Environment and Economy of a High Medieval Castle

Research project P 14414 Environment and Economy of a High Medieval Castle Sabine FELGENHAUER 26.6.2000 The objective of this project is to obtain basic as well as secure data concerning architectonic development, economical proceedings and ecolofical environment of a high nobility castle in the High Middle Ages. Dunkelstein castle, which dates back the 12th and 13th century, provides the exemplary base of this study. Courtesy to financial support from the community of Ternitz (Austria) the castle has been completely excavated from 1992 until 1999. Based upon the extensive archaelogical, arechaeozoological evidence as well as upon architextonic and economical features it is possible to draw far reaching conclusions concerning building from, economy and ecology of a high medieval castle. This evidence can provide the groundwork for further and more comprehensive questions in international archaeology of the Middle Ages. By analysing the archaeological finds, features and building forms a chronological scheme shall be set up for this finding place that comes from a secured stratigraphic context and these results are premise for the analyse of the archaeobiological finds. The extensive archaeobiological material especially appropriates then to draw conclusions concerning economical procedures, nutrition and environment at the time. Finally it is purposed to determine functional areas within the castle by recapitulating all of the archaeological evidence. In this way also the ecological changes of the environment of the castle shall be shown and as a result a model of the economical bases of a high medieval castle shall be discussed. Thus the Austrian research on the archaeology of the Middle Ages in general and the archaeological research on castles in particular shall be enlarged and can be adapted to international standards.

The main goal of the project was to draw a most complexe scenery of the environmental, the economical and the living conditions of the inhabitants of the castle Dunkelstein in Lower Austria in the High Middle Ages, by means of archaeological disciplines and disciplines of nature sciences. The combination of various investigation methods allowed a reconstruction of realistic living conditions. The results clearly showed, how social domains of people of high status in the High Middle Ages can be expressed by archaeological material, which also revealed regional trade and the status of nutritional conditions. The base for further investigations was the subtile examination of the find situations inside the castle. The comprehensive investigation of all sedimentary layers revealed six medieval phases. All finds including animal-, mollusc- and botanical remains were exactly related to the archaeologically examined and dated sedimentary layers, in order to serve a mutual reconstruction of the medieval living conditions. The castle was built about 1100, and then partly rebuilt and it was finally destroyed in the first half of the 13th century. The erection of a stone building and a protective wall made of stone indicates wealthy inhabitants of a higher social status. The remains of the herbal diet did not indicate this social status, whereas the faunal remains of the meat dishes confirmed the high social status of the inhabitants. The ample consumption of juvenile boars, which have been provided by natural dues of tributary population clearly indicates the social higher position of people. The remarkable high consumption of fishes and the overabundance of carp and pike indicate an economical utilization of fish breeding in artificial ponds in vicinity. The natural fish stock in the nearby running river Schwarza was exploited as well, as indicated by fish species like river trout, grayling and bullhead. In contrary to other contemporary castles in western Central Europe, the local pottery remains do not provide circumstantial evidences for a higher social status. It seems, that a documentable culinary culture concerning the esthetical form of dishes was not developed at this time, though it is seen as a significant trait of progress in civilisation (N. Elias). Only two glass fragments reveal first evidence of image cultivation in the aforementioned context. Among the metal remains the occurrence of a stylus confirms a higher status of a literate elite, and a fragment of a bronze pendant belonging to horse equipment is a typical remain of the chivalric world. An intensively discussed main goal of the project was the reconstruction of the high-medieval living conditions based on documentations of specific spatial-use types inside the castle and the consequential economic usage of this area. Due to various results obtained from all scientific disciplines involved, the functions of different building and other living areas inside the castle were clarified. Artefacts and botanical remains indicate textile processing and probably prove self-sufficiency in tradition of the Early Middle Ages, whereas the division of labour represents a development of the Late Middle Ages. The way of waste disposal and the obvious plaque of rat and mice reflect only a low hygienic consciousness of the inhabitants. Results of these bioarchaeological investigations allow insights into the nearby environment of the castle, which was of a mild rather dry climate. The vicinity of the castle can be differentiated in light forests but also open land areas, which were in agricultural usage. Besides the cultivation activities in crop rotation the floodplains of the river Schwarza were used for hunting and for cultivation of fishes in artificial ponds.