Research projects
The research in Bulgaria, Croatia, France, North Macedonia, Uzbekistan, and Turkey, was partly undertaken within the European Regional Development Fund Project ‘Creativity and Adaptability as Conditions of the Success of Europe in an Interrelated World’ (No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000734) and was financially supported by it.
Bulgaria
The two-weeks season of 2023 in Yambol District focused on various activities, including documentation of several different assemblages. One of them was the material from the last year excavated Bronze Age burial mound in Mogila village, especially the pottery finds. Another large set of finds for documentation came from two burial mounds dated to the Roman Imperial period excavated in 2018 by Polish Academy of Sciences also at the Mogila village. The two mounds yielded about 40 complete and 15 fragmented pottery vessels, several glass vessels, and other small finds originating from numerous graves. Our team was offered to join in on their documentation and publication. The documentation was complemented by sampling of several pottery and glass vessels for analysis and comparison with the Roman vicus at Yurta-Stroyno.
The geological survey, which started in 2021, expanded into the northern area of the Yambol District, focusing on sampling clays from the Kabyle (Roman camp) hinterland. Several additional samples were gathered from the southern area of the district. At this point, we have entirely covered the area intended for sampling and the clay samples are currently being prepared for further processing and evaluation.
Additionally, preliminary observation of the Roman period scatter on the fields near the village of Kozarevo was conducted to evaluate its potential for the next year (2024) investigation. The site is very rich in various surface material, including production waste, which makes it an important settlement for further research focused on the local production during the Roman Imperial period.
The team 2023 was composed of the members and students of the Institute of Classical Archaeology at the Charles University in Prague, Dorothea Mildová, Lukáš Charvát and Petra Tušlová; National Museum in Prague, Viktorie Čisťakova; and Regional Historical Museum in Yambol, Todor Valchev.
Croatia
In 2023, the Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAR), in collaboration with the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb (AMZ), continued its research project in Lovas, Eastern Croatia. The official partnership between UKAR and AMZ in Lovas commenced in 2019, and after five successful years of collaboration, the 2023 season marked the final phase of the project. This season was dedicated to gathering additional information from key excavation sites that had yielded significant evidence between 2017 and 2022. Field research focused on two specific sites, namely Kovači and U Mjestu. Alongside the excavations, in 2023, a study season was conducted.
At Kovači, a geophysical survey conducted in 2019 identified a rectangular structure covering an area of around 100 m², initially interpreted as a prehistoric house due to the lack of distinct walls and a known prehistoric habitation in the area. Investigation in 2023 involved opening a test trench (5×1.5m) to explore the western edge of the structure and determine its nature. Unexpectedly, the structure turned out to be a well-preserved Roman house. Although this discovery did not directly improve our understanding of prehistoric habitation at the site, it provides a welcome explanation for the widely documented destruction in the Roman period.
Meanwhile, at U Mjestu, an additional trench was opened next to two previously explored trenches from 2020. Previous excavations revealed a site dating to various periods of the Bronze Age, including the Early Bronze Age (2400-2000 BCE), late Middle Bronze Age (1500-1300 BCE), and early Late Bronze Age (1300-1100 BCE). Given the absence of visible stratigraphical relations in earlier trenches, the objective of the 2023 season was to capture potential changes by significantly limiting the excavation units both vertically and horizontally. Additionally, the goal was to collect more samples for 14C dating. Excavations confirmed earlier results and enhanced their clarity.
The study season focused on documenting and conducting a preliminary analysis of the pottery collected during the 2017–2022 seasons. Utilizing a Laser Aided Profiler, more than 600 individual diagnostic pottery fragments were meticulously recorded and subsequently photographed. Archaeobotanic flotation was also continued. Peter Pavúk, Ján Bobik, and Lenka Parvoničová participated on the research. A comprehensive report on the results of the 2019–2023 research seasons is currently in preparation.
France
At the oppidum of Bibracte, the joint team of Brno and Prague Universities concluded the excavation conducted at La Chaume sector from 2018. Subsoil was reached in the entirety of the excavation trench bringing to light the earliest traces of human presence in this sector of the oppidum peak, delimited by an imposing ditch sometime before the middle of the 1st century BC and then marked by the presence of a sanctuary in the Roman Imperial period. While the excavations attested fervent human activity in the short time-span between filling in of the ditch and construction of an Augustan period road, only a few little eloquent features document human presence in the preceding period. A dearth of artefacts (and even of material useable for C14 dating) makes it difficult to anchor these features chronologically, though individual artefacts and C14 samples in secondary deposition attest human presence in the area at the beginning of the Late Iron Age as well as in the Bronze Age, and in the Neolithic and Mesolithic period.
Italy, Croatia
GA ČR Project N° 23-06403S: Provenance of white marble from northern Italy and Istria as evidence of interconnections between the East and West in Late Antiquity (Helena Tůmová)
The interdisciplinary project, supported by the Czech Science Foundation (grant no. 23-06403S) explores Ravenna’s connections with other Mediterranean regions especially the Eastern Mediterranean (Byzantium). The objective is in particular to study on the basis of archaeometric studies of stone artefacts and white marbles from Ravenna and Classe the question of how Ravenna’s connections and its redistributive role on an interregional scale changed from the 5th to the beginning of the 8th century AD. In the first year of the three-year project (2023–2025), two archaeological expeditions were carried out in international collaboration with the Universities of Bologna and Stuttgart. The first expedition was directed to Italy (UNESCO city of Ravenna and Classe) and the second to Croatia (archaeological sites in Istria). Late antique marble artefacts were measured by means of in-situ, non-destructive mineralogical and petrological analyses. Laboratory analyses were also carried out on extracted samples of white marble. Preliminary results have been submitted.
