Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej: odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | Polish |
| Published: |
Warszawa
Wydawn. Trio
2005
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| Edition: | Wyd. 1. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Inhaltsverzeichnis Abstract |
| Item Description: | Zsfassung in engl. Sprache u.d.T.: The archaeology of early medieval Poland |
| Physical Description: | 446 S., [10] Bl. Ill., Kt. |
| ISBN: | 8374360232 |
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Spis
Wstęp
Rozdział
POCZĄTKI ZAINTERESOWAŃ, NARODZINY I ROZWÓJ
Początki najdawniejsze
Wiek
Narodziny i powolny wzrost: pierwsze dwudziestolecie
Lata trzydzieste: archeologia wczesnego średniowiecza w natarciu
sporu o Słowian ciąg dalszy i systematyczne prace wykopaliskowe
obiektów wczesnośredniowiecznych
Dwie dekady powojenne: zbliżające się milenium i badania nad początkami
państwa polskiego
Lata siedemdziesiąte i osiemdziesiąte: udane pokłosie badań milenijnych
Ostatnia dekada
odpowiedzi
Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej: archeologia regionów
czy archeologia bez granic?
Rozdział
Stanowisko archeologiczne
Stratyfikacje, warstwy, obiekty
Wczesnośredniowieczne stanowiska archeologiczne i ich stratyfikacje:
problemy eksploracji
Stratyfikacje stanowisk wczesnomiejskich
Stratyfikacje osad typu wiejskiego
Stratyfikacje obiektów sakralnych i pogańskich miejsc kultu
Stratyfikacje cmentarzysk wielowarstwowych
Warstwy i ich zawartość ruchoma: znaleziska masowe
Ceramika jako źródło do badania dawnych społeczności
Szczątki archeozoologiczne i
Zabytki wydzielone
Gleba i jej komponenty przyrodnicze
Pozostałe grupy danych
Pozostałe grupy danych (II): przedstawienia ikonograficzne
Rozdział
„Autochtoniści", „allochtoniści" i inni: długie dzieje sporu o pochodzenie
Słowian
Między starożytnością a wczesnym średniowieczem ziem polskich:
przerwa czy kontynuacja?
Jeden czy wiele wzorców kultury materialnej Słowian?
Słowiański fenomen: jak go wytłumaczyć?
Rozdział
„Geografìa
Najstarsze grody "wczesnośredniowieczne: kiedy powstawały?
Wielość czy jedność obrządku pogrzebowego?
"Wiele pytań i mało odpowiedzi
Rozdział
W kręgu wielkich ośrodków kultu okresu plemiennego: Łysa Góra na
wschodniej krawędzi Łysogór (Góry Świętokrzyskie)
Tajemnice góry Ślęży
Inne góry
Zagadkowe Żmigrody
Rozdział
Świątynie pod gołym niebem
Stary cmentarz i nowe problemy
Zapomniana czy żywa tradycja?
Rozdział
Monumentalizm, który zadziwiał od dawna
Kopiec Przemysława (Tatarski) w Przemyślu
Domniemane monumentalne kopce w Przemyskiem
Sandomierski kopiec
Krakowskie kopce Krakusa i Wandy
Pozostałe wielkie kopce w Małopolsce
Kontekst europejski
Kopce małopolskie: kiedy i dlaczego je wznoszono?
Rozdział
Odkrycie, które budzi emocje
Co odkryto na tabliczkach z Podeblocia?
Powrót do tematu: tabliczki w świetle najnowszych badań
Rozdział
Między archeologią, tradycją dynastyczną a legendą
Tam, gdzie narodziła się Polska: Wielkopolska u progu przełomu
państwowego
Skąd pochodzili Piastowie?
Z Wielkopolski do Małopolski: piastowskie wyjście na zewnątrz
Kierunek północny: Piastowie nad Zatoką Gdańską
„Zapomniane" Mazowsze czy strategiczna rezerwa terytorialna?
Od Bałtyku po Sudety: Śląsk i Pomorze Zachodnie
Śląsk „czeski" czy „piastowski"?
Pomorze Zachodnie: „republiki miejskie" i dawne terytoria plemienne
Ziemia krakowska: ostatni etap budowy państwa polskiego
Próba bilansu
Rozdział
Stolice państwa gnieźnieńskiego: rywalizacja o prymat pierwszeństwa
Od legendarnego Lecha do Mieszka I
ЅДпу
Gród na bursztynowym szlaku
Miasto o dwunastu bramach
Gdańsk wczesnopaństwowy czy plemienny?
Początki Płocka ciągle poznawane
Pierwsza wielka inwestycja piastowska w Małopolsce?
Intrygujący rywal Sandomierza
Tajemnice Góry Katedralnej w Chełmie
Centrum na peryferii
W cieniu pogańskiego księcia
Kraków, Wawel i archeologia
Kto wybudował najstarszy
Rozdział
Ostrów Lednicki: rezydencjonalny ośrodek pierwszych Piastów czy najstarsze
na ziemiach polskich episcopium?
