Archive: History | Archeology Archeology
Tell of Bubeneč reveals oldest evidence of ploughing in the Czech lands
The Prague district of Bubeneč, in the bend of the Vltava river, is a
quiet, mostly residential part of town, and a scene of continuous
archaeological discoveries. People have been living in the area since at
least the 5th millennium BC, when the phenomenon of agriculture began to
spread through Central Europe. Only last year the district made the
international news with the discovery of an atypical burial site from the
ancient Corded Ware culture. Now archaeologists working on the site of the
new Canadian embassy have found what appears to be the earliest use of
agricultural ploughing in the Czech lands. In this episode of Czech
History, Christian Falvey speaks with Petra Maříková Vlčková, one of
the members of the archaeological team. More
Science Journal
There’s a hole in the middle of Prague, and we want you to know what’s
in it. The early 1980s metro station at Národní třída is the scene of a
fascinating archaeological dig that we’ll be visiting in this month’s
Science Journal. More
Rožmberk family tomb discovered in south Bohemian monastery
The house of the Rožmberks was once one of Bohemia’s richest and
mightiest noble families which at times even challenged the power of the
king. The family controlled a large estate in southern Bohemia, its seat
being Český Krumlov castle. The last member of the family died 400 years
ago and was buried in a local monastery. But the location of the legendary
Rožmberk family tomb remained a mystery for centuries – until new
research into the monastery tomb produced surprising results. More
Back to the Stone Age for a day
In 1997, just eight years after the Velvet Revolution, when Czechs were
making up for lost time and looking into the future, one man - archeologist
Radomír Tichý - was busy looking back. Like the rest of his countrymen he
was now fully able to realize his dreams, but those had little to do with
mobile phones, DVDs and exotic holidays. Mr. Tichý and his colleagues at
Hradec Králové University aimed to recreate history by building an open air
museum from the early Stone Age to the late Metal Age. More
Historians make exceptional find, uncovering wreckage of WW II fighterplane
Historians in South Bohemia last Friday the 13th dug up the exceptionally
well-preserved wreckage of a German fighter jet shot down during World War
II. The Fw-190 Focke-Wulf, of which almost 20,000 were originally produced,
went down near the village of Otín. The plane was one of several targeted
by US pilots on August 24th, 1944 in what was one of the biggest air
battles over Bohemia. The German pilot, Hubert Engst, ejected in time and
would survive the war. But the aircraft itself smashed into the ground and
remained lost and forgotten until now. More
Stone Age grave none the less queer for lack of ‘Gay Caveman’
The bustling Dejvice district of Prague is not where you would expect major
encounters with prehistory. Just a few hundred metres from the transport
hub at Vítězné Náměstí though, archaeologists are sifting through the
millennia and finding ever more evidence of the fact that Prague and its
environs have always been inhabited. In the case of the dig at Terronská
Street, by the enigmatic Corded Ware culture some 5,000 years ago. My guide
to the excavation is archaeologist Kamila Remišová Věšínová. More
Bedřich Hrozný – Re-Discoverer of the Hittite Language
The Hittites Empire dominated a swath of the Near East for some 600 years
in ancient times. It was a vastly precocious civilisation with better
tools, more modern methods of warfare, and the newfangled commodity of
iron. As is the way with empires however, the Hittites collapsed and all
that the great trading civilisation had recorded of its world was left in
oblivion until a Czech orientalist deciphered their forgotten language and
became the first to hear their words in 3000 years. This week’s Czechs in
History by Christian Falvey is devoted to the Father of Hittitology,
Bedřich Hrozný. More
Did John the Baptist wear sandals?
Petr Hlaváček is a man with a passion for shoes. The dean of Zlín’s
Bata University knows the technology of shoe-making inside out. He has
reconstructed shoes worn by Oetzi the Ice Man 5,000 years ago and is
working on the latest technologies for shoes intended to help diabetic
patients, among many other projects. So when Czech experts studied the
contents of the St Maurus reliquary said to contain the remains of John the
Baptist –among them a small piece of a leather sandal which may have been
his – it was only natural that they should turn to the country’s
leading shoe expert for help. I spoke to Petr Hlaváček to find out just
what he had managed to ascertain. More
Modern echoes from the Egyptian sands
Professor Miroslav Bárta is the head of a Czech team of archaeologists
working at a long established site in Egypt. He recently got back from
Egypt and is seeking clearance to resume work there again in the face of
the uncertainty about the situation in country. In this week’s One on One
Professor Bárta describes the new theories about the collapse of the Old
Kingdom he has contributed to and his thoughts about the more recent demise
of the reign of president Hosni Mubarak. I asked him first of all when he
had begun to be interested in Egyptology. More
Czech team excavates ancient sites dedicated to Nubian gods
An archaeological expedition organised by the National Museum has made
remarkable finds in the area of Wad ban Naqa – ruins dating back to the
Kingdom of Meroe in today’s Sudan. The Náprstek Museum is currently
holding talks on the expedition’s progress after the first two seasons,
including research at a temple dedicated to Nubian lion gods. They have
also been studying a circular structure whose origins have remained a
mystery since it was first excavated in the 1950s.
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