Michal Lutovský
19th century archeology: a heaven of fiction and a hell of errors
Out of all the erroneous interpretations and fictitious constructions that to a large extent accompanied the beginnings of Czech archeology, this paper focuses on two discoveries from the 1850s and 1860s. The first example primarily involves fictitious old Slav ‘rune’ Out of all the erroneous interpretations and fictitious constructions that to a large extent accompanied the beginnings of Czech archeology, this paper focuses on two discoveries from the 1850s and 1860s. The first example primarily involves fictitious old Slav ‘rune’ inscriptions. Václav Krolmus believed a modern era cellar discovered in 1852 at Skalsko near Mladá Boleslav to be a pagan shrine. He even read extensive ‘rune’ inscriptions on two stones which he associated with worship of an imaginary Slavonic god of the underworld in that place. Another archeological error involves the mistaken interpretation and dating of a princely grave from the 9th century discovered in 1864 in Kolín. As the grave contained inter alia a silver goblet, the discovery was mistakenly associated with a utraquist environment and the grave was supposedly that of Hussite commander Prokop Holý, who fell at the Battle of Lipany in 1434. Hence the goblet, a work of Carolingian art, was made into a missal chalice for the Kolín Evangelical Union.
archeology – runes – chalice
design by Bedřich Vémola