Niesfinalizowana wielka inwestycja
Chełmiński sedes
Gród pod zamkiem
Kamienna wieża i grodek w Stołpiu: wczesnośredniowieczne baptysterium,
grodek strażniczy czy wieżowy monastyr na wschodniej rubieży państwa?
Rozdział
Na uboczu zainteresowań
Osady wiejskie: jak je postrzegamy?
Niewykorzystany
Wsie nieodgadnione
Rozdział
ZESPOŁÓW KLASZTORNYCH
Najstarsze klasztory i archeologia
U progu chrystianizacji: pierwsze opactwa benedyktyńskie
W cieniu Wzgórza Wawelskiego: archeologia w badaniach opactwa
oo. benedyktynów św. Piotra i Pawła w Tyńcu pod Krakowem
Kościół i klasztor na osadzie grodowej
Podwójna fundacja i spór o pochówek książęcy
Archeologia w badaniach najstarszych fundacji cysterskich
Łekneński „klasztorek"
Klasztor na ruinach palatium?
Klasztory ciągle poznawane
Rozdział
Długa historia badań i niejednoznaczne wyniki
Znaki na dnach naczyń z Kalisza i Ostrowa Lednickiego: obfitość
nowych jakościowo źródeł archeologicznych
Znaki, jakich mało
Skąd ten zwyczaj i dlaczego znakowano naczynia?
Rozdział
Od kremacji do inhumacji: cmentarze okresu wczesnopaństwowego
Pomorzanie i "Wieleci w Wielkopolsce?
Groby wikingów?
Wielka nekropola wojowników
Nie tylko wojownicy
Kogo chowano w mazowieckich grobach z konstrukcjami kamiennymi?
Obcy na południu
Kim byli, co ich łączyło?
Bibliografia
Summary
Indeks nazw geograficznych i miejscowych
Summaiy
The Archaeology of Early Medieval Poland.
Discoveries
Introduction
The book presents the most interesting archaeological discoveries, hypotheses
and interpretations concerning the archaeology of the Polish lands between
the sixth and middle of the thirteenth century. These concern the stages of the
settlement of these areas by Slavic peoples, the transition from tribal organization
to early state ones, the rise of towns, rural centres and ecclesiastical organization.
The work also provides an overview of the archaeology of Polish lands in the
Early Medieval period, illustrated by discoveries, the interpretation of which
sometimes has divided the scientific milieu.
The geographical scope of the book covers the area of today's Poland,
excepting the territories occupied by Bait peoples
of
therefore an area which is roughly the same as the Poland which was occupied
in the times of the early monarchy of the
the tenth century in which the stage of the formation and consolidation of state
structures ended in western Europe, but in Poland was marked by the
beginnings of Christianisation and the building of the structure of the
This is why the book considers the processes of the chartering
Polish towns on German Law which was initiated about the middle of the
thirteenth century. The book is addressed to students of archaeology, archae¬
ologists, historians as well as to a wider readership interested in the archaeology
of the Early Middle Ages. Each chapter is accompanied by a list of the most
important literature.
Chapter
Beginnings of Interest, Birth and Development
This chapter describes the most important periods connected with the begin¬
nings of interest in Early Medieval sites and objects, beginning in the Later
Middle Ages when attention was first paid to elements of the landscape
408
connected with legendary events (for example the monumental barrows
of
country) through to the nineteenth century, when the distant roots of a Slavic
identity were being sought and the first archaeological scientific institutions were
bom.
The first decades of the twentieth century may be defined as a period of
the birth and slow growth of archaeology as a scientific discipline. It was in
this period that the first academic centres at Cracow, Warsaw and
created, centres which in subsequent decades played an important role in
Poland. In this period, we observe a large number of field investigations carried
out. These tendencies, which were favourable for the growth of Early Medieval
archaeology in Poland, intensified in the
the Slavs and Germans took on a greater significance in the run-up to the
Second World War and in the confrontation with the so-called 'ethnic school'
of G. Kossinna,
After the end of the Second World War, the study of the archaeology of
Polish lands experienced an unprecedented development connected with the
approach of the
also a period of the methodological revolution (though one unwanted by the
scientific milieu) which aimed to adapt scientific methodology to the needs of
the new Marxist ideology. But at the same time, the scale of the programme
of fieldwork initiated created favourable conditions for the development of
interdisciplinary co-operation and international contacts.
The
successful development of the gains of the Millennium Project period. It was in
these decades that we meet the first large synthetic publications of the sites
excavated earlier. The origin of the Slavs remained a topic of considerable
interest (though a problem which remained unresolved by the organization of
many conferences and discussions). The last decade of the twentieth century
was also an exceptionally fruitful period for the archaeological study of the Early
Medieval period. Due to the wider use of dendrochronology, many earlier ideas
about the chronology of the construction of strongholds in the tribal and early
state period underwent considerable modification.
