Stradonice u Pátku, Louny dist., Ústí nad Labem Region
Prehistoric hillfort
(800–450 BC)
Panoramatic view from the hillfort towards České středohoří.
Photo Z. Kačerová, 2013.
One of a few spectacular prehistoric hillforts not covered by a forest today and, thus, providing a stunning panoramic view of the Central Bohemian Uplands. The univallate hillfort at the ´Na šancích’ site was built in the Hallstatt Period. The fortification consists of several sections constructed using different techniques. A monumental wood and earth rampart on the northeast side originally had a frontal stone screen wall, a palisade and an outer ditch. Today, the ‘Stradonka’ watchtower, built in an assumed Iron Age form, stands on top of the rampart. The hillfort may have served as a refuge in times of danger, for meetings of local communities to conduct religious ceremonies, festivals and/or as a market place. It could therefore also have been an ideological centre and a source of tribal identity and prestige.
References: Píč 1895; Smrž 1981, 1982, 1992; Dreslerová – Hrubý 2004; Smrž.
Navigation points: N 50°22'22.45", E 13°58'12.90".
Map notes: A – archaeological trench at the assumed entrance; B – trench cutting through the best preserved part of the fortification; C – trench at the point where the bank was levelled; D – trench at the part of the hillfort perimeter where no fortification was preserved. Map symbols are available in the Downloads section.
Selected fulltext articles and reports for further reading. Complete bibliographical records are available in the Downloads section as the List of publications.
Archeologický atlas Čech – Stradonice u PátkuDreslerová, D. – Hrubý, P. 2004: Halštatské výšinné lokality v jižních Čechách: nové výzkumy dvou hradišť, Študijné zvesti AÚ DAV 36, 105–130. Píč, J. L. 1895: Několik nově prozkoumaných hradišť, Památky archeologické 16, 811–813.Smrž, Z. 1981: Halštatské hradiště ve Stradonicích u Loun. Knovízské a halštatské osídlení mikroregionu Deberského potoka, Archeologické rozhledy 33/5, 487–503.Smrž, Z. 1982: Stradonice, o. Pátek, okr. Louny, Výzkumy v Čechách 1978–1979, 124.Smrž, Z. 1992: Späthallstattzeitliche Burgwälle und Höhensiedlungen in Nordwestböhmen, Památky archeologické 83/1, 88–104.