Doklady bojovej činnosti z obdobia 2. svetovej vojny v priestore medzi Trnavou a Trstínom (juhozápadné Slovensko). Možnosti aplikácie metódy KOCOA

At the recent time, the battlefield archaeology belongs to the slowly developing and establishing branches of Slovak archaeology. Thank to only few zealous researches gains this field of interest consistently more attractiveness among researchers. The main efforts are concentrated on describing and documentation of military activities or preservation and protection of battlefield relics. Nevertheless, researchers abroad focus on different issues and use spatial analyses to reconstruct or understand strategies of combatants. In the following text we try to demonstrate one of these analyses known as KOCOA. An area between Trnava and Trstín (South-western Slovakia) where on April 1945 German military troops tried to stop advancing Soviet units was chosen as a model area. By means of KOCOA analysis we will try to predict locations which were considered appropriate for defence. These locations, confronted with LiDAR-derived images, can provide evidence of field fortifications which can be subjected to subsequent scientific research, preservation and protection.

The Fortification of the Firth of Forth 1880–1977

This book describes the story of the great Forth Fortress from 1880 to 1977, when the final traditional defensive capabilities were abandoned. The authors combine archival sources with new fieldwork and oral histories to not only describe what was built, but when and why. This meticulously researched, richly illustrated volume relates the defences in the Forth to the wider political and military context and also describes the human side of the defences: the men and women who manned the fortress. This is a fascinating resource for those interested in Scottish military and naval history, and conflict and battlefield archaeology.

Burnswark Hill: the opening shot of the Antonine reconquest of Scotland?

This paper represents an interim report of the Burnswark Project that has utilised the techniques of battlefield archaeology to locate and accurately identify missiles across a substantial field of conflict in SW Scotland. The distribution, characteristics, dating and proposed historical context of these missiles are argued to support their use in a dramatic episode of ‘exemplary force’ by the Roman army. The magnitude of the event might be seen to be compatible with an emperor establishing his legitimacy as a military leader.

Medieval Battlefield Archaeology

This article discusses the role that archaeology is increasingly taking in the study of battlefields and siege sites in Britain. It notes the interdisciplinary nature of the approach, integrating documentary with physical evidence, to understand both the events and their landscape context. Particular attention is given to the character of battle-related archaeology; techniques for its investigation, especially metal-detecting; and its potential to advance the understanding of warfare in general. To inform future work, key research objectives are identified and consideration is also given to the threats faced by the resource and the conservation management needs that must be met if the full archaeological potential of these sites is to be realized.

Far Behind the Front

The ascent of Sweden as a major military power in Northern Europe in the seventeenth century is forever connected to the Thirty Years War. The story of King Gustavus Adolphus, and battles like Breitenfeld, Lech, Lützen, and Nördlingen mark the real beginning of the Swedish Age of Greatness. In recent decades battlefield archaeology has proved important in describing these events, widening our understanding of the military actions and their effects on local populations. This chapter focuses on Jönköping, a Swedish town where the early modern period has been examined archaeologically over three decades. This town can be used as a metaphor for Sweden during the seventeenth century as the inherent weakness of the new empire becomes evident. Events here exemplify both the visions held by the absolutist state and their consequences for ordinary people. The chapter also provides a background to the mobilization of local resources and logistics that made the Swedish war effort of 1627–48 possible.