A new impulse to the undertaking of research was found in the preparations
for the 1000th anniversary in the year
programmes of scientific investigation carried out on this occasion led to the
critical verification of many earlier conclusions. A new element of research in
the last decade has been the carrying out of investigations (abandoned after the
Millennium Project period) of early centres in Poland's borderlands. From
the very beginning, they have revealed the complexities, but also richness, of
the Russian-Byzantine culture of frontier communities. The last decade of the
twentieth century saw above all a stiffening of positions of investigators engaged
in the (already traditional) conflicts over the origins of the Slavs.
SUMMARY
An indicator of the good condition of Early Medieval "archaeology at the
beginning of the third millennium is the increasingly closer collaboration with
Medieval historians, which symbolises a return to the inspiration of its origins
and development. These connections have born fruit in increasing numbers
of joint research initiatives and consequent publications.
Chapter
This chapter characterises the most important types of evidence used in this
research: material from excavations, including their context (broadly under¬
stood), the records of chroniclers, preserved sacral and secular architecture and
data from other disciplines. Much space is devoted to the definition of the
concept of an archaeological site. These include both historical spatial organi¬
zations in Polish towns, the remains of ancient fortifications, sites of pagan cult
practices, sacral architecture, deserted settlements, former production sites,
communication routes, cemeteries and also surviving elements of the primeval
landscape. Each of these types of site is presented in the context of their
stratification, manner of using them as sources of evidence and the characteristics
of fieldwork on them (Plates
Special attention is paid to archaeological layers, the manner of their
investigation, the stratigraphical method (Figs
and contents of layers are discussed, including mass finds (pottery, animal bone)
and "small finds" (Plate
archaeozoological investigation and the use of the methods of the natural
sciences (Figs
of written sources and
cance for the study of the Early Medieval period are indicated (Figs
Chapter
The title of this chapter makes reference to the debates which have been going
on in Poland for many years concerning the origin of the Slavs. The effect of
these discussions has so far been a polarisation of positions between the two
main options which have been formulated. The first is the concept of a "western"
origin of the Slavs, that is as autochthonous to the Polish lands, while the
alternative is that which proposes an "eastern" (allochthonous) origin of the
Slavs. In the first, the cradle of the Slavs is located most frequently in the
watersheds of the Vistula and Oder, and thus in the territory of today's Poland,
while the second proposes the ancient homeland would have lain mainly in
modern Ukraine and partly Belarussia. An "intermediate" concept exists, in
which the genesis of the Slavs has been linked with both the western and
eastern territories (between the Oder-Vistula and
homeland of the Slavs in completely different areas of Europe and Asia. The
410
author presents the arguments for the basic hypotheses in the context of the
so-called 'Early Slav cultural model'. He suggests that it is difficult to speak of
a single cultural pattern, since in different areas of Europe the material remains
are so different. From the eastern part of the Mediterranean Basin, we have
written sources which tell us of the presence of Slavs, while most frequently
there is a total lack of material evidence of their presence. A similar picture
emerges in the case of the western Balkans (Croatia), where the Slavs arrived
during the first phase of their expansion southwards. "What differentiates those
areas from others? Above all, the fact that they belong to the zone of the
so-called Roman-Byzantine culture. Further to the north, in the territories along
the Danube, the situation is more differentiated. We find here both the material
evidence of the presence of nomads, as well as the autochthonous
peoples but also the Slavs. Among the southern neighbours of Poland pottery
vessels of the 'Prague' type (Plate
logically advanced type, including wheelmade vessels
Ipoteşti-Cindeşti-Ciurel
Slav graves seems not to be reflected by the early Medieval cemetery with over
1500
originally belonging to the former Roman province of
by intense "mixing" of cultural elements of Roman and barbarian civilization; in
the latter case this concerns Germans, Slavs, groups of autochthonous peoples
and nomadic groups.
A model area for the study of the material culture of the Early Slavs are the
territories lying to the north of the arc of the Carpathians, including the area of
modem Poland. How can one explain the selectivity of the material evidence
of the cultures that are ascribed to them? One of the possible answers is as
follows: in the areas where there were the greater number of civilizing influences
to be assimilated (Mediterranean region), the Slavs rapidly and willingly resigned
from their "unprepossessing cultural pattern", and became absorbed into the
local environment (here one is reminded of the
they invaded Italy). Further to the north, and thus in areas where we encounter
enclaves of people with a heterogeneous level of civilization, their choices were
more selective. This is the reason why the pattern of Early Slav culture seen
through its material correlates is equivocal in its message. Only in the territories
to the north of the Carpathians, demographically depleted by the population
movements of the fifth century
-
This includes sunken floored huts with corner ovens (Fig.
