ZÁVIST AND ŠANCE HILLFORTS

The Hradiště Hill towering about 200 metres above the Vltava right riverbank, is situated along the south border of Prague and overlooks the Vltava and Berounka confluence. On the northeast, its slopes descend to the Břežany Stream valley, on the west into the Vltava canyon, on the south it is surrounded by the Lhotka Stream, and on the southeast the indented area continues into an open landscape. The results of the systematic archaeological research show that the Hradiště Hill was settled already in the Eneolithic, during the Funnel Beaker Culture (3800–3400 BCE) and the Řivnáč Culture (3100–2800 BCE), when the first fortification was assumingly built, yet no traces have been discovered to date. The palisade enclosure from the Tumuli Culture period of the Middle Bronze Age (1600–1300 BCE) is the earliest fortification. The vast hillfort encompassing 60 hectares was founded during the Late Bronze Age, the period of the Knovíz and Štítar cultures (1350–800 BCE). At the same time, the opposite Šance Hill also referred to as ‘Komořany Hillfort’ was fortified. Its area of 15 hectares was protected by ramparts and moats on the north, west, and southeast and by the rocks and steep slopes of the Břežany Valley on the south.

During the first half of the 6th century BCE, the first Celtic settlers populated the Hradiště Hill, building the first fortification around 500 BCE which encompassed an area of 27 hectares. Later, an enclosed lower settlement was added on the southeast and another defence line cut off the southeastern access and so the hillfort eventually encompassed about 80 hectares. At first, the defence wall consisted of an outside oak palisade belt and a wooden wall on the inside. The area between them was laid with stones and earth and reinforced with wooden grating. Prior to the mid-5th century BCE, the fortification was rebuilt into a robust stone wall with a wooden inner construction and a palisade on the top. Inside the hillfort were scattered houses comprising dwellings and farm houses which were probably enclosed. The presumed seat of the then elite – hillfort rulers who controlled the Central Bohemian territory – has not been successfully determined. Nevertheless, the research discovered a sacred district with sanctuaries built in four subsequent time stages in the eastern part of the inner area.