Karel Škorpil

Karel Václav Škorpil, born on 15 May 1859 and died on 9 March 1944, was an archaeologist and museum worker from Czechoslovakia. He is recognized, together with his brother Hermann, for introducing and developing the fields of archaeology and museum work in Bulgaria.

He was born in Vysoké Mýto, which was known as Hohenmauth when it was part of Austria-Hungary. Vysoké Mýto is now located in the Ústí nad Orlicí District, Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. He completed his high school education at Pardubice and then went on to graduate from both Charles University and the Technical University in Prague. In 1881, he relocated to Eastern Rumelia (which later merged with the Principality of Bulgaria in 1885) to assume the role of a high-school educator in various Bulgarian cities. These cities include Plovdiv (1882-1886), Sliven (1886-1888), Varna (1888-1890, 1894-1915), and Veliko Tarnovo (1890-1894). From 1894 onwards, Karel made Varna, a port city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, his permanent residence. In 1901, he established the Varna Archeological Society and in 1906, he founded the Varna Archaeological Museum. He served as the director of the museum from 1915 until his death. In addition, he served as an instructor and speaker at both the Naval Academy and the trade school.

During his early years as a teacher, Karel Škorpil developed a keen interest in archaeology. Over the course of a career lasting over 50 years, he released over 150 publications, either as the only author or in partnership with his brother. These works, which included 30 written in German, Russian, and Czech, were mostly focused on Bulgaria. He conducted and supervised the archaeological excavations of the medieval Bulgarian castles located at Pliska, Preslav, and Madara. In addition, he discovered the ancient stilt dwellings located in Lake Varna, among other findings. He was a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Bulgarian Archeological Institute. He passed away in Varna on 9 March 1944 and was laid to rest amidst the remains of the ancient Bulgarian capital, Pliska.

The Škorpil brothers independently financed all of their study, and all discovered monuments have been conserved within Bulgaria. The street in Varna where their house is situated, as well as the Black Sea settlement and seaside resort Shkorpilovtsi, were given the names of the brothers. The Škorpil Glacier in Antarctica is designated in honor of Karel Škorpil.

• Archaeological Museum

• Wikipedia Entry