Miroslav Barta

Miroslav Barta is director of the Czech Institute of Egyptology at Charles University in Prague.  

He graduated in Egyptology and Prehistoric and Early Historic Archaeology at Charles University and completed his Ph.D. studies in Prague and Hamburg. 

In his research Bárta focuses on the evolution of ancient civilizations, relationship between man and environment, or rise and fall of complex societies. In 2002 he led the first detailed satelite mapping of the pyramid fields of Abusir, Saqqara and Dahshur. He has taught at universities in Berlin and at the University of Pennsylvania. His books include Analyzing Collapse: The Rise And Fall Of The Old Kingdom, published by The American University in Cairo Press in 2020.

He is also director of archaeological projects in Egypt and in Sudan. One of his projects focuses on development of punctuated equilibria theory on human society development – past and present, and business pragmatics.