Northern Macedonia
As part of the project Frontier Studies two field campaigns were carried out by the joint Czech-Macedonian teams in the Lake Ohrid region in 2023. These were supplemented by a separate visit to the Archaeological Museum of the Republic of North Macedonia in Skopje for the purpose of studying the previously discovered material.
First, the archaeological investigations by the ICAR at the Gradishte Visho in Dolno Lakocherej, which has already started in 2022, continued in March and April. The aim of this excavation, is to gain initial stratigraphic and chronological data on the development of hilltop settlements in the region during the Bronze and Iron ages. In 2023, a second trench was opened with the intention to investigate the area within the (Hellenistic) enclosure wall in more detail. The excavation was supplemented by a field survey of the terraces surrounding the fortified area. In addition to archaeological finds, archaeobotanical samples (macro remains, charcoal, phytoliths) were taken from trenches as well as soil samples for geochemical analyses (phosphate) from the entire area of the site. Numerous samples were taken for AMS dating. Due to the poor weather conditions, the excavation had to be interrupted and will continue in the near future.
Secondly, geological and palaeoecological investigations were carried out by the Czech Geological Service (in cooperation with ICAR, FoS CUNI, and LAPE in České Budejovice) in the region in September. These finalised the grid of ca. 30 drill cores (up to 15 m depth) in the Ohrid and Struga alluvial plains, which now facilitates the reconstruction of historical landscape in terms of lacustrine and alluvial dynamics. In addition, a drill core (up to 13m depth) was taken from the wetland of Belchishta in Debarca valley to the north of the Lake Ohrid. This is meant to provide the impetus for further investigating the anthropic impact on the environment and climate. The focus is on the impact of iron metallurgy on the local landscape. Further analyses are being carried out in the laboratories of CGS and FoS CUNI in Prague as well as LAPE in České Budějovice.
Directly following the geological field research, the first review of the ceramic finds from the excavations in Leskovets (2021) and Dolno Lakocherej (2022–2023) was undertaken by the new team member, Dr Tobias Krapf (Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece/ESAG). The systematic study of the entire find assemblage will be the focus of the project over the next few years.
Turkey
Kaymakçı
The ICAR team continued work on the LBA fortified citadel of Kaymakçı in central Western Anatolia, led by Ch. Roosevelt, Ch. Luke, and T. Kaner (Koç University, Istanbul). The team consisted of five people, targeting work on ceramic finds (K. Jarošová, A. Peterková, and P. Pavúk), digital recording and zoomorphic attachments on the pottery (J. Bobik), as well as grinding stones (K. Doležalová). In all instances, the Laser Aided Profiler (LAP) was used for documentation.
The 2023 season was a study season, with the aim to finalize ceramic recording for the excavation area 99.526. Attention continued to be paid to the MBA finds, especially those excavated in areas 93.523 and 109.523. It has been clear for a long time that there must have been also an MBA occupation on the site, but it was only in recent years, that actual stratified contexts have been uncovered. Detailed photographs of the fabric and surface treatment were taken. In a separate step, all zoomorphic plastic decorations on pottery known so far from Kaymakçı, comprising currently 79 catalogue entries, were examined anew and thoroughly documented, revising the already existing data and identifying new fragments. Spatial analysis and study of their fragmentation was also conducted.
The study of c. 300 grinding stones concentrated on the production traces, use-wear and spatial analysis, incorporating study of use and refuse patterns. For the use-wear analysis, nineteen grinding stones were selected and investigated macroscopically and then using a stereomicroscope. For further information, see below in report by K. Doležalová.
In close collaboration with other members of the Kaymakçı Archaeological Project it is possible now to better understand the occupational sequence, its relative and absolute dating, as well as complex depositional and erosional processes on the site.
Sideros. Technology in pre-classical Greece.
The project aims to reconstruct early iron technology and its socio-cultural conditions and requirements in the Aegean from the Protogeometric to Late Archaic periods using the example of ancient Ionia. Having finalised the study of the dataset from the sanctuary in Didyma and the settlements Clazomenai and Old-Smyrna/ Bayraklı, we continued in 2023 with archaeological and archaeometallurgical investigations on iron objects (tools and architectural fittings) from the excavated settlement contexts at Kalabaktepe in Miletus. The investigations were recently extended to include cooperation with the research project of the German Archaeological Institute on the island of Samos (Dr Jan-Marc Henke), where the metal finds (iron, copper-alloys, precious metals) from the excavations at the site of the Hera altar (2010–2013) are being examined. The employed analytical methods include metallography, micro-hardness measurement, SEM-EDX, and XRD.
In addition to investigations in Greece and Turkey, the project also focused on archaeological objects in the collections of European museums. This allows invasive analyses to be carried out even when this is rarely possible in the country of origin, due to the current legislation regarding the protection of archaeological finds. Last year’s investigations concentrated on the finds from the Protogeometric burials in Asarlik/Bodrum, Turkey, nowadays in the British Museum in London. The main aim of the investigations is to supplement the dataset on early iron technology (i.e. smithing techniques, heat treatment, material composition). The aforementioned objects represent the earliest iron objects from the region.
