Experts from the Archaeological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) have uncovered eight long columnar structures dating back some 7,000 years on the planned route of the Prague ring road near Nupaky in Central Bohemia, CAS’s Eliska Zvolankova told CTK.
They also explored a part of a village from the 5th century BC.
Construction of the missing part of the Prague ring road between Bechovice and the D1 motorway begins today, with the section due to be completed in 2027. Archaeological research will continue.
Archaeologists have discovered numerous relics from the Late Stone Age to the High Middle Ages in the vicinity of the villages of Lipany, Kuri and Nupaky. The oldest uncovered objects are eight long columnar structures, which are dated to the era between the end of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Eneolithic, roughly the second half of the 6th millennium BC. There were also common storage pits at the settlement, some of which experts believe were secondarily used as waste pits. Other finds also prove the presence of a local workshop for the processing of polished stone manufacturing, said Monika Psohlavcova, the head of the research team from the Institute of Archaeology.
Archaeologists also explored a part of the village from the Hallstatt period, in which the houses were partially buried in the ground. The experts uncovered ten of these half-earth houses and a number of other settlement pits, troughs, and remains of above-ground structures. The excavation found items from daily life including small iron and bronze tools as well as clay and glass beads. Also notable, according to the researchers, is the discovery of a kylix handle – a popular wine-drinking vessel in the Adriatic region – which, together with the glass beads, demonstrates contact between the local inhabitants and the Mediterranean, probably mediated. Together with the discovery of bronze horse ornaments, this testifies to the presence of a higher-ranking member of the local community, said Psohlavcova.
The archaeologists also found evidence of metalwork.
In another part of the excavated section, experts uncovered several dozen pits, mostly circular in diameter and measuring two to five metres. They date back to the 13th century and were probably related to prospecting or gold mining.
Archaeologists began surveying the construction route this May. Since then, they have examined more than 9,000 archaeological objects. The planned highway passes through an area that has been traversed and inhabited by people since prehistoric times. The Prague ring road, a key transport structure in the country, will be 83 kilometres long when completed, and will link ten motorways. Currently, about half of its length is in operation.