type (Plate
strongholds (Plates
frequently connected with later periods. This raises the question, why the Slavs
of this earliest phase remained so culturally unlike their neighbours? The author
is of the opinion that, in considerations of this question, not enough attention
SUMMARY
has been paid to the fact frequently emphasised by Byzantine writers concerning
the surprising mobility of the Slavs who in a few generations were visible
throughout almost all of Europe. This factor, characteristic for the social models
of the nomads, and not agriculturalists and livestock herders as were the Slavs,
meant the material conditions of their existence, especially in the period of
seeking new areas to settle, became similar to that of the nomads. While for
nomads, wandering was a permanent and normal situation, it was one which
was forced upon these agriculturalists and livestock herders. The Slavs however
did not become nomads because of their long and enforced
material culture of the earliest phase is not only surprisingly impoverished, but
also comprises a unique phenomenon in this part of the continent. The source
of the poverty and simplification of the material cultural inventory in this phase
of the settlement of Europe might, therefore, be the lack of conditions for the
creation of material goods requiring a more considerable expenditure of work,
in the unstable economic conditions. An important obstacle might have been
both the frequency of wandering, as well as the scattered settlement pattern of
the oldest settlement (Fig.
lack among the oldest Slavs in central Europe a developed
tools in the material culture, including the potter's wheel, and the only sporadic
finds (though not lack!) of ornament (Plate
material culture, so characteristic of other sedentary societies of the period. In
the opinion of the author, in the phase of migration, the occupation and bringing
into use (sometimes only temporarily) of new territories, the settlers confined
themselves to producing the most simple and basic objects indispensable for
daily life. This is the model which is suggested by, for example, pots of the
'Prague' type. These were products of the most simple form possible, undeco-
rated, handmade without the use of the wheel, out of generally available local
materials. In the opinion of the author, one might imagine this simplified cultural
assemblage to be similar to the situation of the American pioneers of the Wild
West in the period when they were seeking new lands to settle down. It would
be difficult to compare the quality of the material culture during their wanderings
with the culture of the inhabitants of the towns of the East Coast. The simplified
instrumentarium
Slavic culture would therefore be a reflection of the period of economic
instability in the phase of the search for and occupation of new settlement
habitats. But the Slavs, seen in the context of their own migrations not on
a regional basis but in the context of developments over the whole of Europe
-
ideology of "unpretentiousness". In the opinion of the author, this was a society
above all of considerable creative inventiveness and adaptive capabilities.
Agriculturalists and livestock herders, but mobile like nomads: accepting in the
phase of settling new territories an "unprepossessing level of material culture",
but at the same time wherever this was possible, making use of the civilisational
412
benefits they encountered on their way. It was this which eventually decided
their historical role as the co-creators of Early Medieval Europe.
Chapter
About the middle of the seventh century, the peoples inhabiting today's Polish
lands entered the phase of the consolidation of settlement. This is a period of
slow (extending into the eighth and even to the beginning of the ninth century)
disappearance of the relatively egalitarian material culture of the early Medieval
period, at the same time the creation of a tribal structure of a new type.
Alongside the open settlements, strongholds became an element of the land¬
scape, and it was around them that clusters of open settlements developed. The
names of peoples such as the
were known already to the Byzantine and Frankish writers who associated some
of these tribes with certain political episodes in the history of Europe of these
times.
The author analyses the tribal structures of the peoples known from the
written sources, and then confronts this information with the archaeological
evidence. He feels that, although the term "tribe" is used in the book, a more
suitable one would be "ethnic group" in the sense that it is used in contemporary
anthropology. The adjective "tribal" is thus used mainly to refer to settlement
communities inhabiting various regions of Polish lands in the period directly
preceding the formation of a state. A difficulty arises in that the written sources
do not give the names of some of the tribes and archaeological investigations
suggest different pictures, of the settlement of the Polish lands (Figs
A fundamental question of the archaeology of the "tribal" period are the
beginnings and stages of development of stronghold construction. Already in
the period of Early Slav culture, in the Polish lands the Slavs were building
defensive structures (see Chapter
identified is surprisingly small in relation to the overall number of archaeological
sites of the period. It would be difficult to say what the reason was for the
decidedly rare use which was made of this possibility in the earliest phases.
A specific feature of the construction of strongholds in
against the background of other regions are the so-called Great Strongholds of
the
mostly located on heights or the slopes of hills. They have varying forms and
plans, though they all have timber ramparts. They are distinguished from other
strongholds of the period primarily by their size. They are as a rule large sites
(with a surface area of
the ramparts in many cases there is a lack of traces of internal structures, though
in some cases
huts has been identified. From that point of view however these sites do not
form a homogeneous group. In the south of the country there are also
SUMMARY
strongholds with ramparts with a stone facing (Fig.
systems of defences with linear earthworks (Fig.
A subject of wide discussion is the date of and circumstances in which the
oldest barrow cemeteries appear. While it is true that Early Medieval barrow
burial has a beginning in the Late Roman period, the span of time which
separates the two phases is a considerable one, a period of about
years. An important element of investigations into the burial rituals of the "tribal
period" is the evidence from the monumental barrows of
investigation and analysis of the most impressive of them demonstrates a similarity
of symbolism and their probable association with the attributes of tribal authority
(Chapter
Krzna
burials, sometimes with internal constructions of a type not met anywhere else
in Poland. In the regions of
of the Alt
The beginnings of the rite of inhumation in the Polish lands are also
analysed. These are often assigned to the second half of the tenth century,
though in the opinion of some, they had a completely different chronology. In
this context it is worth drawing attention to the graves of Magyar nomads (Figs
4.11, 4.12)
The author recapitulates the discussions on the subject of the possibilities
of the earlier reception of Christianity which were animated after the Second
World War by the discoveries in
some so-called tablets with what is thought to be traces of writing from the
tribal period at
the penetration of Polish lands by settlers from the Christian south and their
taking root in the local tribal environments.