Traces of Copper-Zinc Alloys in Urartu: Unknown History of Metals in Anatolia
In 2023, the interdisciplinary project, supported by the Charles University PRIMUS funding (grant no. PRIMUS/22/HUM/14), continued its investigations of Middle Iron Age (9th–7th century BC) Urartian kingdom metalworking practices. PI (Ümit Güder) and the research team (Marek Verčík, Zuzana Jamrichová Kroutilová, Matej Lelovič, Markéta Šmolková) conducted research to examine the metal objects and production residues from various Urartian sites, including Çavustepe, a fortified palace complex, necropolis of the same site and various national and regional museum collections (e.g. Rezan Has Museum in Istanbul). The studies focused on the utilization of brass and its potential associations with social status.
The project has yielded promising initial findings, including the discovery of brass in five jewellery pieces and gunmetal (a copper, zinc, and tin alloy) in fourteen belts. Notably, gunmetal appears in specific belt groups with similar decorative elements, suggesting potential standardization. Some of these findings were shared in a JAS: Reports article (2023, 48/2) and conference presentations.
Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan, our large team continued to work on several interrelated projects. Individual teams were again working in collaboration with colleagues from Termez State University during both the spring and early fall research seasons. In addition to research activities, we have also been involved in presenting the results of research over the last ten years in the form of an exhibition opened in the spring in Tashkent and then in September in Termez (see below).
Iskandar Tepa
The research at the Iskandar Tepa site in the Sherabad District was a continuation of the activities of the previous two years. We continued to uncover selected grave contexts dating back to the turn of the eras. The graves had been partially disturbed by the looters, yet the research yielded much information about burial practices and grave goods. For example, the placement of lamps in graves was a new finding.
Other activities aimed at gaining knowledge important for reconstructing the historic landscape and studying the interaction between man and the environment in the prehistoric to medieval period, with a focus on the wider Sherabad River valley and its tributaries. These investigations were carried out in cooperation with Masaryk University.
The third part of the activities was directed towards a more detailed understanding of other parts of the Loylagan valley, mainly in the detection of other settlements and burial sites and a detailed prospection of the Zindon Tepa site, dating to the Hellenistic period. Of the new discoveries, the Late Antique fort near the village of Khamkan is particularly noteworthy.
Kulal Tepa – Rural life in a changing world: new light on economic development and inequality in Central Asia under the Kushan Empire
In 2023, this new project was initiated, supported by the PRIMUS programme at Charles University (PRIMUS/23/HUM/013), which investigates the scope and catalysts of economic development in rural northern Bactria during the Kushan period (1st–3rd centuries AD). The PI (Lauren Morris), research team (Jakub Havlík, Elena Paralovo, Ján Bobik, and Jana Matznerová), and further students from Charles University undertook a pilot season of fieldwork at the small settlement of Kulal Tepa in Sherabad District. This first season of excavations combined with intensive surface survey suggest a particular density of land use in the antique period, with a last major occupation phase in ca. 3rd/4th centuries AD, represented by a well-preserved, elite residential building complex. Fieldwork will continue in spring and autumn 2024.
Student Grant Projects
Blackboard classical antiquity. Elementary and high school pupils’ perspective on classical antiquity and its presentation in schools and museums (J. Stejskalová)
This project supported by the Charles University Grant Agency aims to elucidate the relationship between pupils and classical antiquity in the Czech Republic. The goal is to find out more about what elementary and high school pupils think about classical antiquity, whether they believe this knowledge is important and beneficial for the present society or whether they see the context with the present. Results from the survey-questionnaire from the first year of the project were published as a chapter with the title Co na to žáci? Postoje žáků k antice a její výuce (What Do Pupils Think about It? Pupil’s Perspectives towards Classical Antiquity and Its Presentation in Schools) in Učitelé a archeologie in 2023. During the third year of this project (2023), interviews with museum educators from the United Kingdom and the United States of America were conducted. These interviews focused on the experience of museum educators with pupils in exhibitions presenting ancient Greece and Rome. Moreover, educational programs in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Penn Museum in Philadelphia were observed. These observations will be summarised together with other results of this project in a handbook, which can be used by teachers, museum educators or other professionals organising events for pupils.
Comprehensive study of grinding stones from the Bronze Age site Kaymakçı (K. Doležalová)
This ending two-year project has focused on the study of grinding stones found at the Bronze Age settlement Kaymakçı located in central western Turkey. The aim was to understand the processes connected to these artefacts through a comprehensive study involving morphometric, use-wear, spatial and raw material analyses. Since last year, an experimental programme has continued within the project to create a reference collection of wear traces from grinding of various substances in cooperation with Jaroslav Řídký and Daniel Pilař from the Archaeological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The results from the experiments were then published as an article ‘Rhyolite grinding-milling tools in focus: Assessing kinematics with the help of use-wear analysis’, in the Archeologické rozhledy journal. During the field season 2023, the processing of the assemblage incorporating 300 grinding stones was finalized with help of the co-researcher Ján Bobik. This year the study concentrated on the production traces, use patterns, and contextual analysis. The important findings were introduced in the form of presentation ‘Volcanic rocks in focus: Life histories of grinding stones from the Bronze Age site Kaymakçı’, at the 4th Meeting of the Association for Ground Stone Tools Research held in Paris on 26th–28th of April 2023.
This project supported by the Charles University Grant Agency shed a new light on the Bronze Age grinding stones. The study revealed the aspects of challenging raw material transport, skilful production, and innovative ways of ergonomic adjustments. Furthermore, the results also confirm the special position of Kaymakçı as an inland site with wide connections to the coastal area.
