Landscape Analysis of a Battlefield of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 near Hospital Kuks

Matouš Holas

doi:10.24916/iansa.2022.1.6

Abstract

The article presents the possibilities of landscape analysis based on historical and cartographic sources. The methods and procedures used produced important spatial information about a specific battlefield from the second half of the 19th century. This type of non-destructive research is for the first time applied to a battlefield of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 in the Hradec Králové region. The results of the analysis helped to find a place for a geophysical survey, which confirmed the location of a relic of field fortifications for the Austrian artillery near the baroque Hospital Kuks near Jaroměř. The results provide an important example for the implementation of similar methods in the research on modern battlefields in the Czech Republic.

Highlights

Archaeology of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 is a new research topic from recent years
IANSA 2022 ● XIII/1 ● 63–77 Matouš Holas: Landscape Analysis of a Battlefield of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 near Hospital Kuks landscape has not yet been analysed by the methods of nondestructive survey, so the results presented in this article might be a source of information for future research
The combination of fire range and viewshed analysis based on a digital elevation model and base map of the historical landscape in 1866 brought interesting results, which are illustrated on two elevation models with historical events during the artillery clash on 30th June 1866

Summary

Introduction

Archaeology of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 is a new research topic from recent years. Battlefield archaeology is usually targeted at the period from the 15th to the 18th centuries, but the research dedicated to the late 19th and 20th centuries represents one of the most dynamically developing sub-disciplines in the Czech Republic in the last two decades (Krajíc et al, 2017). Battlefield or Conflict Archaeology has been developing very dynamically in the last three decades and it brings many new research questions (and aims), both in the Czech Republic and elsewhere in Europe (Matoušek, Sýkora, 2018; Preusz, 2019). The main research aims, topics and archaeological questions concerning the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 were for the first time comprehensively presented only two years ago (Holas, 2019).

Results

Discussion

Conclusion