The transition between cremation to inhumation, the abandonment of
barrow burials for flat graves and the western orientation of the bodies and the
progressive reduction of the burial equipment
generally associated with great ideological changes in the period of transition
from paganism to Christianity. In this context the probably Czech origin of
Cracow and Wroclaw are mentioned. At the same time, the author draws
attention to the fact that so far neither any inhumation graves can be with
certainly assigned to the period before the end of the tenth century, or any
churches connected with the Czech episode of Polish history.
Chapter
Łysa Góra
5.2, 5.3)
associated with many legends The former lies on the eastern edge of the Holy
Cross Mountains and the latter
414
been the subject of archaeological investigations, and although many interdis¬
ciplinary studies have been carried out and new evidence obtained, not all the
fundamental questions have been examined and definitively resolved. These
and other hilltop sites (Plate
A separate topic in the discussion of former cult places is occupied by the places
called
with these associations occur in southern Poland and characteristically in
connection with frontier zones (Plate
puzzles surrounding these sites have yet to bring satisfactory results. Some
authors have drawn attention to their situation on communication routes, but
at the same time there is a lack of firm evidence to confirm the existence of a
stronghold, for example in
investigations of the
evidence of its association with the nomad Avars. More evidence links it with
the world of former belief systems. In this context we may refer to the motifs
of folklore connected with the motif of the
hearth and with control over the lightening, patron of fertility, and combating
aquatic monsters. This motif is especially vivid in the mythology of the South
Slavs, where this being was the guardian of the most important elements of the
homestead: water and the harvest. In this meaning one may treat
a sacral enclosed area
breaking taboos. The fact that these sites are restricted to southern Poland might
indicate a regional variant of a belief in the
Most of the hilltop cult sites are situated in two zones, southern and northern
Poland. There are considerably fewer in
A specific feature of their toponymy is the relatively frequent appearance of the
term
this phenomenon is identified. But none of these sites has attracted as much
attention as
isolated and widely separated from each other, the differentiating factor in the
case of the great mountains is
that in their nearest vicinity there are several similar centres. Despite the time
which has passed since investigations of these sites began, it still remains unclear
why, at whose bidding, or whether at the same time and for what purpose
these sites were built.
Chapter
The cemetery in the forest at
identified at the beginning of the
the subject of discussions due to the survival for over
and oval barrows despite being situated in the deforested loess uplands.
Fourteen of the
SUMMARY
augering (Fig. 6.2).
mostly between
In the context of the discussed phenomenon, an interesting circumstance is the
presence of an empty area among the mounds (Fig.
the traditional meeting place for the local inhabitants at "Whitsun: a procession
here was the culmination of the religious festivities. The barrows are in the
forest which is the only enclave of greenery in the totally deforested loess
plateau. What was the reason for the inhabitants of this area saving this fragment
of greenery? Was it the
zone? Maybe the woodland owed its existence throughout the years because it
contained barrows? There is also one other feature worthy of note. Below the
woodland, on its south side are very prolific springs which today feed fishponds
situated in this place. Perhaps in the early Medieval period these springs (Fig.
6.5)
additional element defining the sacrum of the terrain. Could the woodland, the
barrows within it and the springs flowing below it qualify as a Slavic holy grove?
In the opinion of the author, this thesis, formulated recently, seems quite
probable in the light of the evidence, including other evidence of the practice
of pagan cult (Fig.
Chapter
A specific feature of the tribal period of the south of Poland (but also in this
part of Europe) are monumental mounds. They are distinguished by their
dimensions, exceeding
served height of
from afar and thus constitute a dominating landmark in the landscape. These
mounds occur in the vicinity of former centres of tribal power. The author
presents in this chapter the results of investigations of three of these mounds:
the
and the Salve
Attention has been drawn in the literature to the similarities between the
monumental mounds of
known from Scandinavia. Equally the internal constructions discovered in the
Krakus
find parallels in those barrows (Western Mound at Old Uppsala, South Mound
at Jelling). Also the manner of construction, first the building of a small mound
and then erecting a larger one over it, is very similar to that used to construct
the Chernaya
Sandomierz,
complex. Apart from local tradition (and it is unclear when this originated),
there is a lack of evidence for its Early Medieval origin. It is true that there is
a link in the legends with the Tartars, but there is a lack of material evidence
4l6 SUMMARY
to define the period of origin of the mound. The slopes have been shaped to
make them steeper and to give the mound the form of a regular pyramid
(Plate
case of Cracow, it is situated in a region where we have evidence of significant
centres of tribal authority and of the early state.
We meet a different situation in the case of the Tartar Mound (or Mound of
Przemysław)
are equally complicated matters. The oldest Early Medieval material recovered
so far from its body can be dated at the earliest to the second half of the twelfth
century, and thus to a period considerably later than researchers were expecting.