From the Arabs to Genghis Khan – chronology and typology of the High Medieval pottery in the mountain and foothill areas of Surkhandarya, southern Uzbekistan (L. Damašek)
A three-year project founded by Charles University Grant Agency (project no. 106222). Its broader goal is to gain a better understanding of High medieval period in Tokharistan (Uzbekistan – Central Asia). More specifically, it focuses on understanding chronology and typology of pottery in the region of Kugitang piedmonts. In 2023 excavation of the site of Sabir Arča was conducted. The site is located on western outskirts of the modern village/oasis Chatak (Sherobod District, Surxondaryo Province). The site is located at the entrance to a mountain gorge that connects eastern and western side of the Kugitang and Susistag mountain ranges. Prior to the 2023 excavation, a surface survey was conducted at the site by the Czech-Uzbek archaeological mission and pottery from Early and High Medieval period was recovered. The site is composed of two mounds and a depression between them. A stratigraphic trench was placed on the western edge of the eastern mound (tell). Bedrock was reached only in a limited part of the trench. The majority of the trench remained only partially excavated due to time limitations. As in the case of Lungi Tepa (excavated in 2019 and 2021) the tell mound was used as a burial site after the demise of the settlement. Thus, eight graves were uncovered beneath the surface layers. Four of the graves were excavated entirely while three were uncovered partially (they go beyond the trench boundaries) and in one case just a part of grave pit was uncovered. The burial ground was followed by at least two phases of settlement. These phases belong to Early Medieval (5th–8th century AD) and High Medieval (8th–13th century AD) periods. Later phase of the settlement was disturbed by the graves and not many features were preserved. Nevertheless, a mudbrick wall and a stone structure were detected. An earlier phase of settlement was represented by a rectangular building, which occupied major part of the whole trench. Not a single wall was uncovered in its entirety, so the total dimensions of the building are unknown. The perimeter walls were made of rammed clay (pakhsa) and the interior was divided into small chambers (1.7×0.8m) by mudbrick partitions. At least two phases of this building were detected. The small chambers in the interior of the building were rich in Early Medieval period finds (pottery, bone, glass, and metal). A low wall (around 80 cm) composed of huge boulders was detected in the western most part of the trench; with a high probability it enclosed the whole settlement.
Prejudice in archaeology. Towards a new understanding of the phenomenon of prejudice related to the ontological turn (S. Horáček)
In the preceding year 2023, Johana Tlustá (ICAR), Filip Timingeriu (Philosophy, FHS UK), Hryhorii Maliukov (Sociology, FF UK) alongside the PI Stanislav Horáček (ICAR), successfully completed a research project, which was funded by the Charles University’s START Programme. This research endeavour was rooted in contemporary ontological archaeological approaches, interrogating the efficacy of Cartesian substantive ontology in elucidating the intricacies of the material world. More specifically, our focus centred on the phenomenon of prejudice, approached and analysed through the lens of interpretative phenomenological research methodologies. We were able to answer the questions posed and uncover the ontological meaning of the phenomenon, with the participation of 15 respondents engaged in semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The research scope also encompassed observations derived from fieldwork conducted in Croatia and Israel, contributing to the attainment of respondent saturation requisite for phenomenological investigations. Notably, our respondents were geographically diverse, representing professional archaeologists from the Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, and Austria, thereby affording our research an international perspective. The transdisciplinary collaboration within our team proved fruitful, resulting in production of four distinct outputs (two articles, one conference paper and an audiovisual manual).
Red Sea Trade Networks Analysis (3rd c. BC – 1st c. AD): Evaluation of import and export in Red Sea ports in antiquity (J. Kocna)
By the end of 2023 most of the project’s primary endeavours, such as data assembling and their subsequent analyses, came to a close. To successfully achieve this stage, Jan Kocna attended a handful of international conferences, or their online renditions (including the 56th Seminar for Arabian Studies held in Aarhus, Denmark), and inspected some of the most important collections concerning relevant material assemblages dispersed around Europe, including the British Museum’s Ancient South Arabian gallery.
The main publications of the ICAR and its members issued during the year 2023
Monographs
Tůmová, H. – Vacinová, L. (eds.): Ozvěny antiky v srdci Evropy. Praha. 333 p. ISBN 978-80-7671-063-4 (print), 978-80-7671-064-1 (open access).
The book re-assesses ancient inspirations and reflections of Greek and Roman visual arts in the Czech cultural milieu from the Middle Ages to the Modern period. Eleven authors discuss in ten chapters significant examples, especially in terms of the fluctuations in the perception of Classical Antiquity over time, the particular ways ancient heritage was transformed across various genres and ages, but also in the terms of assigning new meanings to classical forms.
Tušlová, P.: The Yurta-Stroyno Archaeological Project. The Pottery Studies. Studia Hercynia Monographs 3. Praha. 238 p. ISBN 978-80-7671-110-5 (print), 978-80-7671-111-2 (pdf).
The book is a second volume of the final studies related to the Yurta-Stroyno Archaeological Project, which investigated a Roman rural settlement located along the middle stream of the Tundzha River in south-eastern Bulgaria (the Roman province of Thrace). It is fully focused on the pottery material found during the excavation and surface survey, mostly dated to the Roman Imperial period, with only few fragments from the Late Antiquity. The pottery assemblage is divided into the classification of the locally produced pottery and identification, classification, and interpretation of the import – mostly fine table ware and transport amphorae – which is, however, highly underrepresented at the settlement.
