SIEGE CAMP IN FRONT OF NEW CASTLE NEAR KUNRATICE

Multiple terrain adjustments have survived in the centre of Kunratice Forest in the outer ward of Nový hrad (New Castle) which may be interpreted as a medieval military camp. As indicated by chronicle records, its origin may be associated with the winter events at the turn of 1420 and 1421 where the Prague army besieged and conquered the royal castle. The majority of the terrain traces left by the besiegers is found in a flat top plateau of the promontory, which is currently forested. The belts of earthen fortification are the most visible, partitioning the promontory in two places, marking a trapezoidal area of the camp encompassing about 2.4 hectares. Inside the fortified area are densely deployed holes with rectangular, circular, and strikingly elongated ground plans which may be interpreted as partly backfilled sunken dwellings of the besiegers. Just over 200 of them are arranged in south-north oriented rows. Opposite the castle, a remarkable structure projects from the enclosed area – a 90-metre long channel, the remains of the besiegers’ approaching channel. The western cross line of the camp fortification is made of two robust earth ramparts with a rather shallow ditch between them. Today, a new path cuts through the ramparts along the promontory axis. The ramparts are about 1.5 metres high and 4 metres wide at the base. The eastern line of the fortification comprises two ramparts that partition the promontory along its width of about 190 metres with a ditch between them. The inner rampart which is slightly bent in several places, is much more massive (5 metres wide at the base and 1.5 metres high). The course of the outside rampart, remarkably lower and narrower, is more complicated (it is 0.5 metres high and 1.2 metres wide): it forms four right-angled structures – bastions which are today understood as positions for gun carriage weapons. A brief history of the camp is found on the panel of an educational trail crossing the camp towards the New Castle.