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Archaeoichthyological research is not well developed in Czech archaeology, partly because of the country’s landlocked position. Nonetheless, fishing, fish consumption, and the fish trade played important roles in the Czech lands in the Middle and Early Modern Ages. This paper presents, as a case study, detailed documentation and analysis of a few archaeological bone finds from Prague determined as imported marine fish, and introduces this specialised field of research more generally. Beyond the archaeological bone finds, we conduct an in-depth analysis of historical written records of the marine fish trade in the Czech lands. A basic review of current archaeozoological knowledge of marine fish finds, especially cod and herring, which played the most important role in the long-distance fish trade is also provided. An important contribution — the first of its kind in Czech archaeology — is the use of carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur stable isotope analysis to determine the provenance of cod found at Prague Castle.

Given the nature of medieval artifacts and resulting research requirements, a precise temporal classification is essential. It is especially important for the purposes of medieval archaeology in interpreting archaeological finds/finding situations and identifying them with a historical events or figures, for example, to identify skeletal remains of a known historical figure or to establish a chronological sequence of various cultural and architectural changes within an area. Due to the fact that the uncertainties of radiocarbon (14C) analyses have been decreasing in recent years, the applicability of 14C dating for such purposes is now growing. In this work, we aim to demonstrate the current possibilities of the use of AMS 14C analyses on specific cases and confront the results with other available data. 14C data from skeletal remains of members of the oldest Czech ruling dynasty of the Přemyslids (about 880–1306 AD) were obtained in recent years. Archaeological research conducted in the three oldest churches in the Prague Castle discovered skeletal remains of three members of the second, two members of the fourth and two members of the fifth generation. This case study of the application of 14C data has three parts: i) identification of excavated individuals; ii) demonstration of the application using current AMS-based analysis of 14C on medieval osteological material and tests of our preparation method; iii) contributing to discussion and consulting with other problematical 14C age alteration influenced by diet, age of bone collagen or seasonal variation of 14C activity. The obtained results and the issues arising from them clearly highlight the necessity of a multidisciplinary cooperation in this type of study.

This chapter exposes multiple contextual layers in the historical background of the famous Ossuary at Sedlec in the Czech Republic. The Cistercian monastery of Sedlec was founded in the twelfth century and its importance soon increased together with the expansion of silver mining in the nearby town of Kutná Hora. According to a later legendary narrative, soil brought from the Holy Land was scattered across the monastic cemetery, which made this place an attractive destination for the burial of countless corpses in the course of the following centuries. The enormous amount of human remains in individual as well as mass graves led to the establishment of the Ossuary, which was rearranged several times, most recently in the second half of the nineteenth century. A variety of folk tales tell of the miraculous deeds of the bones and their special powers. Being conveniently located in the buffer zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kutná Hora, today crowds of tourists appreciate the macabre use of human skeletal elements in its decoration. A large-scale rescue excavation conducted recently around the Ossuary revealed an important archaeological archive that complements historical records.

