Rondels revisited. Recent research on Neolithic circular enclosures in Central Europe 5000-4500 cal. BC

0575835 - ARÚ 2024 RIV DE eng M - Monography Chapter
Řídký, Jaroslav - Květina, Petr
Rondels and interpretation of the patchy evidence across the rondel regions.
Rondels revisited. Recent research on Neolithic circular enclosures in Central Europe 5000-4500 cal. BC. Rahden/Westf.: Verlag Marie Leidorf, 2023 - (Schier, W.), s. 357-373. Berliner Archäologische Forschungen, 21. ISBN 978-3-89646-572-6
Institutional support: RVO:67985912
Keywords : Neolithic * circular enclosures * rituals
OECD category: Archaeology

In the first half of the 5th millennium BC, circular ditched enclosures with internal wooden structures and outer banks, which we refer to as rondels, appear in Central Europe. Ditches and internal circular wooden structures are usually interrupted by two to four (exceptionally more) entrances. Rondels, which occur in several synchronous archaeological cultures, have exceptional potential for the study of socio-economic and power relations in prehistory, but their interpretation is ambiguous. Among other things, our chapter will present the current state of knowledge of Neolithic rondels in the Czech Republic. Rondels are interpreted as socio-ritual centres, sanctuaries, or even as temples. In our work, we will first follow several lines of evidence - plan shapes of rondels and the key question of their original form, their location in settlements, occurrence, and preservation of ceramic vessels, other archaeological and bioarchaeological finds on rondels settlements - in order to point out persistent problems explaining the purpose of these objects. The existing records obviously offer several possible interpretation models. Some of them, based on cross-cultural data, will be presented in the second part of the work.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0345584