But this material was found just below the surface. The context of their discovery
-
were lit on the side of a mound existing from some unknown time prior to
this, and it was in the remains of these fires that the broken pottery was found.
Equally complex is the question of the construction of the feature. The outer
layers of the mound contain a large amount of rock fragments, and on its slopes,
solid rock appears just under the turf (Fig.
mound we are dealing with a type of construction which is somewhere between
that of the Cracow mound
mound, created by reshaping a natural feature. The
other feature in common with the
form, while the Cracow mound has a more oval shape.
The monumental mounds of
chambers under them. In the case of the example from Cracow this is because
of the central post and wattle-work constructions, at
is a natural loess hill, and in
with an earthen mound on top.
Theoretically, all of these mounds could have been monumental barrows
with burials on, rather than under, the mound, as in the case of many met over
a wide area of Slavic territory. In such cases, the burnt remains of the deceased
are placed on the summit of the mound. This model of burial widespread in
the Slavic world had at its basis the idea of
Any military intervention would have led to the profanation and destruction of
the remains of even the most famous leader. It cannot be excluded however
that these mounds fulfilled a symbolic function, for example as cenotaphs.
In the chapter other examples of monumental mounds of the region are dis¬
cussed, including those examined in the past at
on the Bug (Fig.
In the first case this was an Early Medieval structure dug into a Roman one.
Other earthworks (Plates
Early Medieval date have not yet been the subject of archaeological investigation.
It is difficult to explain why there is a lack of evidence for a similar
phenomenon in other regions of Poland (Fig.
SUMMARY
Wielkopolska,
reason, the author regards the phenomena observed in
the regional oddities among the formation of tribal structures in wide areas of
Europe. It is unclear whether we should seek traces of outsiders in the genesis
of this phenomenon, or maybe this was a local tradition, or an attempt to imitate
something seen earlier elsewhere and remembered? Each of these options seems
possible at the present state of research.
Chapter
The
a stronghold and settlements and a cemetery (Plate
in history because of the scholarly storm which erupted around the discovery
of three fragments of fired clay, called conventionally "the
(Plates
of the "tribal period", dated to the ninth century (see Fig.
one feature in common: on their surface they have signs resembling writing.
These inscriptions have been read as Turkish runes or Greek writing; in the
second case the inscription would have read "Jesus Christ conquer", or as has
been recently suggested been the monogram of Christ (Fig.
been suggested that the inscription was made by a person who could not in
fact write. If these hypotheses could be positively verified, we would be dealing
not only with the traces of the earliest writing in the Polish lands, but also traces
of the presence of Christians at least
acceptance of Christianity by Poland.
of the tablets were made of local clay, while the raw material of the third,
described as terra
In the same context as the tablets were found ceramic vessels dated to the
ninth century with interesting solar ornament and zoomorphic motifs. Similar
decoration on ceramics from Poland are unique (Figs
questions concerning the discovery itself as well as their wider context require
■further critical analysis, the described finds place
the most fascinating archaeological discoveries of the last century.
Chapter
The first description of the rise of the Polish state appears in the twelfth century
chronicle of
predecessors of Mieszko. The chronicler states that the version given there of
the oldest history was that which was preserved by as he put it "faithful
memory". The thesis of the evolutionary beginnings of the state has dominated
the majority of the interpretations for many years. More recent archaeological
investigations however, carried out in different regions of the country (Figs
9.2)
418 .
of events took place in the tenth century. As a result there was a rapid,
sometimes even catastrophic, collapse of many of the pre-existing tribal centres.
These events were accompanied by permanent or temporary depopulation of
former areas of settlement. Within a short time new centres of the
arose on new sites, beginning the thousand year history of the Polish nation
and state.
A problem which is more widely discussed by the author is the origin of
the creators of the
assigned both a local as well as foreign (Varangian) origin. Archaeologists
however have not earlier considered this problem in much detail, but the author
feels that certain archaeological evidence suggest that the birthplace of the new
dynasty might have been southeast
area shows a lack of the traces of the destruction of tribal centres so characteristic
for other parts of the region. On the contrary, here we see traces of investment
of considerable resources in stronghold construction and other evidence of the
growth of the
What is more,
pre-state strongholds, not only survived, but also developed successfully after
the rise of the state. Thus, in the opinion of the author, it was precisely here
that the best conditions existed for the beginning of the
the archaeological traces of which are the destroyed tribal strongholds and the
construction of new political centres in new locations.
