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The Earliest Graves in Saint Vitus Cathedral and Their Dating Issue
Vrána, David
During the years 1995–2018, inspection research was carried out for graves K1 and K2 discovered under the Saint Wenceslas Chapel floor in Saint Vitus Cathedral, on the site of the former rotunda with the same consecration. The results of radiocarbon dating of the human remains and the wooden structure, as well as other findings, indicate an origin in the 9th century, however, putative stratigraphic problems obstruct the acceptation of these results. A belief prevails that the graves were dug only after the rotunda’s erection, or rather after the building of the alleged later annex for the south apse that contains the grave of Saint Wenceslas. This opinion is based on the finding of masonry inside the apse that was detected under the later Gothic altar and that was interpreted as the remains of the demolished foundation of the rotunda nave. Based on the latest evaluation, it seems more likely that the relics under the Gothic altar are connected with the earliest stage of the altar and the foundation altar step (gradus altaris). Covering the dead in grave K1 with lime or mortar was also identified as a stratigraphic issue, nevertheless, it must have been done after the deceased was placed in the grave. Similarly, the findings of marlstone and mortar fragments in the corner of grave K1 during the archaeological inspection in 1995 provide no evidence that the grave was dug only after the erection of the rotunda because it is most likely only secondary contamination. The identification of the deceased persons remains uncertain, but morphology features and the blood group of the man in grave K1 suggest his affiliation with the House of Přemyslid. Based on current findings, the hypothesis of E. Vlček about the identification of the dead from grave K1 with Prince Bořivoj I (†890) cannot be ruled out, yet the buried woman in the neighbouring grave K2 indicates the need to search for another explication that only a new successfully conducted DNA analysis would confirm.
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