Structural changes of a rural house in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern period

An example from Zbečno, Central Bohemia

Abstract

Extraordinarily valuable house no. 22 in the village of Zbečno (Rakovník district) underwent complex construction development in the Early Modern period. The oldest preserved structures date from the 16th century, and significant reconstruction work took place in the 18th century. However, the origin of the house is substantially older. The article presents the comprehensive results of an archaeological excavation performed in a pair of living rooms and in the courtyard of the homestead. In the stratified layers beneath today’s floors, it was possible to distinguish the remains of three consecutive medieval houses, the internal layout of which corresponded to the floor plan of today’s house. Two of these houses were destroyed by fire. Pottery dates the construction of the earliest house to the period between the second half of the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century. Although the current walls are slightly shifted in plan from the medieval development stages, the orientation of the main dispositional axes has not changed.