Edited volumes
A.L. D’Agata – P. Pavúk (eds.): The Lady of Pottery. Ceramic Studies Presented to Penelope A. Mountjoy in Acknowledgement of Her Outstanding Scholarship. Studi micenei ed egeo-anatolici NS, Supplemento 3. Roma : Edizioni Quasar. 225 pp. ISBN 978-88-5491-379-0
Penelope Mountjoy is a central figure for the study of Mycenaean decorated pottery, a subfield of the Aegean Bronze Age archaeology on its own, which she founded anew through many years of rigorous and patient study of thousands of vessels and fragments. The eleven essays in this volume pay tribute to her work by tackling topics whose first thorough investigation we owe to her but also highlighting new ones. They range from Early Mycenaean pottery, interconnection with the Minoan production, through pictorial style, to regional studies on Eastern Aegean, Western Anatolia and Cyprus.
Studia Hercynia
Two thematic volumes of Studia Hercynia were published in 2023. Volume 2023/1 represents the proceedings of the 4th meeting of the Hellenistic Central Asia Research Network with the title ‘Ritual Matters. Archaeology and Religion in Ancient Central Asia’. The nine papers contained in these proceedings cover various aspects of Central Asian religiosity between the Achaemenid and Kushan period, approaching the topic from archaeological, historical, linguistic, and broadly epistemological points of view. Volume 2023/2 on the other hand assembled various papers on European Iron Age. Apart from several artefact and burial studies of the early and middle La Tène period, there is also one study on pottery production in pre-Roman Italy, one on late La Tène numismatics, and a remarkable paper on the history of research in the La Tène archaeology presenting contacts between two key figures of the discipline – Joseph Déchelette and J.L. Píč.
Articles and book chapters
Balduzzi, E. – Battaglia, M. – Bossolino, I. – Paralovo, E. – Pola, A. – Rondini, P. – Zamboni, L.: L’abitato di Pian del Monte a Verucchio. Il progetto dell’Università di Pavia e una revisione dei materiali dalle indagini degli anni settanta. In: A. Pozzi – E. Rodriguez – P. Rondini – T. Trocchi – L. Zamboni (eds.): I segni dell’abitare. Verucchio e il popolamento della Valle del Marecchia. Bologna, 221–256.
Damašek, L. – Pilař, D. – Kertés, S. – Shaydullaev, Sh.: Archaeological excavations at Lungi Tepa, south Uzbekistan. Report for Season 2021. Studia Hercynia 27/2, 145–175.
Demján, P. – Pavúk, P. – Roosevelt, Ch.H.: Laser-Aided Profile Measurement and Cluster Analysis of Ceramic Shapes. Journal of Field Archaeology 48/1, 1–18.
Doležalová, K. – Řídký, J. – Pilař, D.: Rhyolite grinding-milling tools in focus. Assessing kinematics with the help of use-wear analysis. Archeologické Rozhledy 75/2, 109–131.
Goláňová, P. – Kysela, J. – Smělý, T.: And besides Němčice…? All we (don’t) know about Moravia and Bohemia in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. In: Alcantra, A. – Filet, C. – Hiriart, E. et al. (eds.): Les agglomérations dans le monde celtique et ses marges. Nouvelles approches et perspectives de recherche. Bordeaux, 365–380.
Goláňová, P. – Kysela, J.: 10. Quantification of the finds and deposition analysis. In: P. Goláňová (ed.): Oppidum as an urban landscape. A multidisciplinary approach to the study of space organisation at Bibracte. Glux-en-Glenne, 287–292.
Güder, Ü. – Özdemir, A. – Verčík, M.: Brass metallurgy in Urartu: Recent evidence from eastern Anatolia. Journal of Archaeological Science 2023/48, 103897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103898
Güder, Ü. – Redford, S.: An Archaeometallurgical Study of Medieval Knives from Kinet Höyük, Turkey. Metalla 27/1, 39–54. https://doi.org/10.46586/metalla.v27.2023.i1.39-54
Havlík, J. – Dědková, V. – Toshalyiev, K.: Kurgans of the Eastern Kugitang piedmonts. Preliminary report on an archaeological surface survey in the 2022 season. Studia Hercynia 27/1, 203–249.
Kerschbaum, S. – Verčík, M.: Ohrid, Nordmazedonien. Neue Inschriftenfunde aus Ohrid/Lychnidos (Nordmazedonien). Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2018 und 2019. e-Forschungsberichte des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 2023-1, § 1–17. https:// doi.org/10.34780/s6e8-1ed6.
Kuchárik, J. et al.: Bratislava v rímskej dobe. In: Múcska, V. – Rybár, L. – Rošková, D. (eds.): Stredná Európa v premenách času. Štúdie k sociálnym dejinám. Druhý zväzok. Bratislava, 377–390.
Kysela, J. – Čižmářová, J.: Není Němčic bez kačen: Soubor mladolaténských bronzových figurek ze středního Podunají [There is no Němčice without ducks: An assemblage of small Recent La Tène bronze figurines from the Middle Danube region]. Archeologické rozhledy 75/3, 293–314.
Kysela, J. – Goláňová, P.: 9. Artefacts in contexts. In: P. Goláňová (ed.): Oppidum as an urban landscape. A multidisciplinary approach to the study of space organisation at Bibracte. Glux-en-Glenne, 277–286.
Kysela, J. – Stančo, L.: Наконечники стрел из микрогериона Дарбандской стены, южный Узбекиста: первые результаты. In: N.K. Ubaidullo (ed.): Тахти-Сангин как пример синтеза цивилизаций Востока и Запада. Dušanbe, 395–403.
