Archaeological teaching cooperation with the Charles University in Prague

For the fourth time Monitoring Heritage - International Summerschool took place from September 20-24. The event was organised in cooperation with colleagues from Charles University in Prague and the Czech Academy of Sciences. With the aim of demonstrating students from Bamberg and Prague different non-invasive analysis methods in archaeology, this year's focus was on Závist, an Iron Age hillfort within sight of the Czech capital, where large excavations had taken place in the 1960s to the 1980s.

After introductions to the history of geophysical work and archaeological finds of Závist, and a talk on digital data management of the Czech Monument Protection Service, the team led by Till Sonnemann (Digital Geoarchaeology), Daniel Bursák of Prague's Charles University, and David Daněček of the Academy of Sciences, focused on the investigation of Balda, a massive earthen platform within the fortifications. In addition to large-scale groundpenetrating radar measurements on Balda and magnetic surveys supervised by Florian Linsel (IVGA), metal detection, a sensitive topic in the context of monument protection and the heritage community, was also addressed.

In addition to providing students with an opportunity to gain insight into archaeological work in other countries, the Summerschool once again served to strengthen international ties, with the goal of facilitating future bilateral research projects. This year's Summerschool was funded by the Bavarian-Czech University Agency (BTHA).