Les derniers siècles du Moyen Âge ont été marqués par des crises épidémiques et frumentaires récurrentes, dont certaines ont entrainé des vagues de mortalité telles qu’elles ont nécessité la création de sépultures de masse et de cimetières d’urgence. Si ces sépultures et ces ensembles funéraires ont souvent fait l’objet d’études anthropologiques, rares sont celles qui se sont appliquées à évaluer les caractéristiques paléobiologiques distinguant les deux types de crises. Le présent article explore cette question à travers l’étude anthropologique et paléopathologique de trois sépultures multiples du XIVe siècle mises au jour à Kutná Hora – Sedlec (République tchèque), que des données historiques permettent de relier soit à un épisode de famine, soit à la Peste noire. Les données acquises pour les 68 squelettes exhumés de ces tombes sont comparées à celles obtenues pour un échantillon de 284 squelettes issus d’un cimetière médiéval local (Cathédrale de Sedlec), ainsi qu’à un ensemble de données de référence documentant la mortalité par peste et par famine. Les résultats montrent des différences de composition par âge, de caractéristiques métriques et d’état sanitaire préexistant entre les deux séries tchèques. L’échantillon issu des sépultures multiples présente un profil de mortalité avant 20 ans, des valeurs pour certains indices démographiques et des caractéristiques paléopathologiques qui le rapprochent davantage des données de référence d’une mortalité par peste, ce qui conduit à privilégier l’hypothèse de sa relation avec la Peste noire. Si un diagnostic de certitude nécessitera des analyses complémentaires, cette étude fournit d’ores et déjà des indications sur les critères discriminants entre peste et famine et ouvre la voie à de futures recherches sur les épidémies et crises de subsistance du passé. The later centuries of the Middle Ages were a time of recurrent epidemics and famines, some of which caused such huge mortality that mass graves and emergency burial grounds had to be created. Several anthropological studies have investigated these graves and cemeteries, but only a few have attempted to assess the bioarchaeological features that could distinguish between these two types of crisis. Our study tackles this question through an anthropological and palaeopathological study of three 14th century mass graves at Kutná Hora – Sedlec (Czech Republic), for which historical data support a relationship with either a famine or the Black Death. Data on the 68 skeletons recovered from these graves were compared with data on 284 skeletons from a local mediaeval cemetery (Sedlec Cathedral) and with a set of reference data documenting plague and famine mortality. The results reveal differences in age structure, osteometrics and pre-existing health status between the catastrophic and attritional assemblages. The general pattern of non-adult mortality, the value of certain demographic indices and the pattern of skeletal lesions in the mass graves investigated align more closely with the reference data for plague mortality, making their link with the Black Death the most likely scenario. Although a definite diagnosis will require further analysis, this study offers the first evidence of features that might distinguish between these two types of crisis, paving the way for future research on past epidemics and famines.

Odpadní jímky jsou významným pramenem pro poznání životní úrovně a řemesla v případě, že o majiteli parcely, na níž se nacházejí, nejsou dochovány písemné zprávy. Výzkum zároveň ukazuje, že jejich zaplňování může být opakované, střídané s úplným či částečným vybíráním v delším časovém období. Příkladem je i jímka 962 z Chrudimi, v jejíž výplni byly rozlišeny dva časové horizonty, jimž odpovídá složení souboru keramiky a skla. Nálezový soubor patří z hlediska středověké Chrudimi k průměrným, jen s ojedinělými doklady luxusu a nenaznačuje řemeslo uživatele. Refuse pits are important sources for the study of living standards and crafts in cases when there exist no written records about the owners of the plots where they are located. What is more, research has shown that they were filled repeatedly, in combination with their full or partial emptying over long periods of time. One example is refuse pit no. 962 from Chrudim, in the fill of which two chronological horizons were identified, corresponding to the composition of a pottery and glass series. In the context of medieval Chrudim, the series is an average one, with only sporadic evidence of luxury goods, and does not indicate the owner's craft.

The authors of the presented paper tested the possible use of geophysical methods in the field of archaeological and constructional-historical research. It focused on the historical center of Prague, where we took measurements in the built-up areas covered by cobble stones and asphalt. The works were carried out mainly at the Old Town Square, Hradčany Square, Charles Square and Lesser Town Square. Field conditions were completely different at the Armenia sites (intact agricultural areas). We used the methods of shallow geophysical survey, namely geoelectrical methods, gravimetry, seismics and magnetometry. Measurement results from the built-up areas were affected by presence of engineering networks, transportation and field obstacles. Working in the rural areas is generally less demanding in terms of implementation and evaluation, but our results show that proper selection of geophysical methods brings positive results even in urban areas. The research proved that good results can be expected if one uses multiple geophysical methods measuring various physical properties of an environment. The application of only one, albeit sophisticated method, is usually not enough. There is a necessity to improve interpretational software for the purposes of archaeological object detection. The objects are mainly buried within the first meters and are relatively small. Contrast of physical properties between searched objects and their surrounding environment does exist but typically is small and, therefore, it is necessary to measure multiple physical parameters simultaneously. The presented projects aimed not only to archaeology, but the results also had practical outputs for public administration and development.