Matznerová, J. et al.: Gli ornamenti in materiali vetrosi di fase Certosa nelle collezioni del Museo Civico archeologico di Bologna. In: Ch. Squarchina – M. Stocco – A. Panini – I. Peruzzet (eds.): Perle 2.0. Le collezioni di perle dei musei italiani. Venezia, 25–38.
Morris, L.: Hoards from Hellenistic to Kushan Central Asia. Towards Some Interpretations. Studia Hercynia 27/1, 151–177.
Paralovo, E.: A typology of pottery kilns. Between Central Europe and Italy. Studia Hercynia 27/2, 98–117.
Pavúk, P. – Girella, L. – Pienazek, M. – Franković, F.: The Upper Interface Twenty-five Years Later. The Northeast Aegean Islands and the West Anatolian Coast during the Late Bronze Age. In: A.L. D‘Agata – P. Pavúk (eds.): The Lady of Pottery. Ceramic Studies Presented to Penelope A. Mountjoy in Acknowledgement of Her Outstanding Scholarship. Roma, 121–147.
Pavúk, P.: Durchlochte Tonspulen in der Berliner Schliemann-Sammlung. In: M. Wemhoff – B. Heeb (eds.): Heinrich Schliemanns Sammlung Trojanischer Altertümer – Neuvorlage 3. Berlin, 33–45.
Stejskalová, J. – Spitzerová M. et al.: Co na to žáci? Postoje žáků k antice a její výuce. In: J. Linda – H. Halířová (eds.): Učitelé a archeologie. Praha, 245–261.
Taasob, R.: Development of Greek Religious Iconography in Early Kushan Coinage: Adaptation, Integration and Transformation. Studia Hercynia 27/1, 178–188.
Tůmová, H.: Antické reminiscence v ikonografii apsidální nástěnné malby v kostele Stětí sv. Jana Křtitele v Praze-Hostivaři. In: H. Tůmová – L. Vacinová (eds.): Ozvěny antiky v srdci Evropy. Praha, 229–267.
Exhibitions
Stančo, L. – Kysela, J. – Augustinová, A. – Havlík, J. – Damašek, L. – Shaydullaev, Sh.: Zaratushtradan Chingizxongacha. Chexiya-O‘zbek arxeologik ekspeditsiyasiga 20 yil / From Zarathustra to Genghis Khan. 20 years of the Czech-Uzbek archaeological expedition Tashkent, 10th–25th May 2023 / Od Zarathuštry k Čingizchánovi. 20 let česko-uzbecké archeologické expedice. Praha, 6th–21st December 2023.
Since 2002 the Czech-Uzbekistani archaeological expedition has been conducting field research in various parts of Surkhan Darya Province, south Uzbekistan, under the aegis of Charles University (Prague) and Termez State University. After 10 years of investigation of the Sherabad Oasis (2002–2011) commemorated by the exhibition ‘Into the Heart of Asia’ held in Prague (2012) and Termez (2013), we moved to the foothills of Kugitang and Baysun, and most recently also to the vicinity of Jarkurgan. The current exhibition presents our activities of last ten years and their results. The individual research activities were presented by 13 posters accompanied at the Tashkent and Termez editions of the exhibition by selected finds.
Conferences and workshops held by the ICAR in 2023
Zamboni, L. – Kysela, J. – Mangel, T.: Ugly ware! Technological and Cultural Interaction in Europe between Iron Age and Romanisation. Cremona, 29th–30th April 2023. [workshop]
The two-day international workshop addressed a group of domestic pottery classes characterised by handmade or throwing manufacture, low firing temperatures, and a spectrum of decorations including incisions, fingernail impressions, and plastic techniques. Similar pots with recurrent decorations are known in northern Italy, in France, and in central Europe, and traditionally linked with the spread of the La Tène culture, until (and beyond!) the so-called Romanization process. The main research issues we want to explore their cultural definition, chronology, classification and technology, and through them also interaction and mobility.
Mangel, T. – Unger, J. – Kysela, J. – Militký, J.: The La Tène period in Central Europe, 22nd conference international conference. Jičín, CZ, 9th–12th May 2023.
The yearly conference of Central European researchers of Late Iron Age was organised at Jičín in Eastern Bohemia by the University of Hradec Králové in collaboration with the Jičín Museum, the ICAR, and the National Museum in Prague.
Conference contributions by ICAR members
Ardjanliev, P. – Verčík, M. – Atanasovska Vrhel, N. – Šmolková, M.: Реконструкција на моделот на населување во Охридско-струшката котлина во доцно бронзено и железно време- преку истражувањата на лок. Skopje, North Macedonia. 18th–19th October 2023.
Balduzzi, E. – Campana, N. – Davite, Ch. – Zanicchi, Ch.: Uno sguardo alla Liguria di Levante: Cota e Castelfermo (SP). In: F. Negrino (ed.): Giuseppe Isetti. L’uomo, la passione, la ricerca. Indagini, scoperte ed eredità di un paletnologo ligure. Atti della Giornata dedicata al ricordo di Giuseppe Isetti (Genova, 30 novembre 2017). Studi Genuensi 5, III serie. Genova, 2023.
Balduzzi, E. – Zanicchi, E. – Bernabò Brea, M. – Maggi, R.: Nuovi dati sui rapporti tra Pianura Padana e Liguria nella prima metà del V millennio BC.: Archeobiandrate. Archeologia di un paesaggio agrario. Convegno Biandrate. Novara, Italy. 19 th–20 th January 2024.
