AMS measurements of the Calva from Čáslav presented at the exhibition

The NPI is involved in the research of the so-called Calva from Čáslav, a skull relic attributed to the famous military leader Jan Žižka, and other artefacts found together with the skull.

In 2022 and 2023, the radiocarbon dating team from the Department of Radiation Dosimetry (ODZ) performed measurements on the sample using the MILEA accelerator mass spectrometer. The purpose of the measurements was to determine the age of the calva and to confirm or refute the hypothesis that the calva may have belonged to the author of the chariot wall strategy.

Radiocarbon dating showed that the calva probably belonged to a contemporary of Žižka who died around 1424, the same year as the famous commander's fall at Přibyslav.

It is interesting to note that only 1.6 mg of pure carbon, obtained mechanically and chemically from less than half a gram of a fragment of the occipital bone, was sufficient to measure with AMS MILEA.

The methods and results of the NPI measurements are now being presented at an exhibition in Čáslav. This year the town is commemorating the 600th anniversary of Žižka's death. More information about the anniversary can be found at https://janzizka600.cz/.