Archaeologists have made another unexpected discovery in Kateřinská Cave in the Moravian Karst. During a tour of the cave’s main dome, researchers from Palacký University in Olomouc found further evidence of a medieval coin-making workshop.
“These are metal plates with holes of the same appearance and origin as those found in the unnamed passage during recent archaeological research,” explained Petr Zajíček, a specialist from the Czech Caves Administration (SJ). “What is shocking, however, is that the plates were found in the vicinity of a flat, broken-off boulder in close proximity to the tour route. For almost 500 years, people have walked around these medieval artifacts, and since 1910, groups of visitors to Kateřinská Cave have walked around them. The plates were found loose in cracks along the boulder.”
The archaeologists from Palacký University made the discovery with the participation of a specialist from the Czech State Archaeological Service. “A special analysis of the surface of the boulder was also carried out. It is likely that the boulder could have been the very place where in the 15th century coiners stamped blanks from metal sheets for the production of coins,” said Zajíček.
The find is yet another valuable result of archaeological research in this important location. “We would like the archaeological research of Kateřinská Cave to continue. We believe that this is far from the last artifact of ancient history that this place has yielded,” said Milan Jan Půček, director of the Czech Archaeological Service.
Special archaeological tours of Kateřinská Cave, open to the general public, will begin this Sunday, 29 March, at 10 am and 12 pm, taking place on the last Sunday of each month. Unlike the classic tours focused on geology or the cave’s legends, the new tours will present the caves as an interesting and significant location from an archaeologist’s perspective.
Participants in these tours will have the opportunity to see the most notable prehistoric drawings on the walls, and will be introduced in detail to the history of archaeological research in the Kateřinská Cave from the mid-19th century to the present day, including the methodology of radiocarbon dating. At the end of the tour, they will be able to try sifting clay on a sieve themselves.
The tour, which includes the surprising new findings, will last approximately 60 minutes. Due to limited capacity, tickets must be purchased in advance on the cave website.
The main cave tours, which include the 95×44 metre Main Dome, are open to tourists every day in March except Mondays, with tours at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm. In April, tours will be every hour from 9am to 4pm.
