Experts are not pleased with Pleskot's project for the Závist location

Akropolis Závist - Presentification (source: atelier of Josef Pleskot)

Prague – The Czech National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ČNK ICOMOS) opposes the construction at the site of the Celtic settlement Závist, located in the cadastre of Dolní Břežany near Prague. They specifically objected to the proposed project Akropolis Závist – Presentification, which they claim threatens the heritage value of the archaeological site. Experts also perceive the observation tower being built by the municipality in the area as problematic, claiming it is unnecessarily tall and expansive. Representatives of the committee conveyed this to ČTK today.

According to the regional councilor for culture Václav Švenda (Allies), the Presentification project is in the study phase, and the region, along with the Institute of Archaeological Heritage Conservation of Central Bohemia and the author of the design, architect Josef Pleskot, wants to introduce it to the public by the end of the year.

The region stated in a press release that the project concerning Závist is part of the conception to expand the operation of the Information Center for Celtic Culture, and next Monday, the Central Bohemian Archaeological Commission will familiarize experts with it, followed by the public by the end of the year. According to the region, the project is not yet the subject of discussions with any state administration body.

According to ČNK ICOMOS, the project involves covering the historically most significant area with a layer of gravel, crushed stone, and colored reinforced concrete slabs, which are supposed to resemble the floor plans of archaeological objects hidden beneath the fill. "The project, through concrete sarcophagi, seems to associate the method of conserving the Chernobyl nuclear reactor with the tools of Czech heritage conservation. Nowhere in the world will we encounter a similar form at comparable sites," stated Martin Horáček, a member of the international scientific committees of ICOMOS, from the Department of Art History at Palacký University in Olomouc and the Institute of Heritage Conservation at the Faculty of Architecture of the Brno University of Technology. The president of the Czech ICOMOS committee, Václav Girsa, added that the oppidum of Závist is one of the few undeveloped archaeological sites in the Czech Republic and that the proposed project would fundamentally threaten the value of this national cultural monument.

According to the national committee ICOMOS, the project is also contrary to almost all relevant international heritage conservation documents and has called for the construction under the project in its current form to be halted. However, it supports a discussion leading to finding "an optimal and dignified conception of the Akropolis space," Girsa stated.

According to Horáček, the current construction of the observation tower is also problematic due to its size. In this regard, the region stated that it is conducting professional supervision during its construction through the Institute of Archaeological Heritage Conservation. According to the director of the institute, Irena Benková, the feet of the observation tower are anchored in the rock and do not disturb the archaeological situation, and all excavations for electricity are carried out along older dug routes.