Church was built on the tip of the promontory in the 14th century and probably destroyed during the Hussite Wars.
References: Profantová 1998.
Navigation points: N 50°00'54.12", E 14°48'25.77"; N 50°00'48.55", E 14°48'08.66" (west).
Map notes: A – Early Medieval ditch and bank; B – Late Hallstatt Period ditch and bank; C – Late Hallstatt Period bank or later field boundary; D–H – other prehistoric/Early Medieval fortifications or medieval field boundaries; J – neck ditch of ‘Šember’ castle; K – ‘Šember’ castle. Map symbols are available in the Downloads section.
Selected fulltext articles and reports for further reading. Complete bibliographical records are available in the Downloads section as the List of publications.
Archeologický atlas Čech – DoubravčiceProfantová, N. 1998: Doubravčice. K problematice počátků raně středověkého hradiště na základě výzkumů J. Kudrnáče, Archeologie ve středních Čechách 2, 157–275.