On the trail of medieval mining
For more than a year and a half, Petr Mikšíček's team from Best Sequence followed the work of the international and interdisciplinary ArchaeoMontan project, which deals with the research, documentation and presentation of medieval mining artefacts in the Ore Mountains. Underground and above ground, in the forest and in the city, in the office, in the laboratory but also in the archive... what are the scientific methods and are there any similarities to the work of medieval prospectors or even miners?
Silver rush and mountain clamour
Around 1200, the Margraviate of Meissen is in the midst of a silver rush. Shortly before this, Margrave Otto granted freedom of mining, meaning that anyone was free to mine for precious metals. This news triggers the "First Mining Frenzy" and brings a stream of fortune-seekers to the Ore Mountains. Mines and mining towns are established in many places, bringing the margrave so much prosperity that he later goes down in the history books as Otto the Rich.
In search of silver
After the first silver discoveries near Christiansdorf, later Freiberg in Saxony, around 1168, silver fever breaks out in the Ore Mountains. This era would later become known as the "First Mountain Scream". Prospectors roamed the hills and valleys in search of further ore deposits. This short film by the ArchaeoMontan Objective 3 project on geology and medieval prospecting shows how to imagine this search for silver.
Dendrochronology
Dating is of the utmost importance in archaeology. Only if the age of a site is known exactly can it be correctly categorised. The most precise method available for this is dendrochronological dating. This dating method can be used to date wood that is up to 14,000 years old to the exact year.
This film explains the basics and shows the application in mining archaeology in the Ore Mountains, where numerous pieces of wood in medieval mines have been excellently preserved.
The method described is also used, among other things, in the international Objective 3 project ArchaeoMontan.
New film about the ArchaeoMontan project:
Archaeology with drone and laser
In the course of the medieval "first mining rush", many mining towns emerged in the Ore Mountains, which were often abandoned again after a brief period of prosperity.
The ArchaeoMontan Objective 3 project is investigating some of these abandoned sites, such as the deserted town of Fürstenberg/Hohenforst near Kirchberg in Saxony and the newly discovered settlement of Kremsiger (Chomutov district) in the Czech Republic.
While archaeological excavations are taking place at Kremsiger, documentation is being carried out in Hohenforst using non-invasive methods. This short film from SpiegelOnline presents the methods and instruments used.
"Eerie things in Dipps" The Junior World Heritage Ambassadors
The group of Junior World Heritage Ambassadors has existed in Dippoldiswalde since 2022. It emerged from the ArchaeoMontan@School project of the Saxony State Office for Archaeology and consists of pupils from Dippoldiswalde schools. Every year, various activities and events are organised with and for the juniors. In August 2024, a short film was created that eight boys from the group designed and shot themselves - from the script to the dialogue, the design of the characters and the filming in the town and MiBERZ to drawing the scenery, speaking the texts, selecting the music and the opening and closing credits. The film tells the story of a little mountain spirit who is awakened after more than 800 years by the floods of 2002. In this way, the film audience learns in passing what was found in the medieval mines under Dippoldiswalde and is thus also made curious about Dippoldiswalde and the Museum of Medieval Mining in the Ore Mountains (MiBERZ).
