The Journal of Archaeological Science published an article on the research of the long barrows

Cooperation Achievements Science

The article is an output of the three-year project Eneolithic long barrows in Bohemia and reconstruction of the ritual landscape around the hill of Říp.

The Journal of Archaeological Science published the article "Neolithic long barrows were built on the margins of settlement zones as revealed by elemental soil analysis at four sites in the Czech Republic“. It also means success for the scientists from the Department of Archeology of the Faculty of Arts of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, who participated in it.

The article is an output of the three-year project "Eneolithic long barrows in Bohemia and reconstruction of the ritual landscape around the hill of Říp" financed by the GAČR, which is being investigated by Charles University, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen and University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně.

"The article is dedicated to the research of neolithic long barrows in the vicinity of Říp Mountain (ritual landscape in the center of Bohemia). Our aim was to verify, by means of extensive geochemical sampling and remote sensing, that these barrows are situated in a landscape not influenced by human activities. This was successfully demonstrated. This research uses the principles of large-scale sampling and thus builds on our other geoarchaeological investigations that we are currently conducting in the Czech Republic." the authors Petr Krištuf (UWB in Pilsen) and Martin Janovský (UK) summarize the topic. The article was also contributed by Jan Turek from the Center for Theoretical Studies, Jan Horák from the Department of Archeology at the Faculty of Arts, UHK, Laszlo Ferenczi from the Institute of Archeology at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, and prof. Michal Hejcman from the Faculty of Environment, UJEP.

The work of the interdisciplinary team brought a unique insight into the use and perception of the landscape by agricultural populations of the Stone Age. In their work, the researchers used an extensive set of 1085 soil samples, which make up the largest set of this kind in Europe. They investigated four barrows in the vicinity of the Říp Mountain, and their research proved that the barrows were built from local material, on the edge of residential areas.

In addition, the presence of funerary monuments had an impact on the perception of the landscape by the following generations, because, according to the results of the research team, no residential or agricultural activities took place in the surrounding area even in the following centuries or millennia. Prehistoric funerary monuments thus influenced agricultural and residential management in the fertile landscape around Říp Mountain for tens of generations. This is proof that the use and shaping of the landscape by man did not have and does not have only an economic or practical dimension, but is often influenced by social and symbolic factors.

There is also a documentary linked to long-term research that was broadcast by CT.

Faculty of Arts

Petr Krištuf

06. 02. 2024