New metal and glass finds from the Late Iron Age in South Moravia (CZ). The contribution of citizen science to knowledge of the La Tene settlement structure in the Břeclav Region

Abstract

The ‘Celts Beneath the Pálava Hills’ exhibition was installed at the end of the summer of 2020 at the Regional Museum in Mikulov. The museum prepared the exhibition in cooperation with the Moravian Museum and the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno. Along with other unique exhibits, an assemblage of 70 metal artefacts stored in Dolní Dunajovice in the study collection of the Research Centre for the Roman and Great Migration periods of the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, was chosen to be displayed for this event. The article presents 47 small artefacts made of copper alloys, 18 coins and five glass artefacts from 17 cadastral units, which enriched the exhibition with a variety of characteristic LT C and D1 finds. They do not form a complete collection, as their common denominator is that they were found in 2011–2017 solely by metal detectorists working together with the archaeologists from the workplace where the finds are stored. These never-before-published artefacts and the qualities of each deserve to be presented both to the public and the professional community. These artefacts include finds which, in the context of the Late Iron Age of south Moravia, are unique objects (including two bronze figurines) that are significant contributions to the clarification and differentiation of the topography of the La Tene settlement structure in the studied region.

Archaeology, Metal Detecting, and Citizen Science in the Czech Republic

“…However, these considerations generally remained at the level of ethical condemnation and depictions of disappointment, without any efficient attempt to formulate an effective and realistic approach toward metal detecting that could be generally accepted both within the archaeological and, to some extent, the detectorist community. Nevertheless, a part of the archaeological community, probably due to natural generational transformation, gradually adopted a pragmatic—albeit not particularly enthusiastic and not too publicly accentuated—approach, which was willing to “quietly” admit to receiving finds either on loan or as a donation to an archaeological institute and publishing them (e.g., Goláňová et al 2020; Komoróczy et al 2014, 2017, 2019; Vích 2011, 2013; Zeman 2017). No other approach was possible given that increasing numbers of professionals were gradually confronted with thousands of detectorists prospecting the country's archaeological sites.…”

“…Given that neither the legal framework nor the real possibilities of archaeology allow for the application of systemic financial compensation of responsible detectorists, we try to create other benefits for them. These include the attempt to break down communication barriers and, of course, mention the names of the finders, either in publications or, for example, exhibition projects (for a model, see Goláňová et al 2020). We also organize thematic meetings and lectures with invited specialists, conduct joint surveys, invite collaborators for our field research, and organize excursions to archaeological monuments and exhibitions.…”

How post-fire succession shapes psammophilous ground-dwelling assemblages: effect of wildfire and alteration in food composition.

“…The temperate lowland regions with sandy soils in South Moravia, Czech Republic, have been under cultivation since the Neolithic era (Kuča et al 2012;Goláňová et al 2020). Historical records document settlements near the Morava River terraces dating back to the 13 th century (Čižmar and Danielisová 2021).…”