Jan Rulf Award

The Jan Rulf Award, awarded since 1999, is a unique initiative that supports students and young researchers in archaeology and related fields. The competition is open to authors from the Czech Republic and EU; they can submit their work themselves, or if they are hesitant, their institution can do it for them. In this way, the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague allows young experts to highlight their work, the topics they are addressing and new approaches to their topics. Submitted works are evaluated in two groups: in the so-called main competition (published works and doctoral theses) and in the group of Master’s and Bachelor’s theses. This gives students at the very beginning of their academic career their first chance to win awards. There is currently no similar competition for archaeology and related disciplines in the Czech Republic.

The evaluation committee, which is appointed ad hoc by the Director of the Institute of Archaeology of the CAS, Prague, is always composed of experts with different specialisations, whether on specific sections of our history or on diverse cross-cutting themes.

Basic conditions for the competition:

• the publication must represent an original theoretical work in the field of archaeology and related fields;
• the author is no more than 36 years old at the time of publication/completion of the work and is a citizen of an EU country. If the work has more than one author, this condition applies to all authors;
• the proposal for inclusion in the competition is submitted by the author or the institution;
• one institution may submit a maximum of five publications in each category (up to five publications or PhD theses and five Master’s and/or Bachelor’s theses).

Additional criteria are always published at the official opening of the particular competition. The committee determines the order of publications, the first three publications are awarded financially.

The evaluation committee will recommend selected works for publication in the Institute’s journals.

The Call for applications for the 2025 edition of the competition is currently open until 31 March 2025.
More information can be found here: https://www.arup.cas.cz/en/awards-call-for-applications-for-the-jan-rulf-prize/

PhDr. Jan Rulf, CSc. (March 3rd, 1952 – April 2nd, 1997)
Jan Rulf belonged among prominent scientists of the IAP, specialising in the New Stone Age (Neolithic). However, above all, his scientific interests and expertise were extensive. He participated in the fieldwork and management of the field base in Bylany u Kutná Hora (a well-known field base established by Bohumil Soudský focusing on research of the Neolithic). In his dissertation, published in 1983, he established himself as one of the founders of environmental archaeology in Czechoslovakia and later on, he influenced generations of researchers. He was a keen advocate of the application of computers in archaeological research. He was appointed Deputy Director of the Institute of Archaeology in Prague in 1993. Unfortunately, J. Rulf died in his prime when he could have capitalised on all the experience he had gained as a teacher and an internationally recognised expert. To honour his memory, a competition open to junior archaeologists has been established and dedicated to him.