International audience; Gilded copper hollow spherical pendants known as gombiky (s. gombik) were examined to identify the technology of gilding and the material chosen as the substrate. The examined ornaments dating from the ninth and tenth centuries AD were recovered from elite graves of two major political, ecclesiastical and economic centres of the Early Medieval period located in the territory of the present-day Czech Republic: Mikulčice and Prague Castle, major sites of Moravia and Bohemia, respectively. Taking into account the state of degradation and possible bias due to earlier restorations, surface and bulk characterisation of the gilded material has been performed combining optical observation, X-ray radiography, metallography, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS analysis) and focused ion beam (FIB) milling mounted on FEG-SEM. The manufacturing procedure was reproduced by experimental archaeology. A detailed investigation of the gilded artefacts revealed several types of gombik construction involving different mounted elements, including the main body parts and the suspension system elements joined by hard soldering. The different constitutive parts are made with almost pure copper or low-purity copper. The systematic use of fire gilding (mercury amalgam gilding) was documented. Differences in the materials that were used and technical quality show the coexistence of finely produced objects by highly skilled and knowledgeable jewellers alongside more coarsely manufactured imitations. These variations are discussed in terms of different workshops in a possible relationship with their origin of manufacture.

This study explored dietary behavior in the context of the developing medieval power centers of Bohemia (9th–11th Century AD, Czech Republic) with an emphasis on the dietary behavior of elites and the socio-economic stratification within the population of the central places. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic values were measured in collagen samples from 102 humans and 24 animals excavated from the sites of two castles representing the main power centers and their hinterlands. The Bayesian software package FRUITS was employed to estimate the caloric contribution of C3 and C4 plants, terrestrial animals, and freshwater fish. Statistically significant differences in the consumption of animal products and millet were observed between castle elites versus castle non-elite and hinterland samples. Among burial sites located outside the castle areas, substantial dietary variation in terms of both carbon and nitrogen was observed in males but not in females. These results suggest the deep socio-economic stratification within the population of centers. The notable consumption of millet was typical of the lower socio-economic groups buried outside the castle areas. The almost total absence of adult male skeletons at some sites was accompanied by the low contribution of animal products to the diets of the males present. The high dietary variation observed within the ducal family suggests either the rapidly changing position of the Přemyslids during the formation of the Bohemian state structure or the sharp increase in the influence of the Church in terms of elite dietary behavior.

The discovery of a tenth-century AD high-status burial at Prague Castle in 1928 led to multiple identifications in the context of two world wars and the Cold War. Recognised variously as both a Viking and Slavonic warrior according to Nazi and Soviet ideologies, interpretation of the interred individual and associated material culture were also entangled with the story of the burial's excavator, the remains and commemorative monuments of two Czech Unknown Soldiers and the creation of the Czechoslovak state. This epic narrative reflects the circumstances of Czechoslovakia and Central Europe across the twentieth century.

DNA analysis of skeletal remains from a high medieval Podlazice burial site (1160–1421) yielded data for lineage markers (mtDNA, Y-chromosome). We linked one of the retrieved Y-haplotypes with a group of individuals bearing the surname Dusanek (Duschanek). One of the individuals even confirmed that his ancestors lived close to the Podlazice cloister, which they moved from after the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) to another area of Bohemia. The differences in haplotypes (genetic distances) between the skeleton and the closest matches are 15 and 16 Y-STRs of 17 tested using the Y-filer kit (ThermoFisher Scientific). These findings are consistent with our theory that the skeletal remains belong to an individual belonging to the same family lineage as the tested individuals.

