101EULOGIES
In memo iam p o .PhD .Pe Cha á
(12.1.1949– 17.9.2023)
Ladisla Ba eš
Sho ly be o e his 75 h bi hday, P o esso Pe Cha á , along ‑ ime iend and collabo a o
o he Czech Ins i u e o Egyp ology, passed away. Al hough his li e and ca ee we e, o he
mos ime, connec ed wi h cunei o m s udies and ea ly medie al a chaeology and his o y o
he Czechia, he le asigni ican ace in he ield o Egyp ology as well.
S a ing om 1967, he s udied p ehis o y and his o y a he Facul y o A s o he Cha les
Uni e si y, mo ing la e o p ehis o y and cunei o m s udies (wi h p o .Lubo Ma ouš, him‑
sel apupil o F an išek H ozný, he deciphe e o Hi i e language,
1
and Vladimí Souček as his
eache s). Since 1971, he began o a end he Egyp ological classes as well, specialized cou ses
o Egyp ian a chaeology and ma e ial cul u e abo e all. Fo hisM.A. hesis, he chose a a he
la ge and he e ogenous se o po e y ha had been ound du ing he Czech a chaeological
wo k in he Fi h Dynas y mas aba o Vizie P ahshepses a Abusi du ing he p e ious yea s
( om 1960 o 1970) and we e unpublished un il hen (Cha á 1973).
1 On Lubo Ma ouš, see, e. g. H uška (1985) and Va oušek (2008).
Fig. 1 Pe Cha á examining
asmall po e y essel du ing his
wo k in he mas aba o P ahshepses
a Abusi in 1974 (A chi e o he
Czech Ins i u e o Egyp ology, pho o
Milan Zemina)
102 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXXI/2023
Fig. 2 Pe Cha á (wa ched by he au ho o his pape ) coun ing minia u e ce amic essels du ing
he exca a ions o he sou h ‑wes e n ou e co ne o he mas aba o P ahshepses a Abusi in 1974; his
“pe sonal bes ” eached o 948 such essels in one day (A chi e o he Czech Ins i u e o Egyp ology, pho o
Milan Zemina)
Fig. 3 Pe Cha á wi h o he membe s o he Czech a chaeological eam du ing a isi in he Saqqa a
Sou h py amid ield in 1974. F om he le o igh Pe Cha á , Jean ‑Phillipe Laue ( he hos ), F an išek
Váhala and Mi osla Ve ne in on o he Py amid Tex s in he bu ial chambe o Pepy I(A chi e o he
Czech Ins i u e o Egyp ology, pho o Milan Zemina)
103EULOGIES
G adua ing om he acul y in 1973, he go aone ‑yea s udy s ay in he Czechoslo ak In‑
s i u e o Egyp ology a he Facul y o A s o he Cha les Uni e si y. Du ing ha ime, he
p epa ed aPhD . hesis dealing, his ime, wi h he inds o he deco a ed po e y coming
om he mas aba o P ahshepses as an impo an sou ce o he s udy o he de elopmen o
his ype o po e y du ing 2nd and 1s millennia BC (Cha á 1974). In 1974, he ook pa in he
las and inal season o he a chaeological wo k in ha omb. Using his ho ough heo e ical
backg ound and his expe ience om he ield wo k a Abusi , he p epa ed no only ab ie
chap e on po e y o he P elimina y Repo on he Exca a ions a he Mas aba o P ahshepses
a Abusi (Cha á 1976), bu wo pape s on Egyp ian po e y (Cha á 1980; Cha á 1982) as
well. His p eoccupa ion wi h his kind o ma e ial om he omb o P ahshepses esul ed in
publishing a ho ough and de ailed analysis o i in The Mas aba o P ahshepses. The po e y in
1981, a olume use ul and aluable un il now (Cha á 1981).
Since 1975, he pu sued his ca ee a he Ins i u e o A chaeology and, since 1990, also
in he Ins i u e o O ien al S udies o he Czechoslo ak/Czech Academy o Sciences. He
ook ac i e pa in anumbe o a chaeological missions in he Nea Eas , such as he B i ish
mission in Djemde Nas in I aq (1989), he Czech a chaeological mission in Lebanon (since
1996) and he Spanish a chaeological mission in he sou h ‑eas e n Tu key ( o anumbe o
consecu i e yea s s a ing om 1996).2 Fo se e al yea s (1982 un il 1984) he pa icipa ed– as
2 He co ‑au ho ed se e al pape s (see e.g. Gil Fuensan a– Cha á 2004; Gil Fuensan a– Cha á 2006;
Cha á – Gil Fuensan a 2005; Gil Fuensan a– Cha á – C i elli 2008).