Bobik, J.: Neither Frescoes nor Rock Reliefs. Zoomorphic plastic decorations on pottery from Western Anatolia in the second millennium BCE. Sympozjum Egejskie. 9th Conference in Aegean Archaeology. Warsaw, Poland. 19 th–20 th June 2023. [poster]
Doležalová, K.: Volcanic rocks in focus: Life histories of grinding stones from the Bronze Age site Kaymakçı. Anthropological insights into Ground Stone technologies. The 4th Meeting of the Association for Ground Stone Tools Research. Paris, 26 th–28 th April 2023.
Fradet, A. – Adam, P. – Schaeffer, P. – Boes, E. – Michler, M. – Demongin, E. – Mathiot, D. – Heninger, Ch. – Specklin, A. – Tsuvaltsidis, A.: Molecular Characterisation of Archaeological Ambers: Origins and Potential Restorations. 31st International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry (IMOG 2023). Montpellier, France. 10th–15th September 2023. [poster]
Güder, Ü.: Examining warfare through microscopes. Archaeometallurgy of ancient weaponry. Archaeology of Warfare. West Asia and East Europe, Late Bronze Age–Iron Age. Lyon, France. 2nd–3rd March 2023. [on-line]
Güder, Ü.: Early Iron Production and Smithing in Cilicia. An Overview. Cyprus and the Anatolian South Coast from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age. Dynamics of Interaction in a Period of Transformation Conference. Bern, Switzerland. 6 th–8 th May 2023.
Güder, Ü. – Çavuşoğlu, R.: Van Çavuştepe Kalesi ve Urartu Nekropolü’nde 2022 Yılı Arkeometri Çalışmaları. 43. Kazı Sonuçları ve Arkeometri Toplantısı, Turkish Ministry of Culture. Ankara, Türkiye. 16 th–20 th October 2023.
Güder, Ü. – Verčík, M.: Revisiting Iron Metallurgy in Archaic Miletos in Ionia. The World of Iron at 10. Nairobi, Kenya. 6 th–10 th November 2023.
Kysela, J. – Míčková, E. – Přikryl, R. – Kaňáková Hladíková, L.: And what if…? A stone head from Stradonice that may not be fake. Doba laténská ve střední Evropě 2023. Jičín, Czech Republic. 9 th–12 th May 2023.
Kysela, J. – Stančo, L.: Наконечники стрел из микрогериона Дарбандской стены, южный Узбекистан: первые результаты. Тахти-Сангин как пример синтеза цивилизаций Востока и Запада. Dushanbe, Tajikistan. 4th–10th October 2023.
Mangel, T. – Thér, R. – Bursák, D. – Kysela, J.: Pretty Early, Pretty Late, and Nothing in Between. Finger-Tip Decorated Coarse Ware in Bohemia and Moravia in the Early Iron Age and the Roman Iron age. Ugly ware! Technological and Cultural Interaction in Europe between Iron Age and Romanisation. Cremona, Italy. 29th–30th April 2023.
Matznerová, J.: Early glass bracelets in the Italian Iron Age. Doba laténská ve střední Evropě 2023 2023. Jičín, Czech Republic. 9th–12th May 2023. [poster]
Matznerová, J.: Glass ornaments and its production in Etruscan Po Plain. 37e Rencontres de L’AFAV. Douai, France. 23rd–25th May 2023.
Morris, L.: The Begram hoard as a ritual deposition of temple offerings and property? Some parallels from Takht-i Sangin and Paikend. Тахти-Сангин как пример синтеза цивилизаций Востока и Запада. Dushanbe, Tajikistan. 4th–10th October 2023.
Pavúk, P. – Tušlová, P. – Verčík, M.: From the Balkans to Anatolia: Archaeological connectivity and adaptation in the presumed border-zones. KREAS VP2 – Final Conference, Prague, 2nd–3rd March 2023.
Paralovo, E.: A typology of pottery kilns. Between Central Europe and Italy. Doba laténská ve střední Evropě 2023. Jičín, Czech Republic. 9th–12th May 2023. [poster]
Paralovo, E.: ‘What we do is who we are’ Craftsmanship and identity issues in a border zone. 9th EAA Annual Meeting. Weaving Narratives. Belfast, Northern Ireland. 29th August – 2nd September 2023.
Paralovo, E.: A look at firing technology. Archaeometric analyses applied to a set of kiln’s spacers. Ceramic Petrology Group Meeting. London, United Kingdom. 9th–11th November 2023. [poster]
Paralovo, E. – Nikolaos, Z.: Between the pots. Archaeometric approach to a set of Iron Age kiln’s spacers. Young Researchers in Archaeometry 2023. Tübingen, Germany. 4th–6th October 2023.
Peterková, A.: How to approach population size estimation for sites along the East Aegean – West Anatolian Interface? Sympozjum Egejskie. 9th Conference in Aegean Archaeology. Warsaw, Poland. 19th–20th June 2023.
Pizzo, P.: Plaster production in the Paphian region (Cyprus): an overview. Current Issues in Archaeology 2023/2024. Prague, Czech Republic. 29th November 2023.
Pizzo, P. – Válek, J.: Integrated analyses on the plasters and mortars of the Nea Paphos theater (Cyprus). Pitt-Rivers Archaeological Science Seminar Series, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. Cambridge, United Kingdom. 9th June 2023.
Pizzo, P. – Válek, J.: Preliminary results of the petrographic and chemical analyses on the Hellenistic samples from Yeronisos Island, Cyprus. 20th Meeting on the Postgraduate Cypriot Archaeology (PoCA). Athens, Greece. 1st–3rd December 2023.
