Czech archaeologists were surprised at uncovering an unharmed hen´s egg at the burial site of Hradiste, a 9th-century Great Moravia settlement, chief researcher Bohuslav Klima has told CTK.
Until recently, Hradiste was on the margin of researchers´ interest. Only four years ago it turned out that it is one of the largest Great Moravian burial sites with the number of graves estimated at 1500.
The archaeologists have uncovered 350 of them so far, finding early medieval jewelry and weapons, along with human remains.
Klima said Hradiste used to be a significant centre whose importance is yet to be recognised. He said the valuable finds will definitely contribute to this.
The unharmed egg is a rarity among the finds.
People in Great Moravia, the first Slavic empire spreading in Moravia and the adjacent regions, including parts of today´s Slovakia and Czech Lands, often put eggs in graves, but all eggs fell apart after some time. The "Hradiste egg" was put in a pot in which it survived unharmed for centuries.
While taken out, the egg´s shell was slightly damaged. The content has been preserved but it is dry.
Another recent success of Czech archeologists focusing on Great Moravia is the uncovering of a rotunda at the site of the former settlement Pohansko u Breclavi.
The find was an archeological sensation as the rotunda ranks among the country´s 20 oldest buildings.
Pohansko used to be an important settlement in the 9th century, but all of its buildings were made of wood, except for a church that archeologists uncovered 20 years ago. That is why the recent unexpected finding of a stone rotunda with a six-meter diameter was a big surprise to them.
The archeologists working in Pohansko and other early medieval sites in Moravia dream about finding the grave of St Methodius, a Christian missionary and the first archbishop of Great Moravia, but their efforts have been unsuccessful so far.
Source: Ceske Noviny [August 16, 2010]