Archaeologists near Hulín discovered a campsite of Roman soldiers

Hulín (Kroměřížsko) - Archaeologists discovered a field marching camp of the Roman army during the construction surveys for the D1 motorway near Pravčice in the Kroměříž region. According to Jaroslav Peška, director of the Archaeological Center in Olomouc, the find indicates a new Moravian road that has not yet been defined by historians. Today, the significant discovery was presented to the public.
    Roman soldiers likely resided between Hulín and Pravčice during the so-called Marcomannic wars, in the second half of the second century AD.
    In the past, archaeologists have encountered several finds from the Roman period, including Roman bricks in Mikulčice. Some bricks are also embedded in the St. Michael's Church in the Old Town area of Uherské Hradiště. "This shows a very deep and intense penetration of the Roman army into the then Barbaricum," said Peška.
    Martin Palus, the head of the archaeological research on the D1 motorway construction, told ČTK and Czech Radio today that among the discovered rarities near Hulín is primarily a Roman trench dating from between 65 and 145 AD. Historians also found the grave of an approximately 18-year-old young man who lived around the time of the Great Migration. In the grave, about twenty various votive offerings were discovered, most of them made of bronze.
    The found objects are now in the Archaeological Center in Olomouc. Most of the ceramics were broken, so experts must first clean and glue them together. The discovered items will then be exhibited in museums.
    At the site where archaeologists are currently searching, construction workers are expected to start working in 2008. The entire section of the future motorway from the eastern edge of Kroměříž to Říkovice, about 11 kilometers long, will likely be opened in 2010.