Summer School of Non-destructive Archaeology Závist

The International Summer School “Monitoring Heritage” was held for the fourth time on 20-24 September 2021. The summer school was organised by experts from the Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, Prague, v.v.i., the Institute for Archaeology, Heritage Conservation Studies and Art History of the University of Bamberg and the Institute for Archaeology of Charles University in Prague. Aimed at introducing students from Bamberg and Prague to various methods of non-destructive analyses in archaeology, this year’s event focused on Závist, an Iron Age hillfort a few kilometres from the capital of the Czech Republic, where extensive archaeological excavations took place between the 1960s and 1980s.

After the introductory presentation on the development of geophysical research and archaeological finds at Závist and a lecture on the digital data management of the Czech Heritage Conservation Service, the team led by Till Sonnemann (Bamberg), Daniel Bursák, David Daněček and Alžběta Danielisová (Prague) focused on the survey of Balda, a massive earthen plateau located within the fortified area of the hillfort. Besides taking extensive GPR (ground-penetrating radar) measurements at Balda and magnetic surveys under the supervision of Florian Linsel (IVGA), the survey also focused on metal detecting – a touchy subject from the perspective of heritage conservation and preservation and its community.

Once again, the Summer School provided students with an opportunity to gain insight into archaeological research in other countries. By doing so, it strengthened international ties aiming to facilitate future bilateral research projects. This year’s Summer School was funded by the Bavarian-Czech University Agency (BTHA).