This contribution maps the basic phases of archaeological research in the territory of Czech Silesia and the neighbouring region of northern Moravia, from the early 19th century until the present. The paper gives an account of the people and institutions that have contributed to the development of archaeology of the Middle Ages, including the key sites and excavations the results of which brought information about the history of settlement, hillforts, urbanization, sacral architecture and material culture in the early and high Middle Ages.