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143
VII/1/2016
INTERDISCIPLINARIA ARCHAEOLOGICA
NATURAL SCIENCES IN ARCHAEOLOGY
homepage: http://www.iansa.eu
A look at the region
Rescuing the Past – Preventive Archaeology and Archeoenviromental
Services, Labrys, o. p. s., Czech Republic
Milan Kuchařík
a*
a
Labrys, o. p. s., Hloubětínská 16/11, 19000 Prague 9, Czech Republic
1. Aim and scope of the company
Labrys Company focuses on a wide spectrum of activities
related to the research of historic monuments, primarily on
preventive archaeology and scientifc research activities
in the Czech Republic. From the very beginning, we
have directed our activities towards multidisciplinary
environmental research. Building on our projects to rescue
historic monuments in 2011, we have expanded our activities
into felds that focus on standing architectural monuments
(historical building research).
The mainstays of our activity are the increase of
archaeological capacities in the region, feld research on
prehistoric sites and medieval stratigraphic locations,
standardisation of processes in feld archaeology, and
multidisciplinary research of cultural heritage.
2. Institutional history
The non-governmental organisation Labrys, o. p. s., was
established in 2006 as a private research institution focusing
mainly on preventive archaeology (or “rescue” archaeology).
Between 2006 and 2008 we operated exclusively in Prague.
In 2009 we expanded to the Hradec Králové and Pardubice
regions and later to the rest of the Czech Republic.
It was our goal to implement and intensify functional
preventive archaeology in the Czech Republic region where
this type of research activity is still rather underdeveloped.
3. Organisation structure and employees
Currently, the company is comprised of its headquarters
and the departments of feld research, project preparation,
environmental research, and internal services. Headquarters
is in charge of administrative support while the department
of project preparation communicates with investors,
prepares research, and reports on territorial archaeological
studies including prospecting the terrain. The department
of feld research uses specialists to conduct excavations.
The department of environmental research ensures
preparation, expert evaluation of samples, and drawing up of
assessments. The department of internal services is in charge
of the conservation, documentation, and proprietary record
keeping of archaeological fndings. At the moment, there are
two workplaces in Prague, one in Dvůr Králové nad Labem,
and the other in Pardubice.
Volume VII ● Issue 1/2016 ● Pages 143–147
*Corresponding author. E-mail: kucharik@labrys.cz
ARTICLE INFO
Article history:
Received: 21
st
August 2016
Accepted: 21
st
November 2016
Keywords:
preventive archaeology
anthropology
osteology
paleobotany
stratigraphic seqences
ABSTRACT
The non-governmental organisation Labrys, o. p. s., was established in 2006 as a private research
establishment focusing mainly on preventive archaeology. The Labrys Company focuses on a wide
spectrum of activities related to research on historic monuments, primarily on rescue archaeology
and associated scientifc research activities. The mainstays of our activities are the increase of
archaeological capacities in the regions of the Czech Republic, feld research of ancient and medieval
stratigraphic locations, standardisation of processes in archaeology, and the multidisciplinary research
of our cultural heritage.
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144
The company has twelve permanent professional employees:
seven archaeologists, a geologist, an anthropologist, an
archaeozoologist, and two archaeobotanists. There are ten
other employees on the technical staf. During the season,
we hire up to 120 workers for our feld activity.
4. Preventive archaeology
Preventive archaeology is the process of protecting the
archaeological heritage from landscape planning and onto
rescue excavation. During the longest building boom in
Czech Republic’s history (until 2008) we completed up to
450 feld research projects a year, ranging from small-scale
supervision to large-scale excavation. Currently, we conduct
about 150 feld research projects a year. Between 2011 and
2014, our main activity was rescue research completion for
structures fnanced by EU Structural Funds. This period
included rescue archaeological excavations associated
with the revitalisation of historical sites, such as: Litomyšl
Castle (Figures 1, 2), Kuks Hospital, the Benedictine
Monastery in Broumov and Sázava Glassworks. Major
projects have included research on the heart of medieval
cities, the revitalisation of the central square and adjacent
streets in Dvůr Králové nad Labem, the reconstruction of the
Municipal Court in Prague and reconstruction of the Museum
of Decorative Arts in Prague, which uncovered an abundance
of large collections of medieval and early modern fndings.