Fig. 4 Reis Abdo el ‑Ke e i o e ing some ood o Pe Cha á du ing amee ing o ganized by he el ‑Ka e i
amily o he membe s o he Czech a chaeological eam in 1974, wi h he au ho o his pape s wa ching
(A chi e o he Czech Ins i u e o Egyp ology, pho o Milan Zemina)
104 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXXI/2023
an a chaeological consul an – in he UNESCO p ojec in he Abhayagi i Viha a monas e y in
Anu adhapu a in S i Lanka; as a esul o his ac i i y he e he published aunique ind o an
Egyp ian sca ab coming om ha emo e place (Cha á 1984). Al hough his a en ion was
mainly concen a ed on a chaeology and his o y o he Czech lands in he ea ly medie al e a
(be o e 1000 AD, in p inciple) a ha ime, he was able o ollow he con ac s o ha a ea wi h
Egyp (Cha á 1986) o he Czech a chaeological ac i i ies in he Nea Eas (Cha á 2021).
Fo many yea s, his main esea ch in e es was connec ed wi h he o ma ion o he ea ly
s a es in Mesopo amia and in he ancien wo ld in gene al (Cha á 2002; 2013), based, among
o he sou ces, on seal imp in s (Cha á 2005; 2017; 2018; see also Cha á 2011). To ecognize
Fig. 5 Pos man b inging he long ‑awai ed le e s o he membe s o he Czech a chaeological eam on
hei e u n back om Abusi o Giza; om le o igh Pe Cha á , he pos man, Mi osla Ve ne and
he au ho o his pape (A chi e o he Czech Ins i u e o Egyp ology, pho o Milan Zemina)
105EULOGIES
his immense e o s and knowledge, as well as his un lagging iendship and co ‑ope a ion,
his iends, and colleagues om he Czech Ins i u e o Egyp ology and om he Ins i u e o
A chaeology o he Czech Academy o Sciences p epa ed a olume in his honou on he occa‑
sion o his 60 h bi hday (Maříko á Vlčko á– Mynářo á– Tomášek 2009).
In ou minds, Pe Cha á will always be emembe ed as an excellen , in e na ionally
enowned schola . A he same ime, he was one o he mos modes and unsel ish iends and
u o s, always p epa ed o sha e his immense knowledge, based on ab illian memo y and
amas e g asp o anumbe o languages– ancien and mode n, wi h e e ybody who needed
i and asked him o help.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cha á , Pe
1973 Ke amika za eálu P ahšepseso y mas aby Abúsí u [Po e y om he a ea o he Mas aba o P ahshepses
a Abusi , in Czech], P ague: Cha les Uni e si y (unpublishedM.A. hesis).
1974 Zdobená ke amika zP ahšepseso y mas aba Abúsí u [Deco a ed po e y om he Mas aba o P ahshepses
a Abusi , in Czech], P ague: Cha les Uni e si y (unpublished PhD . hesis).
1976 “Po e y om he Si e o he Mas aba o P ahshepses a Abusi ”, in: Ve ne , Mi osla (ed.). P elimina y
Repo on Czechoslo ak Exca a ions in he Mas aba o P ahshepses a Abusi , P ague: Cha les Uni e si y,
pp. 95–107.
1980 “The Bes jug: i s o igin and de elopmen in Egyp ”, Zei sch i ü ägyp ische Sp ache und Al e ‑
umskunde 107/1, pp. 46–52.
1981 The Mas aba o P ahshepses: The po e y (Czechoslo ak exca a ions a Abusi ), P aha: Uni e zi a Ka lo a.
1982 “Abousi ( ouilles de l’Ins i u chèque, 1974–1978)”, Bulle in de liaison du g oupe in e na ional
d’é ude de la cé amique égyp ienne 7, pp. 7–8.
1984 “An Egyp ian Sca ab om S i Lanka (Ceylon)”, Gö inge Miszellen No. 70, pp. 19–26.
1986 “Velká Mo a a akop ský Egyp [G ea Mo a ia and he Cop ic Egyp , in Czech]”, Pamá ky a cheo‑
logické 77, pp. 5–17.
