Acknowledgments
My research on settlement, social and economic relations in the area of middle Danube during the early Middle Ages, specifically in the Great Moravian Period, started more than 10 years ago when I was finishing my doctoral studies at the Comenius University in Bratislava. I would thus like to thank my supervisor Michal Slivka (Department of Archaeology of Comenius University in Bratislava) who first showed me that thinking about the past is not limited to one field, either archaeology or history.
The translation of this book into English was supported by the GA ÄR project, registration number 13â20936P, Burial Pit Arrangements and Wooden Structures in Graves at Great Moravian Necropolises as a Social, Spiritual and Chronological Phenomenon. Decisive in terms of my further work focus leading to the publication of this book was my joining the team of experts on Great Moravia at the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Brno. I am thankful especially to Pavel KouÅil, the former director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Brno, who created favorable conditions for my working on this project. While working on it, I was lucky to be able to discuss several aspects of this study with many colleagues. Our discussions focused on numerous questions concerning our workâfrom methodology to developing final interpretations. I would namely like to thank Marian Mazuch, Michaela Látková, Jakub TamaÅ¡koviÄ, Petr Dresler and JiÅà MacháÄek for their valuable input.
Last, but not leastâthe work of editors at Brill contributed to the quality of my book. I am especially grateful to Marcella Mulder and Florin Curta. I am also very thankful to Robert Lierse who was in charge of the final editing of the whole text.
I dedicate this book to my wife, Katka, and to my two daughters, Hanka and Miška. This publication would not be possible without their support of my work.