Signifcant research on the transportation infrastructure
includes the extension of the tramline Podbaba – ČD Podbaba
Figure 1.
The basic sources of our research
are our own rescue excavations. Litomyšl,
rescue excavation of medieval graveyard at
the church of St. Kliment, 13
th
–15
th
century.
Figure 2.
Litomyšl, Zámecké návrší – a
trench through the Medieval graveyard at
the church of St. Kliment, 13
th
–15
th
century.
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145
in Prague with its rich polycultural archaeological layers
and the new railway connection Rokycany – Plzeň with its
many fndings of ancient terrain and artefacts (Figure 4).
The archaeological prospecting of road R35 from Jičín to
Hradec Králové, which included terrain examination, aerial
photography, and analysis of map and archive data, is the
most signifcant undertaking of our terrestrial archaeological
studies.
We seek to systematize and standardize archaeological
research and processes through the implementation of
modern documentation methods. This is related to our eforts
to implement standard solutions within the framework of
control and decision-making processes in the management
of archaeological research, the use of digital recording and
measurement technology (photogrammetry, GNSS), and
the processing of archaeological data while retaining their
formal and spatial properties (database and CAD).
5. Long-term research projects
Our current research activity is mainly based on our own
rescue excavations between 2006 and 2010, from which,
among others, we have several long-term projects. The
most detailed is from the burial site of the Migration
Period in Prague-Zličín (2005–2008). The Grant
Agency of the Czech Republic fnanced the projects of
“Multiregional Contacts during the Migration Period”
and the “Natural Environment, Health Condition and
Mobility – a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the
Migration Period burial site”. The Pro Archeologia Saxonia
Foundation fnancially supports the catalogue of the same
burial site. The other parts of this project are a popular
science book and an exhibition called Barbarian Graves –
The World of the Living and the Dead of the Migration
Period at Prague-Zličín (2015–2016).
Figure 3.
Praha 8, Karlín. Probably a brick-
making furnace in the industrial suburb of
Prague, 18
th
–19
th
century.
Figure 4.
Paleoenvironmental data acquisition.
Rescue excavation of small stream basin with
prehistorical settlement; 5-m-thick sediments
in the pit of the construction works of a railway
tunnel, Kyšice, West Bohemia.
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146
There are other long-term research projects which
focus on specifc topics, such as: Research on Ancient
Polycultural Formation on the Banks of the Vltava River;
and the Beginnings and Development of Medieval Towns in
Podkrkonoší (Figure 5); and others. We have recently tried
to incorporate industrial premises (18
th
–19
th
centuries) of the
Czech Republic into archaeological research (Figure 3). At
present, we are focusing on Prague suburbs (Karlín).
6. Other Activities
As part of our scientifc research, we occasionally organise
thematic conferences such as: Computer Support in
Archaeology (2010); and Research, Protection, and
Presentation of Architectural Ruins (2012). In 2012, we also
established cooperation with foreign partners by a series of
international workshops which were focused on the Migration
Period and the glass vessels from this period (Bohemian-
Bajuvarian Forum, Regensburg; Trinken und Trinkengefässe
im Germanischen altertum, Prague). In connection
with our present research projects, we are cooperating
with foreign research establishments (
e.g.
the Römisch-
Germanische Zentralmuseum Mainz, Bayrisches Landesamt
für Denkmalpfege Münech und Regensburg, Bayrische
Staatssammlung für Anthropologie und Paläoanatomie
München, Johannes Guttenbeg Univesität Mainz).
7. Presentation and Popularisation
From 2006, information about us, including our current
research projects, has been available on our website (www.
labrys.cz); in 2010 we also set up a Facebook profle
(@labrysarchaeology). Between 2012 and 2013 we sent
by email a newsletter concerning our activities, which was
also distributed in a printed form to expert committees,
workshops, and fairs.
