Experts are uncovering the remnants of a church in the center of Plzeň, due to a gallery

Kuba - Pilař Architekti, project of the new building of the West Bohemian Gallery

Plzeň - The remains of the hospital church of St. Mary Magdalene from the early 14th century have been uncovered by archaeologists in the center of Plzeň for the second day. They began their research at the U Zvonu site in the city center, where a new building of the West Bohemian Gallery is set to be constructed. Experts consider the site significant, as the church was founded very shortly after the establishment of the city. The remains of the sanctuary are not of first interest; an investigation of the site was conducted after World War II. Jiří Orna, an archaeologist from the West Bohemian Museum, said this to ČTK.
    "Our work began at the location of the church, which stood from the establishment of the hospital in 1320 until its dissolution during Joseph II's reforms. On its site, a classicist house of the bell maker Perner was built," Orna stated. The new building was hit by an aerial bomb during World War II, and while clearing the debris, it was discovered that it partly stood and was partly formed directly by the construction of the church.
    The first uncovering of the church's remains occurred in 1946. At that time, the so-called holozdi method was used, where the walls were completely cleaned. "This destroyed all stratigraphic relationships that we could possibly study today," added the archaeologist. On the other hand, there is a very thorough geodetic survey from that time, which the experts are now relying on.
    The area being worked on will not be excavated during the construction of the gallery. The exploratory research will therefore serve to assess the stability of the building. "The goal is to uncover relics or remnants of the church and determine how the foundation of the gallery building will be addressed. In this part, it is a revision research, where we will excavate what has already been excavated and conduct a new professional evaluation," Orna said.
    In the next phase of the research, the work will move to the area of the former apartment building, where no research has yet been done. "Because the hospital chapel was adjacent to a cemetery, we expect that the remains of the cemetery may have survived there," Orna added. In this part, the gallery will have two underground floors. "However, we will not go that deep. The moment we reach sterile substrate, we will conclude the research," he added. The cemetery and its enclosing wall are recorded on a map from the late 18th century.
    By the end of the year, archaeologists will examine approximately 80 percent of the area of the future gallery. Their work is currently complicated by engineering networks that run across the site. Not even 26 approximately eight-year-old plane trees have disappeared from the plot, which will need to be cut down. It is already too late for transplanting the trees. A wait is also necessary for the decision regarding the tram loop that is adjacent to the site and is to be renewed.