The Archaeological Areas of Prague Castle: a Laboratory for the Development of Methods and Documentation in Heritage Preservation.
Abstract
Prague Castle houses nine areas containing archaeological heritage from the medieval and early modern periods. They were created between the 1920s and 1960s and each of them requires specific attention.
Mostly these areas contain structures of limestone, sandstone, wood and the remains of terrain, such as earthen ramparts. None of these areas can be accessed by the public and all show specific micro-climatic conditions.
Based on regular monitoring, a new concept of diagnostics and care was processed in 2018. In collaboration with Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences and other institutions, we started to document the state and stability of the relics anew.
The spread of wood-destroying fungi and their elimination represents an individual problem. It appears that we have two possibilities if we want to sustain at least the current state: either to conserve the organic remains and thereby change their material substance and authenticity or to document them perfectly and cover them up with soil again.
At the same time, we try to make these areas accessibly virtually in the internet.