During the summer months, excavation of the multi-period settlement in the field of Podbřežníky located at the south-western edge of the residential part of Mikulčice was conducted by Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno. The latest research was built on 2006-2008 excavation seasons when the site was first explored due to the new house construction plan. A new street was scheduled to be built this year and therefore the rescue excavation was carried out in this place. Tens of archaeological features of different time periods were uncovered in the area of 200×20 m. Like the previous excavations, the majority of the findings were dated to the Slavic period, specifically to the Great Moravian 9th century, as well as other features, which were dated back to the La Téne period, ca. 2nd – 3rd century BC. According to the preliminary considerations, some of the waste pits could be dated even to the Bronze Age or Late Stone Age. From the most interesting finds, we would like to mention Great Moravian dugout shelter with stone kiln and skeletal remains of four children, as well as several grain pits (one with horse skeletal remains) and stake construction feature from La Téne period with many amber fragments.
During the two weeks of Summer School of Archaeology, five students from Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia actively participated in the excavation where they learned about the fieldwork and modern methods of documentation (photogrammetry and GIS systems). They participated as well in obtaining the paleolobotanical material from the site and later joined the post-processes in laboratory, including the floatation. Students formed a good team and according to their feedback, they were all very pleased with Summer School in Mikulčice.
