Hallstatt Period Habrůvka ‒ “Býčí skála”. The Burial Constructions Reconsidered in the Light of Daub Analyses

This article deals with the information value of daub from burial constructions from the 6th century BC obtained in the Entrance Hall of the Habrůvka – “Býčí skála” Cave in the years 2020–2021. The untypical discovery of daub, as a surface treatment of stone-wooden structures, allows for an innovative solution as to how the Hallstatt burial constructions/chambers were made. The set of daub samples was divided into two parts, giving two sets of daub samples. The first part represents an unpublished daub collection from 1937–1943. The second part consists of daub obtained from the, as yet, unpublished revision research from 2020–2021. Until now, it was unclear whether the two groups were related in time. The question is how was the daub preserved, was it by burning or natural drying. Based on XRD analysis, it can be assumed that the daub did not undergo high heat. XRF analysis showed a very similar source for the construction material in all probes. Radiocarbon dating of organic remains from the daub fragments made it possible to link these findings to the Hallstatt activities in the cave. A combination of analyses points to the Hallstatt burial structures.