Aim A collaborative exercise with several institutes was organized by the Forensic DNA Service (FDNAS) and the Institute of the Legal Medicine, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, with the aim to test performance of different laboratories carrying out DNA analysis of relatively old bone samples. Methods Eighteen laboratories participating in the collaborative exercise were asked to perform DNA typing of two samples of bone powder. Two bone samples provided by the National Museum and the Institute of Archaelogy in Prague, Czech Republic, came from archeological excavations and were estimated to be approximately 150 and 400 years old. The methods of genetic characterization including autosomal, gonosomal, and mitochondrial markers was selected solely at the discretion of the participating laboratory. Results Although the participating laboratories used different extraction and amplification strategies, concordant results were obtained from the relatively intact 150 years old bone sample. Typing was more problematic with the analysis of the 400 years old bone sample due to poorer quality. Conclusion The laboratories performing identification DNA analysis of bone and teeth samples should regularly test their ability to correctly perform DNA-based identification on bone samples containing degraded DNA and potential inhibitors and demonstrate that risk of contamination is minimized.

We compared a novel PSII-biosensor assay with a standard algal growth inhibition test for detection of photosynthetic herbicides—diuron, atrazine and isoproturon in liquid samples. To evaluate the convenience and sensitivity, values of the parameters EC50 and LOD and the duration of assays were compared. The biosensor assay was made with an electrochemical biosensor toxicity analyser with immobilised Photosystem II (PSII) complex. Using the PSII-biosensor assay, higher sensitivity (LOD) to herbicides (10−8–10−9 M) was achieved as compared to standard algal growth inhibition tests (about 10−7 M). The results of both assays showed a good correlation as concerns their EC50 values while the interval of detectable concentrations is about twice wider for PSII-biosensor. A proposed measurement protocol includes the reference standard of phytotoxicity (RSP). The main advantage of the PSII-biosensor assay is that it can be completed in about 1 h and is by 1–2 orders more sensitive than standard algal growth inhibition test, which takes 72 h.

[EN] The recent global financial crisis has resulted in different reactions at different times across various European countries. Archaeology represents a microcosm of this diversity and how the profession has responded forms part of the Discovering the Archaeologists of Europe project. In many countries the falling number of archaeologists in employment reflects the impact of a decreased construction industry and government austerity measures, while in others an increasing number of archaeologists, many newly qualified, are facing uncertain job security and turning to commercial archaeology in the hope of better future employment opportunities. By using data from Ireland, Spain, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Cyprus we get a cross-section of how European archaeology has been impacted upon but also how it has reacted. © 2014, World Archaeological Congress., [FR] La récente crise financière mondiale a entraîné des réactions différentes à des moments différents dans les différents pays européens. L’archéologie représente un microcosme de cette diversité et la façon dont la profession a réagi fait partie intégrante du projet Archéologie en Europe. Dans de nombreux pays, la réduction du nombre d’archéologues sur le marché de l’emploi reflète l’incidence d’une diminution de l’industrie de la construction et des mesures d’austérité des gouvernements, tandis que dans d’autres, un nombre croissant d’archéologues, beaucoup nouvellement qualifiés, se heurtent à l’insécurité de l’emploi et se tournent vers l’archéologie commerciale dans l’espoir de trouver de meilleures opportunités d’emplois futures. En utilisant des données de l’Irlande, d’Espagne, de République tchèque, de Slovaquie et de Chypre, nous obtenons un échantillon représentatif de la façon dont l’archéologie européenne a été touchée et comment elle a réagi., [ES] La reciente crisis financiera mundial ha dado lugar a diferentes reacciones en diferentes momentos en varios países europeos. La arqueología representa un microcosmos de esta diversidad y cómo la profesión ha respondido forma parte del proyecto Descubriendo a los Arqueólogos de Europa. En muchos países, el número decreciente de arqueólogos con empleo refleja el impacto de una industria de la construcción reducida y de las medidas de austeridad del gobierno, mientras que en otros, un creciente número de arqueólogos, muchos recién titulados, se enfrentan a una seguridad laboral incierta y están recurriendo a la arqueología comercial con la esperanza de obtener mejores oportunidades de empleo futuras. Mediante la utilización de datos de Irlanda, España, República Checa, Eslovaquia y Chipre, obtenemos un corte transversal de cómo la arqueología europea se ha visto impactada y de cómo ha reaccionado.