The University of Hradec Králové's Research Center aims for top-notch archaeological research
Author: Jakub Novák, UHK Spokesman
The Center for Field Archaeology (CETA) has been operating at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Hradec Králové (FF UHK) since 2018. This young research center has already achieved several significant successes with its activities and has established itself as a prominent Czech archaeological workplace. On June 23, 2023, it commenced operations in newly renovated laboratories in Hradec Králové, which employ two dozen experts.
"CETA, a significant player in the field of archaeological heritage care not only in Eastern Bohemia, has earned its dignified premises in the form of new facilities. The reconstruction of these facilities in Víta Nejedlého Street cost us approximately 11 million Czech crowns," says Jan Prouza, the dean of FF UHK.
The center's operation is and will continue to be fully funded through contractual research. Its offer is indeed varied.
"Currently, CETA employs twenty experts divided into three departments. The new laboratories boast advanced equipment for archaeological analyses, such as X-ray, CT, magnetometer, devices for optical and 3D microscopy, or for geochemical analyses," continues the head of the center, archaeologist Ladislav Rytíř, and adds: "In the Czech Republic, it is one of the few such conceptually designed workplaces."
The activities of the Center for Field Archaeology at FF UHK operate on three levels, each offering unique opportunities. The first level is the conceptual connection of theoretical teaching of archaeological research methods and practical skills that students should acquire during their studies. The workplace provides a platform for students to immerse themselves in the current reality of archaeological research, both rescue and investigative. 
The second level is providing conditions for research activities specifically for the Department of Archaeology FF UHK. CETA offers facilities for addressing scientific questions and tasks within a single institution. Finally, the third level is strengthening the network of archaeological workplaces that conduct rescue archaeological research in the region in cooperation with locally relevant museums. Thus, CETA collaborates to ensure archaeological heritage care in the Eastern Bohemia region.
"This way, we have been involved in several rescue research projects in the field in the Hradec Králové region each year. An example could be an extensive survey on the route of the future D35 highway between Sadová and Hořice," concludes archaeologist Ladislav Rytíř from UHK.
