Brodzany

Brodzany — a prehistoric and medieval archaeological locality situated at the junction of the hills Nitrianska pahorkatina and the mountains Tribeč on the left bank and terrace of the river Nitra. Close to the village of Brodzany, there is abundant evidence of settlements from the New Stone Age (Neolithic), the Iron Age and the Middle Ages.

A major finding at the site Dolina, close to the village and dating from the end of the New Stone Age is of a habitation – a dugout dwelling of the Lengyel culture (Lengyel III). The most numerous of archaeological finds here are ceramic objects mostly concentrated near to the remains of a fireplace. An impressive number of chiselled stone tools (more than 600 objects) have also been found including blades, scrapers, drilling and punching pieces, as well as lithic cores and flakes of raw lithic material. Also two very rare clay objects have been discovered: a zoomorphic vessel depicting a bull and a figure in the shape of a dog. Another important finding made nearby is of a copper wedge, one of the oldest metal tools ever found in the territory of Slovakia. Based on the distribution of the findings, it is assumed there was an extensive upland settlement of the Lengyel culture here.

There have also been some minor ceramic findings dating from the Late Iron Age (the La Tène period) in the Lazy and Šiaškonce sites.

An important finding nearby from medieval times is a gilded cast bronze hasp with human figure depicted on it. This is a remarkable example of artistic metal casting in the region from the late 8th and early 9th centuries. Two graves from early medieval times have also been discovered, one of which contained a bronze s-shaped ear cuff and a fluorite bead. A silver Hungarian denar coin from the times of the duke Belo (1048 – 1060; from 1060 King Belo I of Hungary) has also been found.