2002 Mesopo amia be o e His o y, London– New Yo k: Rou ledge.
2005 The Iconog aphy o P is ine S a ehood: pain ed po e y and seal imp essions om Susa, sou hwes e n I an,
P ague: Ka olinum.
2011 “Seals on he mo e: no es on newly disco e ed cylinde seals and sealings om p ehis o ic Egyp ”,
in: Callende , Vi ienne Gae– Ba eš, Ladisla – Bá a, Mi osla – Janák, Jiří– K ejčí, Ja omí (eds.).
Times, Signs, and Py amids: s udies in honou o Mi osla Ve ne on he occasion o his se en ie h bi hday,
P ague: Facul y o A s, Cha les Uni e si y in P ague, pp. 121–127.
2013 The Bi h o aS a e: ancien Egyp , Mesopo amia, India and China, P ague: Ka olinum.
2017 Signs om Silence: U o he Fi s Sume ians, P ague: Ka olinum.
2018 “O ien al Sub le ies: Coun e ‑ma king o A chaic U Seals Again”, in: Ho ejs, Ba ba a– Schwall,
Ch is oph– Mülle , Ve a– Luciani, Ma a– Ri e , Ma kus– Guide i, Ma ia– Salisbu y, Rode ick
B.– Hö lmaye and, Felix– Bü ge, Te esa (eds.). P oceedings o he 10 h In e na ional Cong ess on he
A chaeology o he Ancien Nea Eas , Wiesbaden: Ha assowi z Ve lag, pp. 303–314.
2021 “Česká a cheologie na Blízkém Východě: od Sex ánky kIndiana Joneso i [“Czech a chaeology in
he Nea Eas : om ‘Sex ánka’ o Indiana Jones”, in Czech], in: Velha ická, Šá ka (ed.). 100le české
s a oo ien alis iky: české klínopisné bádání, předo ýchodní a cheologie aspřízněné obo y dokumen ech
[100 yea s o Czech s udies on ancien O ien : Czech cunei o m s udies, Nea Eas e n a chaeology, and
ela ed disciplines in documen s, in Czech], P aha: Lib i, pp. 30–46.

106 PRAGUE EGYPTOLOGICAL STUDIES XXXI/2023
Cha á , Pe – Gil Fuensan a, Jesús
2005 “T abajos de la Misión A queológica Española e Tu quía (X): El p oyec o Tilbes, 2004”,Bole ín de
la Asociación Española de O ien alis as 41, pp. 345–357.
Gil Fuensan a, Jesús– Cha á , Pe
2004 “T abajos de la Misión A queológica Española en Tu quía (IX): El p oyec o Tilbes, 2003”,Bole ín de
la Asociación Española de O ien alis as 40, pp. 267–283.
2006 “T abajos de la Misión A queológica Española en Tu quía (XI): El p oyec o Tilbes, 2005”,Bole ín de
la Asociación Española de O ien alis as 42, pp. 41–58.
Gil Fuensan a, Jesús– Cha á , Pe – C i elli, Edua do A.
2008 “The Dawn o aCi y. Su epe Höyük Exca a ions, Bi ecik Dam A ea, Eas e n Tu key”, in:Có doba,
Joaquín Mª –Molis , Miquel –Pé ez, Mª Ca men– Rubio, Isabel– Ma ínez, Se gio (eds.). P oceedings
o he 5 h In e na ional Cong ess o he A chaeology o he Ancien Nea Eas (3–8 Ap il 2006), Mad id:
Cen o Supe io de es udios sob e el O ien e P óximo y Egip o, pp. 97–112.
H uška, Blahosla
1985 “Lubo Ma ouš (1908–1984)”, A chi O ien ální 53/2, pp. 169–170.
Maříko á Vlčko á, Pe a– Mynářo á, Jana– Tomášek, Ma in (eds.)
2009 My Things Changed Things. Social De elopmen and Cul u al Exchange in P ehis o y, An iqui y, and he
Middle Ages, P ague: Cha les Uni e si y in P ague, Facul y o A s– Ins i u e o A chaeology o he
Academy o Sciences o he Czech Republic, P ague, . .i.
Va oušek, Pe
2008 Ad pe pe uam ei memo iam: pamá ce Lubo a Ma ouše (1908–2008), P aha: Ús a s o ná ací jazyko ědy,
Filozo ická akul a Uni e zi y Ka lo y.
Ladisla Ba eš
Czech Ins i u e o Egyp ology, Facul y o A s, Cha les Uni e si y; ladisla .ba es@ .cuni.cz