Paleontology

The fossils in the Kutná Hora and Čáslav regions are mainly bound to sedimentary rocks of the upper Cretaceous period, more precisely the Cenomanian and lower Turon periods. As early as the 19th century, particularly the locations Kaňk and Kamajka became famous through their diverse fossil associations of the swell facies, becoming the source of the most interesting part of the paleontological collection of the Czech Museum of Silver. A unique section is composed of the remains of the Quaternary mammals, which were discovered in the loess in Kutná Hora and the vicinity. The entire set is supplemented by specimen from various other locations, both Czech and foreign.

The core of the collection was formed of the sample collection of Alois Horáček, a Kutná Hora’s teacher, which was acquired by Vocel Archaeological Society in the late 19th century. Occassionally, it was replenished by new acquisitions. The paleontological sub-collection currently comprises nearly 1200 collection items registered under more than 400 inventory and accession numbers. It has recently been extended by the purchase of the collection from the deceased estate of RNDr. František Novák, the processing of which shall require a longer time.

The inventoried collection items are accessible in the on-line catalogue.