image/svg+xml63XIII/1/2022INTERDISCIPLINARIA ARCHAEOLOGICANATURAL SCIENCES IN ARCHAEOLOGYhomepage: http://www.iansa.euLandscape Analysis of a Battlefeld of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 near Hospital KuksMatouš Holas1*1Department of Archaeology, Philosophical Faculty, University of Hradec Králové, Rokitanského 62, 500 03 Hradec Králové 3, Czech Republic1. IntroductionArchaeology of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 is a new research topic from recent years. Battlefeld archaeology is usually targeted at the period from the 15thto the 18thcenturies, but the research dedicated to the late 19thand 20thcenturies represents one of the most dynamically developing sub-disciplines in the Czech Republic in the last two decades (Krajíc et al., 2017). While the origins of the archaeological study of modern battlefelds in the Czech Republic date back to the early 20thcentury, large-scale systematic and interdisciplinary research projects have been conducted since the 1980s, using a wide spectrum of modern technologies: aerial photography, airborne laser scanning and metal-detector survey (Matoušek, 2017). Battlefeld or Confict Archaeology has been developing very dynamically in the last three decades and it brings many new research questions (and aims), both in the Czech Republic and elsewhere in Europe (Matoušek, Sýkora, 2018; Preusz, 2019).For example, archaeologists explored a battlefeld landscape from the early 19thcentury on the defence line of the War of the Sixth Coalition (1813–1814) against Napoleon. Thirty-fve feld fortifcations, documented by written sources, were localised and described on the right bank of the Ohře River between Postoloprty and Budyně nad Ohří. Twenty-one relics were detected on site, sixteen locations were discovered by aerial prospecting, two fortifcations were examined with the help of test trenches, and in three cases the fortifcations were preserved thanks to later buildings and a church with a cemetery (Smrž, Hluštík, 2007). Another artillery fortifcation, detected near the fortifed town of Terezín, was built on the opposite bank of the river Elbe in the mid-19thcentury. The relics were documented by airborne laser scanning in 2011. This method clearly showed the traces of defunct earthen ramparts and ditches as well as a dense network of former roads and linear earthworks, some of which may have been related to the urban fortifcation (Gojda et al., 2011).Archaeologists have studied the 1866 war relics since 2003, mainly due to intensifed building activity on battlefelds, which mostly disturbed war graves (Holas, 2017). The main research aims, topics and archaeological questions concerning the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 were for the frst time comprehensively presented only two years ago (Holas, 2019). The reconstructed 1866 historical Volume XIII ● Issue 1/2022 ● Pages 63–77*Corresponding author. E-mail: matous.holas@uhk.czARTICLE INFOArticle history:Received: 5thJanuary 2021Accepted: 3rdMay 2021DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2022.1.6Key words:landscape analysisAustro-Prussian War of 1866battlefeld archaeologynon-destructive researchABSTRACTThe article presents the possibilities of landscape analysis based on historical and cartographic sources. The methods and procedures used produced important spatial information about a specifc battlefeld from the second half of the 19thcentury. This type of non-destructive research is for the frst time applied to a battlefeld of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 in the Hradec Králové region. The results of the analysis helped to fnd a place for a geophysical survey, which confrmed the location of a relic of feld fortifcations for the Austrian artillery near the baroque Hospital Kuks near Jaroměř. The results provide an important example for the implementation of similar methods in the research on modern battlefelds in the Czech Republic.
image/svg+xmlIANSA 2022 ● XIII/1 ● 63–77Matouš Holas: Landscape Analysis of a Battlefeld of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 near Hospital Kuks64landscape has not yet been analysed by the methods of non-destructive survey, so the results presented in this article might be a source of information for future research. The study site was chosen on the basis of a non-destructive survey of battlefelds at Hradec Králové, conducted by a group of researchers from the Department of Archaeology, Philosophical Faculty, University of Hradec Králové. This survey is intended to acquire spatial data from the terrain and to describe the shape and dimensions of relics of Austrian feld fortifcations for artillery, which are preserved not only on the battlefeld at Hradec Králové (Hejhal, Holas, 2018).Geographic information technologies (GIS) were employed in non-destructive research to create a spatially-accurate representation of the 1866 battlefeld landscape which is situated near Hospital Kuks in the Hradec Králové region. GIS provides the tools and methods to accurately create digital models of historical landscapes. These tools enable the visualisation and geospatial analysis of the landscapes and signifcant historical events of the 1866 war, greatly enhancing the understanding of temporal and spatial interactions between these events and the landscape in which they occurred.The results of the investigation have elucidated the appearance of the historical landscape at the time of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and, in particular, the artillery clash on 30 June of that year. The geospatial analysis will be a help for future archaeological research thanks to the exact terrain data. The methods used and the interdisciplinary approach will also be applicable to other investigations seeking to recreate historical landscapes of the 1866 war.2. Study site and methodologyThe study area is located northwest of the town of Jaroměř in Trutnov district in eastern Bohemia and encompasses the present-day municipalities of Choustníkovo Hradiště (Gradlitz), Žireč (Surz), Kašov (Kašow), Nový Kašov, Zaloňov (Salney), Brod (Prode) and Vlčkovice v Podkrkonoší (Wölsdorf). The total area of the study site is 2 ha. In the middle of the study site, there are the municipalities of Stanovice (Stangendorf), Slotov (Schlotten) and Kuks (Kukus) with the buildings and gardens of its baroque hospital (Figure 1A).In terms of geology, the studied area belongs to the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin. The northern part is dominated by sandstones and siltstones. Holocene deposits are located near the river Elbe. These deposits include alluvial and organogenic sediments and blown sands. The area is mostly