800 years of mining and smelting in Kutna Hora region (the Czech Republic)-spatial and multivariate meta-analysis of contamination studies

Purpose Kutna Hora was a centre of medieval mining and remains an important contamination source in the present day. Surprisingly, very little attention has been paid to the associated contamination. Although some studies have been performed, the majority of information regarding contamination is only accessible in the archives and no overview has been published. The purpose of this study is to perform a meta-analysis of all accessible data and to shed light on this topic. Materials and methods The data mainly come from analyses of HNO3 solutions of sediments. We used statistical analyses (exploratory data analysis, PCA). The results were visualised and evaluated in the GIS environment. Results and discussion The complex of heavy metals As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, V, and Zn can be divided into three main groups of different interpretation: (1) uninfluenced by mining activities-Be, Co, Cr, Hg, and V; (2) smelting processes-Cu, Pb, and Zn; and (3) mining-As and Cd. These groups also show different spatial distribution patterns, absolute concentration values and binding with different environmental types-landscape features. Conclusions The contamination of Kutna Hora can be characterised by element grouping and also by spatial diversification. This could be used in future research as a bearer of proxy information. Surprisingly, it also seems that the spatial range of contamination of sediments could be shorter than is generally presumed.