Roudnice; Archaeological Methods and Historical Narratives in the Bohemian Forest (Czech Republic)
Author(s): Jadranka Verdonkschot
Year: 2025
Summary
This is an abstract from the "On Both Sides of the Atlantic: Historical Archaeology of Rural Modernization from the American and European Traditions" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
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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<sup>th</sup> century, the Kingdom of Bohemia, Habsburg rule in the 16<sup>th</sup> century, the Thirty Years´ War, the Great War of the 20<sup>th</sup> 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.
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Cite this Record
Roudnice; Archaeological Methods and Historical Narratives in the Bohemian Forest (Czech Republic). Jadranka Verdonkschot. Presented at The 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2025 ( tDAR id: 510485)
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Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 53113