10 Aug 2011 18th century vault under the floor
Categories: Finds and rescue research in the Czech Republic , Calendar
Archaeologists made interesting discoveries ten years ago at the rectory in Jablonec nad Nisou. Under the floor they found a vault from the eighteenth century. It was completely preserved, two metres long and one metre high.
The research preceded an extensive reconstruction for which the town hall received a subsidy from the European Union. They moved the gallery, which until then was located in Jablonec Town Hall, there. They also moved the information centre to the modernised premises.
The rectory was the last residence of the ethnographers Jana and Josef V. Scheybal. In addition to ethnography, they also devoted themselves to folk culture, conservation, local history and regional history. They amassed an extensive library and a large art collection. There is even a nature trail in Dobrá Voda in honour of the couple. They have created a memorial at the parsonage in Jablonec.
When the people in charge of the renovation first came to the attic before the reconstruction, they were literally frightened. It was crammed with all sorts of things. "There were, for example, wrappers from cheese to coffee jars to valuable things. At first we thought, 'We can't possibly sort this,'" recalled Lea Machurová from the Cultural and Information Centre, who was in charge of the modernisation.
The rectory is attached to St. Anne's Church. Archaeologists found several pottery shards from the mid-fourteenth century there, and the foundations of a tile stove in the rectory. But what pleased them most was the vault, which was located under the floor of the rectory. Archaeologists have never seen anything like it before in the region.
"I was looking forward to robbing the vault. However, there were only remnants of wood, no gold or other treasures," smiled Petr Brestovanský, an archaeologist at the North Bohemian Museum.
Afterwards, the faro was taken over by the workers, who had a lot of work to do. The builders discovered that the house stood on a granite foundation that had already crumbled. The building had begun to lean down the slope and even threatened to collapse. So the workers raised the floor and extended the perimeter walls with a concrete wreath. At the same time, the vaulted ceilings on the ground floor had to be structurally secured. The weathered mortar in the joints was crumbling.
The rectory became the property of the Scheybals in the 1960s. After their death, the town became the owner and received a subsidy of 24 million for the renovation.
Sources: www.nasejablonecko.cz, www.denik.cz
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