<< Our Photo Pages >> Ringval Rankovice - Misc. Earthwork in Czech Republic in Bohemia
Submitted by ladrin on Monday, 19 March 2018 Page Views: 909
Multi-periodSite Name: Ringval RankoviceCountry: Czech Republic
NOTE: This site is 2.474 km away from the location you searched for.
Region: Bohemia Type: Misc. Earthwork
Nearest Town: Mariánské Lázně Nearest Village: Rankovice
Latitude: 50.004694N Longitude: 12.857004E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
Internal Links:
External Links:
All over the western parts of Bohemia it is possible to encounter enigmatic circular earthen constructions of obviously ancient origin. They are called "Ringvaly", an expression adapted from the German word "ringwallinsel". Despite the fact that some of these structures were certainly used still in medieval times, their origin, age and purpose remains a mystery.
They differ from other archaeologically determined roundel structures. There is a circular island in the middle surrounded by a moat and surrounding rampart. The structures are not big at all, not enough for a settlement or to provide shelter for more people. They are mostly not more then 40 metres in total and the central island does not exceed 20 meters in diameter. The ditch is mostly quite deep, up to 3m and is or was filled with water.
There are several theories of what they were. Possibly the sanctum and sacrificial pagan place of old Slavs, possibly defensive sites of the first German colonialists or a place for bee-keeping to protect the hives from bears?
Only a few of these monuments are in a good state. They are mostly ruined or totally destroyed so that only old records remain unfortunately.
Ringval situated on the field near the village Rankovice is luckily very well preserved. And by far the largest I´ve visited by now. Inner island is flat and has diametre of 50m. Surrounding ditch is up to 10 wide and from 1 to 2 metres deep. Outer earthen rampart is still recognisable on the western side.
There is an absolute lack of any archeological traces and the origin remains unclear. Is very likely that the structure was somehow used in early medieval although position is not typical for medieval fortress. Anyway the object could be much older.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.
Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Nearby Images from Flickr
The above images may not be of the site on this page, but were taken nearby. They are loaded from Flickr so please click on them for image credits.
Click here to see more info for this site
Nearby sites
Click here to view sites on an interactive map of the areaKey: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed
Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)
To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.
Turn off the page maps and other distractions
Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
6.3km NW 305° Mnichov 1 propitiatory cross* Ancient Cross
10.4km W 281° Ringval Nimrod* Misc. Earthwork
13.0km NNW 339° Krásno Propitiatory Cross* Ancient Cross
16.0km SSE 148° Stone Cross Konstantinovy Lázně* Ancient Cross
17.6km SSE 148° Hillfort Mountain* Hillfort
18.0km W 269° May Top Kynžvart* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
19.4km NW 311° Swedish stone* Standing Stone (Menhir)
21.4km NW 309° Stone Cross Rudolec* Ancient Cross
21.5km W 276° Stone Cross Dolní Žandov II* Ancient Cross
21.7km NE 49° Údrč Propitiatory Cross* Ancient Cross
21.9km W 274° Stone Crosses Dolní Žandov* Ancient Cross
22.5km WNW 290° Ringval Těšov I* Misc. Earthwork
23.1km SSW 209° Cross stone Lom u Tachova* Sculptured Stone
23.8km ENE 65° Žlutice stones* Standing Stones
24.1km NNW 327° Stone crosses Královské Poříčí* Ancient Cross
24.7km SSW 205° Menhir Klíčov* Standing Stone (Menhir)
25.7km SW 215° Cross stones Vítkov* Standing Stones
26.3km NW 307° Dasnice propitiatory cross* Ancient Cross
26.7km ENE 72° Vladar Mountain Hillfort
26.9km SSW 204° Devil's Stone (Trnová)* Standing Stone (Menhir)
27.0km N 5° Dalovice Stone Cross* Ancient Cross
27.6km NW 305° Svatá Studánka Chlum* Holy Well or Sacred Spring
27.7km SW 215° Tachov 1 propitiatory cross* Ancient Cross
27.7km ENE 69° Protivec Propitiatory Cross 1* Ancient Cross
27.8km ENE 67° Protivec Propitiatory Cross 2* Ancient Cross
View more nearby sites and additional images
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.