The effects of the
regions of the country. The process is most clearly visible in
Mazovia and the eastern parts of
was the latest to become part of the Polish state, we see more often than other
regions of the country the occupation of older tribal centres either temporarily
(e.g., Naszacowice or
In Silesia however a specific feature of the area is the rise of the chief centres
before
into the Polish state. This may show the annexation of these lands in the 980s,
and thus a few years before their formal incorporation into the
In
centres. They were built in new locations, replacing earlier settlement patterns
(Fig.
tribal centres, which is characteristic of western
brzeg,
In the light of current research, one may be tempted to sketch the stages
of the formation of the territorial foundations of the Polish state. In the light of
the newest archaeological data and dendrochronological analyses, we may
accept that until the end of the 960s the Piasts were organizing the core of the
state
of tenth century?), they had also occupied the western part of Mazovia. Such
SUMMARY
an interpretation would explain the catastrophe which affected the tribal centres
in this area. Perhaps this was the result of a rapid and co-ordinated reaction of
the rulers of the
power of their eastern neighbours. Even if this were the case, it did not lead
to the permanent involvement of the Piasts in the process of the creation of a
state organization in the region, which is indirectly indicated by the lack of any
traces whatsoever of the construction of their strongholds in the area. On the
contrary, the beginnings of
on a previously unoccupied site at the end of the tenth century. If this hypothesis
is valid, it means that until the end of the century, in the eyes of the policies
of the Piasts of
a territorial backwater. It is not known if any attempt was made in this early
period to protect the region against the pagan Prussians which might be the
reason behind the construction of the linear earthwork defences, traces of which
survive in the landscape of the northern periphery of the region (Fig.
Mazovia was the region which was for the longest bereft of any traces of early
urbanization, and in the case of its eastern regions Christianisation also. Perhaps
this hypothesis explains the reasons for the differences between the different
cultural development of Mazovia from other regions of the country, and above
all the intriguingly long survival in daily life of the long-term mixing of different
cultural which is demonstrated by the results of archaeological investigations.
The second
a state occurred in the 970s. This should be related to the activities of the Piasts
on the "eastern bulwark" of the state formed by the territories of eastern
Małopolska
that a group of the oldest towns of
all
in existence.
was either annexed or built. In this manner, already by the end of the tenth
century, the expansion of the Piasts extended along the Vistula river from its
source to its mouth. In the light of the available archaeological information, in
both eastern
justified to see this expansion as having above all a military dimension.
In the light of the available information, the 980s were the period of the
building of the "western bulwark" of the state (Fig.
results of dendrochronological analysis, in the middle of the decade, there was
investment of labour in the strongholds of Western
brzeg)
conducting of military actions on a large scale, which are mentioned in the
written sources of the period. In the case of the centres of Western
a specific trait was the attempt to fit them into the area already occupied by
existing centres, and in the case of Silesia, building totally new main centres
for the region.
420
The climax of the process of the building of the state was the annexation
by the Piasts at the end of the 980s of Cracow and the surrounding region
from the hands of the Czechs. The most suitable starting point for the carry¬
ing out of this task was undoubtedly the
centre,
the Piasts. A phenomenon worth noting in this context is the lack in west¬
ern Mazovia of traces of the destruction of the older settlement centres,
which is so characteristic of other areas of the country. The archaeological
data show that the most important centres of this region were of a type, with
Cracow at the forefront, which were still developing after their occupation by
the Piasts.
Poland of the times of Mieszko I was, in today's terminology, a country
undergoing deep structural changes. The processes of the fortification of the
country and the germs of early urbanisation were inevitably accompanied by
demographic changes. The scale of changes which were occurring at this time
is a reflection of the position of a leader in charge of a well-trained and
professional army, in which immigrant Scandinavians (among others) played an
important role. This is suggested by the investigation of certain cemeteries, like
Łubowo, Lutomiersk
Scandinavian warriors (see Chapter
in Polish lands in the times of Mieszko I, were part of the processes of state
formation which were taking place all over central Europe. The major structural
transformations and political and ideological reconstruction of tribal organiza¬
tions lie at the basis of the preservation of cultural and ethnic identification of
the Lechitic tribes
Chapter
The buildings of the territorial foundations of a state were accompanied by
the rise of central or local centres of regional authority. In the strongholds
which fulfilled leading roles
were built, and the foundations laid for the administrative structure of the Church.
During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the stronghold complexes founded
in the times of the first Piasts took on the characteristics of centres of early-
urban character. The latest research has shown that in the great majority of
cases, the beginnings of Polish towns go back to the times of the origins of the
state, that is the second half of the tenth century (Fig.
of this time played a key role in the process of the creation and strengthening
of the state: and have retained their importance to our times. Not all, however,
Piast
them had in the first monarchy is undeniable. We know of examples of centres
which retained such a key role from the period of the rise of the state until
modem times.
SUMMARY
In the further parts of the chapter, the author also presents the most
important discoveries made in the early urban centres, and which still give
researchers the basis for much controversy and interpretive problems.
We start with the dispute which took place in the past about the primacy
of two centres,
In the case of
stressed, assigning it the role of the holy centre of a local community, which
was taken over by the Piasts of
From the earliest phase of the use of the Hill (before
feature on the highest point of the Hill, a mound
stones with a diameter of about
cathedral, as well as the church of St George stand on the remains of these
features (Fig.
of
the first Piasts. In recent years the hypothesis has been formulated that the
oldest church at
were added. It is in this church (Fig.
thought to have been interred immediately after his tragic death among the
Prussians.
