Monday, July 04, 2011

Czech Republic: Experts uncover unique medieval tile in Cistercian basilica

Archaeologists have uncovered rare finds from the High Middle Ages, including a unique tile with a symbol of dragon, during the archeological research accompanying the restoration of the basilica in Velehrad, a popular church pilgrimage complex.

Dragon, embodiment of evil, appears only rarely in the Cistercian premises such as the Velehrad basilica, Zdenek Schenk, from the Archaia Olomouc organisation, told CTK Saturday.

The tile was uncovered inside a brick construction in front of the entrance of the church belonging to the Velehrad monastery. "It is a Gothic tile decorated with a relief with the dragon motif, a really wonderfully worked-out symbol of evil forces and of the devil himself in terms of the Christian ideology," Schenk said.

Click here to read this article from the Prague Daily Monitor