Roudnice; Archaeological Methods and Historical Narratives in the Bohemian Forest (Czech Republic)

90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA 2025)

Colorado. Estados Unidos
Congreso. 2025

This presentation offers a multi-temporal exploration of the layered processes of

modernization through a case study in the Bohemian Forest, Czech Republic. The

application of archaeological method in a small and detailed case study

contributes to the weaving of greater narratives and shows how rural contexts

par excellence speak to socio-cultural and historical patterns of meaning due to

their specific component of human-environment interaction.

We will explore the application of archaeological methods such as survey, aerial

photography, GIS and archaeological excavation to an area of persistently

contested borders. The little spot in the Bohemian Forest where our story unfolds

witnessed the Hussite Wars of the 15 century, the Kingdom of Bohemia,

Habsburg rule in the 16 century, the Thirty Years´ War, the Great War of the 20

century, the Great Depression, World War II and Nazi occupation, the

Communist Era just behind the Iron Curtain, the Velvet Revolution and a

contemporary existence in the European Union. Through the examination of

material remains - including structures, artefacts and the traces of state forest

and land management practices - we weave a narrative through these large

events that can speak to the dynamics of perpetual displacement, depopulation,

economic decline and identity tensions.