There’s a hole in the middle of Prague, and we want you to know
what’s in it. The early 1980s metro station at Národní třída is
the scene of a fascinating archaeological dig that we’ll be
visiting in this month’s Science Journal. The Národní třída
metro station that most of us know was a metaphorical hole even
before the dig – a line of fast food kiosks between two chrome
and plastic socialist structures that was a favourite stomping
ground for beggars and winos. Plans to develop the plaza for
office and shopping space has peeled back the grimy surface of
this historic part of Prague to reveal century after century of
history in strata that can be read like a book back to the
1100s. Here to do that for me is Polish archaeologist Tomasz
Cymbalak, who is heading the dig. “What we see in front of us
are the remains of the townhouses that used to be here. There
are five of them here, and the way they looked changed from
small houses of townspeople to larger buildings that were built
further back from the street.