Senorady/Mohelno – „Boleniska“: Strategická poloha v krajině s palimpsestem pravěkého osídlení

The landscapes of the Mohelno settlement microregion are mostly gently undulating, but also dissected by two deeply incised river valleys – the Oslava River valley in the north and the Jihlava River valley in the south. The western boundary is formed by Zelený kopec (491 m above sea level, while the eastern boundary is marked by Biskoupský kopec (397.3 m above sea level) and Vodanský kopec (397.5 m above sea level). This microregion was settled at different intensities during the whole duration of prehistory. The ‘Boleniska’ elevation is located in the central part of the microregion and forms a strategic point – the entire microregion is visible from this elevation. This elevation comprise of an occupational palimpsest with intensive occupation during three different periods: at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic (probably more than one techno-complex), the Late Neolithic (Lengyel culture) and at the end of the Eneolithic period (Bell Beaker culture). There is a high density of sites in this microregion from all three periods of interest. A similar settlement pattern (similar topography and cultural sequences) is known from other Moravian microregions. A preliminary testing of the site’s spatial distribution and a visibility analysis support the hypothesis indicating Mohelno – ‘Boleniska’ as a central site within the entire microregion only in the Paleolithic. The number of similar palimpsests composed of Paleolithic, Neolithic and Eneolithic sites is low within the entire microregion and the interpretation of this phenomenon must also take into consideration climatic factors, subsistence strategies, and socio-economic conditions in future research.