The selected landscape - the northern Prachensko region of South Bohemia in
the Czech Republic - fosters a typical, hilly, wooded agricultural mosaic lying
400-600m above sea level. To the east and south the region is bordered by the
rivers Vltava (Moldau) and Otava, to the north by the Brdy range, and to west
by the Plana plains.
The main aim of the project is to gain an understanding of the evolution of
a specific type of cultural landscape from prehistoric to recent times, and,
if possible, of the social transformation associated with it.
The project will discern the fundamental factors, structures and changes in
the settlement of one specific landscape type, namely the northern Prachensko
region. It will also elucidate the position of similar types of natural environment
in bands between fertile lowlands and uplands in prehistoric, Medieval and Early
Modern development. The present, somewhat biades picture of prehistoric settlement
is the result of several independent factors, including the limited archaeological
investigation of the area, and the diverse and archaeologically less visible
manifestations of prehistoric cultures based on differing economic systems or
different natural conditions, which make the recovery of archaeological findings
more difficult. This region of incontestable natural appeal is at present most
threatened by thoughtless interventions on the part of its inhabitants, who
in the course of fifty years under a Communist political regime lost both ownership
of the land and a feeling of responsibility towards the landscape and environment
surrounding them.
Research
Thanks to links with existing projects, the proposed program will be able
to make use of the most modern methods and approaches - aerial photography,
GIS, GPS, computerized data analysis, geophysics etc.
Communication
Communication with both the general public and special interest groups in
the form of presentation of the project results (educational archaeological
and historical walking trails, internet support, promotional materials). Another
kind of presentation is improving the accessibility of archaeological
maps of the region available on the Internet, educational trails and booklets,
publication of results in monograph format, CD-ROM presentations and the exhibitions
in regional museums.
Related (co-operative) projects:
The archaeological potential of Bohemia: the risks of intervention
This project aims to present data and theoretical knowledge suitable for limiting
the risk of unexpected intervention on archaeological sites. A method of predicting
archaeological sites is proposed which considers both the wider environmental
character of the region and local landscape features. The extensive use of GIS
techniques is crucial to the project methodology.
Settlement space in prehistoric Bohemia
The goals are identifying of the settlement network in prehistoric Bohemia
by means of aerial photography and other "non-destructive" techniques,
studies on the natural environment, as well as research on demographic patterns
and internal structure. All these factors are studied in their continuity over
time, and the roots of changes affecting them.
Netolice in its historic landscape
A project encompassing the documentation and study of archaeological and architectural
monuments in a typical South Bohemian landscape of lakes and pools, and the
lost landscape of the Rozmberk enclosures (the decline of Rozmberk line) around
the town of Netolice (southern Prachensko). A trilingual book has already been
published; educational trails are being constructed.
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Project team: Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague ARCHEOS, Unit for archaeology and ancient monuments, Prachatice The Prachensko Museum, Písek Department of Cartography and Geoinformatics
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