FF ∙ News ∙08/07/2026

Award for the Archaeological research of War Graves from 1866

Award for the Archaeological research of War Graves from 1866

On Sunday, 5 July 2026, the War Museum 1866 at Chlum hosted a ceremony during which commemorative plaques for Care for War Graves, awarded by the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic, were presented. The awards were given to members of the team involved in the rescue archaeological excavation along the route of the future D35 motorway.

The excavation took place in 2024 within the protected heritage zone of the Hradec Králové battlefield. The expert direction of the research was provided by the Philosophical Faculty, University of Hradec Králové. A specially established team of experts focused on war graves, composed of specialists from the Centre for Field Archaeology, Philosophical Facult, UHK, and the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové, was coordinated by archaeologist Mgr. Matouš Holas, Ph.D., and anthropologist Mgr. Marcela Erbanová.

Over several months of fieldwork, 12 war graves were excavated and documented. The research has brought new insights into the fate of 62 victims of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and has also contributed to the dignified care of their memory. Detailed analyses are still ongoing, and we can therefore look forward to further, certainly interesting, results from a range of scientific disciplines.

Further fieldwork and documentation were carried out by Mgr. Viktor Vojtěch, Mgr. Lukáš Procházka, Bc. Patrik Tesař, Tomáš Kašpar, and Oldřich Trávníček.

We warmly congratulate all the awardees and thank them for their work.