We annually participate in the Prague fair called
“Monuments” where our company has a display promoting
our status as one of the archaeological organisation in the
Czech Republic.
We naturally organise lectures for schools, the public, and
occasionally for interest groups. We also present ourselves
at museum exhibitions for which we act as co-organisers
and provide expert commentary. The largest recent
exhibitions have been: A Journey to the Depth of the City, or
12 Archaeological Discoveries in Prague (2011); Poodhalená
tajemství Dvora Králové (Partially Discovered Mysteries of
Dvůr Králové, 2011); Barbarian Graves (2015–2016); and
Treasures of the Barbarians (2016).
8. The Company’s Contribution
We are convinced that our greatest contribution has been
the intensifcation of the care and regard for archaeological
cultural heritage in the regions where we work, and for
the new job opportunities, we have created. Furthermore,
we have promoted interdisciplinary cooperation in the
humanities, natural sciences, and technical felds at a single
working environment, as well as the opening up of new
topics. At present, we are the only private establishment
focusing on archaeological heritage in the Czech Republic.
Selected references
BUREŠ, M., PLEINEROVÁ, I., JIŘÍK, J., KUCHAŘÍK, M. 2008
:
Nové poznatky k osídlení západního okraje Prahy v 5. století, Barbarská
sídliště. In: Droberjar, E., Komorćzy, B., Vachůtová, D. (Eds.):
Chronologické, ekonomické a historické aspekty jejich vývoje ve světle
nových archeologických výzkumů (Archeologie barbarů 2007).
Spisy
ARÚ Brno 37, 201–232.
HORÁKOVÁ, M., JAROŠOVÁ, I., VÁVRA, J., JIŘÍK, J., KUCHAŘÍK,
M. 2014: Food strategies during the migration period: A study of the
Prague – Zličín population. In:
Mikulov anthropology meeting 2014.
The
Dolní Věstonice Studies 20, 159–162.
Figure 5.
Medieval buildings in the city centre – feld documentation, Náchod, East Bohemia.
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147
JIŘÍK, J., VÁVRA, J., ŠMOLÍKOVÁ, M., KUCHAŘÍK, M. 2015
:
Hroby Barbarů.
Praha.
KUCHAŘÍK, M., KUBÁLEK, P. 2009
: Laténský kostrový hrob v Praze –
Schollerově ulici.
Archeologica Pragensia
19, 129–136.
KUCHAŘÍK, M., KVIETOK, P., HORÁK, J., KUBÁLEK, P., HOLUB,
M. 2009
: Birituální pohřebiště kultury zvoncových pohárů v Praze –
Jinonicích.
Archaeologia Pragensia
19, 5–30.
VÁVRA, J., JIŘÍK, J., JAROŠOVÁ, I., VÍŠKOVÁ, M., KUBÁLEK,
P., KUCHAŘÍK, M. 2012
: The migration period burial site in Prague
– Zličín, Czech Republic, Preliminay report.
Zeitschrift für Archäologie
des Mittelalters
40, 1–25.
VÁVRA, J., JIŘÍK, J., KUBÁLEK, P., KUCHAŘÍK, M. 2007: Pohřebiště
z doby stěhování národů v Praze – Zličíně, ul. Hrozenkovská – průběžná
zpráva o metodice a výsledcích výzkumu.
In:
Droberjar, E., Chvojka,
O. (Eds.):
Archeologie Barbarů 2006 – Příspěvky z II. protohistorické
konference České Budějovice, 21.–24.11. 2006.
Archeologické výzkumy
v Jižních Čechách Supplementum 3, svazek II., 565–577.
VÍŠKOVA, M., JAROŠOVA, I., JIŘIK, J., VÁVRA, J., KUCHAŘÍK,
M. 2012:
Populace z doby stěhování národů z pohřebiště v Praze-Zličíně
z pohledu fyzické antropologie a archeologie.
Sborník národního muzea
v Praze, Řada A – Historie
66/3–4, 61–70.
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