Mikulčice: Construction of the archaeological base is still not in sight

Mikulčice (Hodonín region) - Archaeologists from Mikulčice in the Hodonín region, whose base was destroyed by fire last September, are still working in temporary conditions. The situation is unlikely to improve in the near future. The problem is not a lack of money for the construction of a new building. The project is being blocked by protracted negotiations regarding the form of the archaeological base. The construction will cost approximately 25 million crowns.
    "We are still living in temporary conditions. We do not have a depository, and we are also missing laboratories. The situation is quite unpleasant. Therefore, we need to start building the base as soon as possible,” said Lumír Pavlíček, the head of the Mikulčice archaeological team, to ČTK today.
    Documents proposing the start of construction for the building were submitted to the authorities four months ago. The South Moravian Region and the Ministry of Culture are negotiating about it. Another meeting will take place next week.
    Questions regarding the extent to which the base should be restored remain unresolved. There is also discussion about the design of the building, which should be located, similarly to the original, in the center of the archaeological site located on the former Great Moravian fortification Valy.
    Both the South Moravian Region and the ministry have great plans for this location. Mikulčice with its excavations and the nearby Slovak Kopčany with the oldest church in Central Europe are intended to form the Mikulčice-Kopčany archaeological park in the future. They are currently negotiating the inclusion of this site on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Whether the area will be successful will be known in 2009.
    A question remains, for example, whether the base should even be part of the complex. "We are firmly convinced that science must be connected with exhibitions as it is in Mikulčice. It is beneficial for both sides,” Pav