Overview
- Archaeologists working for the D35 highway project near Hradec Králové uncovered an intact Celtic settlement about 25 hectares in size.
- Teams have logged more than 22,000 finds that include hundreds of gold and silver coins, coin molds, jewelry, workshop areas, house remains, and possible sanctuaries.
- Specialists date the site to the La Tène period, roughly the 3rd to 1st centuries BCE, and note the lack of fortifications points to a commercial focus.
- Amber, fine pottery, and evidence of skilled local production show long-distance trade and a role on the Amber Route linking the Baltic and the Mediterranean.
- Researchers report little modern disturbance or looting, which allows unusually complete study as excavation and analysis continue under museum leadership.