On July 31, 2026, the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, presented the ROMAN LEGACY project, as a project partner, and its main themes at the jubilee 20th year of the International Celtic Culture Festival Lughnasad.
Lughnasad is a two-day historical and cultural festival inspired by the Celtic festival of harvest and harvest. It takes place annually in the open-air museum Země Celtů in Nasavrky near Chrudim, in the Železné Mountains area, and combines living history, demonstrations of ancient crafts and combat techniques, professional lectures, workshops, a musical program, rituals and activities for families with children. It is one of the most significant events of its kind in the Czech Republic and is regularly visited by several thousand people, approximately four thousand visitors. The jubilee year was also attended by several hundred reenactors and more than a hundred volunteers.
The ROMAN LEGACY project was presented through the information stand of the Mušov Visitor Center – Gateway to the Roman Empire and the accompanying professional and interactive program. Visitors to the stand could learn about the goals of the project, which aims to jointly present, interpret and make accessible the Roman cultural heritage in the Danube region and to develop a transnational thematic region and a cultural trail along the Roman border on the Danube.
Information and activities related to the project brought visitors closer to the importance of South Moravia in Roman times and its involvement in a wider network of cultural and trade contacts between the territory of the Roman Empire and areas beyond its borders. The inclusion of the project topics in a program focused on Celtic culture made it possible to show mutual contacts and cultural ties between the Celts, Germans and Romans and to present the Roman heritage as a common part of European history.
The program included a lecture block “The World of Luxury”, in which Mgr. Alina Szabová and Mgr. Petra Dragonidesová, Ph.D., presented a magnificent Germanic jewel and enamel Roman buckles. Through selected archaeological finds, visitors became acquainted with the manifestations of the prestige, taste and craftsmanship of that time, as well as with the long-distance contacts that connected the Germanic environment of South Moravia with the Roman world.
The expert lectures were complemented by interactive and creative activities for children and adults, inspired by antiquity and ancient crafts. Visitors could create their own buckle or make a seal. These activities made it possible to convey the project’s themes in an accessible and experiential form and supported the public’s interest in the common Roman heritage.
Participation in the festival contributed to the promotion of the ROMAN LEGACY project (DRP0300976) outside the project partner’s own events and made it possible to reach a new, large audience with an interest in archaeology, history and living cultural heritage. At the same time, it showed the possibilities of connecting professional knowledge with interactive forms of presentation, which are important for creating an attractive and understandable offer of the prepared thematic region and cultural trail.
