ŠÁRKA VALLEY

An elevated settlement on the summit of Šesták Rock, a rocky promontory protruding above the valley from Liboc on the east, was the centre of the prehistoric settlement in the valley of the Šárka Stream. The local findings gave name to the middle Neolithic (about 5500 BCE) pottery, Šárka type pottery, presenting one of the most beautiful prehistoric products in Central Europe and the icons of Prague archaeology. The landscape above the Šárka Stream and today’s Džbán Reservoir uncovered findings which prove its continual settlement throughout prehistoric times; the micro region settlement culminated during the Middle Hillfort Period (roughly 8th–9th centuries) when a large and robust fortification, undoubtedly the centre of power of a Bohemian prince prior to the Duchy of Bohemia, was built on the opposite massif with the Kozák Rock summit. Šárka Hillfort was part of the earlier horizon of hillforts in the Prague basin (along with Prague-Butovice and Prague-Bohnice) whose importance in the mid-9th century waned when their role devolved upon mainly Prague Castle and Levý Hradec, localities historically connected with the Přemyslid dynasty.