The limits of models in the debate on Great Moravian centres

A view from the east

Bibliographic Data

ID24214508
AuthorsZbigniew Robak (0000-0002-4819-468X)
Year2026
Volume78
Issue2
Publication date2026-09-24
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArcheologické rozhledy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0323-1267 • E-ISSN: 2570-9151
PublisherInstitute of Archaeology of the CAS - Prague, v.v.i. (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.35686/ar.2026.356
OpenAlexW7214241447
References cited25

The paper examines the limits of existing models used to interpret the functioning of Great Moravian centres through the case study of Bojná-Valy in Western Slovakia. While recent debate has been structured around Jiří Macháček’s triad of models (agrarian hinterland, autarky, and local market) critically revised by Michal Hlavica, this study argues that such frameworks are insufficient when applied to non-standard sites. Bojná-Valy, lacking a clear settlement hinterland and displaying strong military and logistical characteristics, cannot be fully explained by any of these models. Instead, it is interpreted as a specialised control and provisioning node, combining institutional redistribution, strategic resource management, and limited, segmentary exchange. The case highlights the coexistence of multiple economic mechanisms and underscores the need to distinguish between market exchange as a systemic integrative force and as a secondary by-product of logistics and control. More broadly, the paper suggests that the Great Moravian system was hierarchical, networked, and functionally differentiated, requiring more flexible interpretative models beyond rigid dichotomies.

Autarky · Bohemia · economic models · hierarchical networks · local markets · market exchange · Resource Management · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Historical and Archaeological Studies · Medieval Architecture and Archaeology

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