Project title: Riverine cultural landscape of the Jizera from the Mesolithic to the Early Middle Ages in the light of archaeological sources and hydrological data
Registration number: 22-05413S
Project schedule: 01/2022–12/2024
Recipient: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, Praha, v.v.i.
Provider: GA ČR
Programme: Standardní projekty GAČR
Project coordinator: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, Praha, v.v.i.
CZU Project leader: Ing. Václav Hradilek
Contact person: Ing. Petr Bašta
Total project budget: 2 463 000 CZK
Abstract:
In the proposed project, we would like to go beyond the imaginary boundary of research, which focuses only on the evaluation of river finds; we would like to concentrate on a broader area, defined as a riverine cultural landscape that is based on the term “Maritime Cultural Landscape” used to describe coastal regions (Hasslöf 1949; Westerdahl 1992, 6). In the inland environment, such regions can be defined as follows: “Riverine cultural landscape signifies human utilisation (economy) of riverine space by boat: settlement, fishing, hunting, shipping and its attendant subcultures, such as pilotage.” In our view, the riverine cultural landscape, therefore, includes anthropogenic influences manifested in the river and its immediate vicinity. Generally speaking, they comprise settlement activities on the shore and near the watercourse and other immovable and movable monuments in the river (river archaeological finds, bridge structures, etc.). However, since these manifestations are influenced by hydrological factors (flow strength) and the geomorphological structure of the riverbed, it is necessary to study the riverine cultural landscape in synergy with hydrological data.