Medieval silver mining area Havírna near Štěpánov nad Svratkou: Documentation in 2017–2019 and the issue of its interpretation

Abstract

The thirteenth and fourteenth-century silver mining and processing site in the forest of Havírna is located 2.1 kilometres north-east of Štěpánov nad Svratkou in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and is among the best-preserved medieval mining sites in the Czech lands. The archaeological part of the current research project focuses on the precision surveying of the site using land-based laser terrain scanning. The outputs – a plan with the basic contour interval of 20 cm and a spatial visualisation – enable further characterisation of the whole complex of stopes. The ore accumulations were mined in three core shaft zones, within which the 13th/14th-century mine workings occupied a total area of 20.5 ha. The mine workings were accompanied by large contemporary mining settlements in several parts of the site and technical and administrative facilities and features were also detected. A parallel detector survey evidenced a rich, specific culture of the mining milieu as well as advanced technologies used for the exploitation and processing of ores. The remains of satellite and exploration mining activities in the wider area are also documented. The current study highlights the major potential of this site for research into medieval precious metal mining in a wider European context.