Archaeological Excavations at the Mali Tabor Citadel and Castle in Prilslin in 2007

During archaeological rescue excavations in 200,7, a part of the northern defensive wall of the Mali Tabor castle linking the north-western with the north-eastern tower was excavated. This northern wall has a of 15.60 in and is 75-17 cm wide. It is built of chiselled stone blocks in strong lime mortar, partly with the addition of bricks. the sand in the mortar is both coarse and fine river sand. At a distance of 1.95 m from the outer edge of the north-western tower, a stone lining was discovered which lies perpendicular to the explored northern defensive wall of the castle. The lining was explored from the interior of the wall at a length of 2.75 no and on the exterior at a length of 4.1 in and 1.1 in in width. It consists of smaller and larger chiselled stone plates whose upper surface is finely polished. The lining passes over the wall. which suggests that it served as a communication leading across the courtyard of the castle. On the inner side of the northern wall of the Mali Tabor castle, the court yard pavement was found, which was made using stone tiles similar to the aforementioned communication individual stones of the pavement were placed perpendicular to each other according to a rough fish bone pattern (opus spicatum). The northern defensive wall from the Renaissance period was excavated in full length all the war to the supporting wall between the sixth and seventh arch of the new eastern wall of the castle renovated in baroque style. The northern wall, as visible on the layout of the Mali Tabor castle, connects the north-western and north-eastern tower. The castle with four correctly positioned towers and a defensive wall between them forms that Renaissance ensemble known from the old maps of the Mali Tabor castle in Prislin dating to the sixteenth century. A line of walled-in arches of the gallery is visible in the southern wall of the castle, on its interior, due to cracks in the mortar on the first floor. Other defects of recent mortar revealed three walled-in columns which supported the gallery. limy were conceived similarly to other castles in Zagorie: Veliki labor and Novi Door' Klanjekki.