Uniquely preserved medieval kitchen unearthed north of Moravia | Hacker News Reader

Uniquely preserved medieval kitchen unearthed north of Moravia

english.radio.cz

83 pointslermontov4 comments

My first question is how something this (relatively) fragile ends up surviving so long unbroken. Then:

    > Based on the evident burn marks found within the excavated
    > house and on the surrounding historical sources, Mr Kolář 
    > believes that the items were found in this state because 
    > the inhabitants may have been forced to abandon the house 
    > in a rush.
    >
    > “The working hypothesis is that the house was destroyed 
    > during the conquest of the city by the Hussites[...]"

OK, so that explains why the items are there at all, but /how/ did they survive unbroken for 600odd years? /Especially with a conquest going on?/

They only need to survive long enough to get covered up, which could happen pretty quickly if there is a battle going on. Once they are covered they are protected.

Right. I guess that the stuff collapsing around must have formed some sort of pocket that allowed dirt to pile up gradually. Which still sounds crazy, but yeah, given enough events like this, some of them are bound to turn out this way by sheer chance alone.

Most of the material is ceramics with only one wooden spoon. Wood also can survive without decay if it is in an environment without oxygen. Also, the kitchen is stated as part of the underground part of the house, a.k.a it might've been in a basement or a semi-basement and it is easier to fill it with soil compared to if it was above ground.

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