Pizzo, P. – Válek, J. – Kozlovcev, P. – Svorová-Pawełkowicz, S.: Binders through the lenses. Petrography, cathodoluminescence and Scanning-Electron Microscopy (SEM). Ceramic Petrology Group Meeting. London, United Kingdom. 10th–11th November 2023.
Stančo, L. – Kysela, J. – Havlík, J.: Wind of change in the steppes of Central Asia. Coming and going of Greeks after Alexander. KREAS VP2 – Final Conference. Prague, Czech Republic. 2nd–3rd March 2023.
Stančo, L. – Petřík, J.: Human impact on lowland and foothills landscape of southern Central Asia in Protohistory. EAA Annual Meeting. Weaving Narratives. Belfast, Northern Ireland. 30th August – 2nd September 2023.
Šmolková, M. – Beneš, J. – Atanasoska, N. – Ardjanliev, P.: Anthracological and fuel analysis of the Iron Age settlements around the Ohrid lake (North Macedonia). EAA Annual Meeting. Belfast, Northern Ireland. 30th August – 2nd September 2023. [poster]
Tsuvaltsidis, A. – Du Gardin, C.: Que d’ambre, que d’ambre ! Parures réincarnées. Colloque, Musée d’archéologie nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. 2nd–3rd March 2023.
Tušlová, P. – Amicone, S. – Müller, N. – Kiriatzi, E. – Thér, R. – Brýchová, V.: Interdisciplinary study of handmade pots in Roman Thrace. The case study of Yurta-Stroyno. Ceramic Petrography Group Meeting. London, United Kingdom. 9th–11th November 2023.
Invited lectures
Güder, Ü.: Archaeometry Studies on Urartu Metal Artefacts. Kadir Has University, İstanbul, Turkey, 20/01/2023.
Güder, Ü.: Transition to Iron Age. A Historical and Technological Approach. Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung, Düsseldorf, Germany, 14/06/2023
Morris, L.: Risky business: why did a network of Sogdian professional merchants come to exist at all? University of Erfurt, 16/05/2023.
Morris, L.: The dominance of the ‘Silk Road’ and searching for a non-elite narrative: challenges of writing the economic history of Kushan Central Asia. Austrian Academy of Sciences, 14/11/2023.
Morris, L.: In pursuit of forgotten context. The Begram hoard and Kushan coinage from an archaeological perspective. The Royal Numismatic Society, 20/11/2023.
Pavúk, P.: O Tróji bez Homéra. Najnovšie poznatky k pahorku Hisarlık. Archeologické múzeum SNM, Bratislava, 08/03/2023.
Pavúk, P.: Troy, Western Anatolia and the Surrounding World. Haifa, Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies at the University of Haifa, 27/03/2023.
Pavúk, P.: Western Anatolian Pottery in the Middle and Late Bronze Age: New Results. Department of Archaeology, Ege University, Izmir, 01/06/2023
Pavúk, P.: Von Prinzessinnen und Agenten. Die ägäische Präsenz im Ägypten der Spätbronzezeit. Museum August Kestner, Hannover, 21/06/2023.
Pavúk, P.: The Process of Minoanization in the Northeast Aegean. The Archaeology Centre, University of Toronto, 16/11/2023.
Pavúk, P.: New data on Troy from an Archaeological perspective. Department of Classics, University of Cincinnati, 29/11/2023.
Stančo, L.: The Greco Bactrian period in the Northern Bactria: state of affairs. National University of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, 27/04/2024.
Stančo, L.: Iskandar Tepa 2018 2023: Archaeological and Geophysical Research. Termez State University, 25/09/2024.
Verčík, M.: In the Footsteps of Glaucus of Chios. Tradition and Innovation in Aegean Metal Technologies. School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Edinburgh, 26/02/2023
Verčík, M.: Theodosius, Góti a Slovania: Olympia na úsvite nového veku. ARUP, Praha, 21/02/2023.
Talks given at ICAR by visiting scholars
Bartłomiej Lis (Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw)
White Ware: perhaps the most unusual group of pottery of the final Late Bronze Age in the Aegean, 01/03/2023
Alexandra von Miller (Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg)
Pottery in Context at Didyma – An overview of recent pottery research in a south Ionian sanctuary of the late Geometric and Archaic Periods, 08/03/2023
Simon Stoddart (University of Cambridge)
Mountain Society in Sicily, 22/03/2023
Hristo Popov (National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Sofia)
Ada Tepe. Dating the Late Bronze Age Gold Mine, 12/04/2023
Olivier Mariaud (Université Grenoble-Alpes)
From Princes to City-State. Material Culture and Social Interactions in Bodrum Peninsula, XIth–VIth century BC, 03/05/2023
Peter Milo (Masaryk-University, Brno)
Pliska a Preslav. Aktuálny výskum metropol včasnostredovekého Bulharska, 10/05/2023
Martin Odler (University of Newcastle)
Metalwork wear analysis of the ancient Egyptian tools and why do we need it, 01/11/2023
Richard Thér (Univerzita Hradec Králové)
Advances in analysis of pottery forming practices based on archaeological record, 13/12/2023
Theses defended in 2023
M.A. theses
Ján Bobik: Zoomorphic appliques on Western Anatolian pottery in the second millennium BCE in a wider geographical and cultural context.
Kristina Doležalová: The tale of volcanic rocks. Assessing the grinding stones and their chaîne opératoire in 2nd millennium Western Anatolia].