13 Sep 2014 Rondel near Hradec Králové

Archaeologists came across the prehistoric roundhouse seven years ago in the village of Plotiště nad Labem near Hradec Králové. Seven thousand years ago, this building served as a social and spiritual centre. The prehistoric site was located at a depth of approximately two metres.

A rondel is generally a circular building that appears in the Danube region in the Neolithic period. Subsequently, such buildings spread to Moravia and Bohemia. They are also found in the UK. It is only thanks to the development of aerial archaeology that a greater number of such sites can be found. There are currently over 150 known roundels in Europe.

The one in Plotiště was discovered by archaeologists from the University of Hradec Kralove. According to the experts, the rondel was probably a place where our ancestors gathered. They could have discussed various important topics from the life of their community or their neighbours from the surrounding settlements.

"We also do not exclude their function as a place of religious practice, which was probably related to the most importantThe archaeologist Jaroslav Kovárník said at the time.

Prehistoric archaeological find near Hradec Králové

According to Kovárník, the Rondel is essentially a pyramid-like monument. It is a very rare find indeed. Archaeologists in Plotis also discovered several objects that also pleased them.

"For example, we discovered flint tools that were as sharp as a shard of glass when chipped off. Our ancestors deliberately dulled them with retouching so that they would serve them for a longer time. We think the scrapers may have been used to remove fat from the skins. Some of the tools could also be used to cut or drill. Slate tools could be carefully sanded, and some had a hole drilled to fit a burin. The tools were mainly used for woodworking," Kovárník explained.

It was thanks to the aforementioned aerial archaeology that Kovárník and his colleagues found other circular ditches, on the right-hand side of the Elbe. Specifically, there was a roundhouse with three connected ditches with an outer diameter of about 93 metres at Semonice near Jaroměř, a double roundhouse with connected ditches, aditches with an outer diameter of about 105 metres at Lochenice near the cadastral border with Předměřice nad Labem and a large single ring with a diameter of up to 160 metres in the Chlum municipality.

Sources: https://uni.uhk.cz/, https://zpravy.hradeckralove.cz/, www.idnes.cz, www.wikipedia.org