In
residence of Jordan, the first missionary bishop
past few years has been the palatium of Mieszko I, which has been dated to
the second half of the tenth century. Further investigations have shown that
adjacent to this building there probably was a chapel in the form of a rotunda
with an apse. The entire complex was therefore similar to that known from
Ostrów
controversy for many years is the so-called 'baptistery' from
a structure with a central post identified under the cathedral (Figs
This is regarded by some investigators as the remains of a mortar-mixer, others
reject that interpretation, demonstrating that around this structure stood a rec¬
tangular structure. Even however if this was so, it still remains unclear whether
this supposed baptistery functioned beside a church already in existence (and
if so, what kind of church?). No trace of such a structure has been found.
Equally puzzling is the question of the elaborate tombs, the remains of which,
identified by some scholars as the graves of the first
in the nave of
An interesting phenomenon from the period of the beginnings of the Polish
state is the ring of dozens of strongholds around
beginning of Polish statehood (see Fig.
pied sites, they were settled by people brought in from the outside. In the
Zawodzie
remains of a stronghold, dated to the second half of the ninth century, have
been discovered (Figs
422
are the remains of a wooden sacral building from the beginning of the eleventh
century which have been identified in the interior of the twelfth century
collegiate church of St Paul (Figs
according to the hypothesis of the author
Chapter
The development of the centres on the Baltic coast followed other patterns.
Their genesis, which was earlier than any other such sites in the rest of the
country, resulted from the existence in this region, already in the tribal period
of a broad zone of exchange around the Baltic and linked with exchange across
the rest of Europe. Among these sites, a special place was occupied by
It is here that Scandinavian traditions locate the Jomsvikings, doing heroic deeds
in the Baltic Sea zone, the results of investigations done so far indicate that
Wolin
Shortly afterwards, in the ninth century, it existed as an urban republic, with its
own council. It also became an important emporium on the routes leading in
the direction of Prussia, Novgorod and in the west to Hedeby and Starigard
(Figs
The interpretation of the oldest centres of eastern
complicated. An illustration of this might be the discussions of the origins of
Gdańsk
dated to the 970s and was ascribed to the activities of the first Piasts. Currently
its beginnings are the subject of debate. Its earlier ('tribal') origin is now one
of the options being considered, as is the possibility that it came into being
only at the beginning of the eleventh century. A key to understanding the
chronology of events taking place in this region remains the definition of the
(independent?) sequence of events occurring within each of the three separate
centres of settlement activity: the so-called ducal stronghold on the
River, the settlement zone around the Town Hall and the concentration of
settlement around the churches of St Nicholas and St Catherine (Fig.
Mazovia does not supply very many examples of towns created in the period
of state formation. In the case of
is drawn to its relatively late genesis, the turn of the tenth and eleventh centuries.
One of the results of recent investigations is among other things, a new picture
of the topography of Turn Hill
town had its beginnings (Figs
connecting the hill with a place of pagan worship has been disproved.
The beginnings of
mous as
a unique set of chessmen made of red deer antler (Fig.
why there were two towns of high rank
region, and from the beginning of Polish statehood? In the opinion of the author,
this can be justified by the fact that the creation of
connected with the political expansion into this region of the first Piasts,
SUMMARY
including the resettlement here in the 970s of settlers from
(Fig.
,
The place is regarded by Medieval historians as a "supplement to
An enigmatic mention in the work of
caput terrae
tribal centre preceding
(Fig.
Romanesque building found so far in Zawichost, are the remains of a church
built on the plan of a tetraconchos (Figs
chronology and function are still under discussion. In the light of the current
state of research on the excavated material, the context of the tetraconchos
should be seen in the context of the finds of eastern origin dated no earlier
than the twelfth century
contemporary cemeteries. The origins of a Romanesque church discovered in
the crypt of the church of the BVM in Zawichost in recent years also remains
unresolved (Fig.
from the point of view of their material culture are not very similar to each
other. We identify in a direct form (that is traceable in the archaeological
material) a connection between the material culture of Early Medieval
domierz
Zawichost influences from eastern milieux. The reasons for the clear cultural
frontier which appears between these two towns is unclear.
Other problems are involved in the interpretation of
on the eastern frontier of
the siting on Cathedral Hill herein the first half of the thirteenth century by duke
Daniel Romanovich of what was in fact the capital of his western
the diocesan seat of a bishop of the Greek rite. At this time, as the results of
the latest excavations show, the town and it material culture took on clear
Russo-Byzantine
churches on Cathedral Hill (Figs
Below it, there was a rich residential district and craftsmen's workshops
(Fig,
probably the houses of the elite. Remains of similar buildings can be found in
the central places of thirteenth century Russia. On the settlements and Cathedral
Hill there have been frequent finds of fragments of glazed pottery vessels, and
also very many other valuable finds belonging to the
zone (Plate
The town of
state border. Just as in the case of
cannot be matched anywhere else in Poland. The significance of the
Gate (Pass) in long-distance trade, including with the Byzantine Empire and the
Islamic world is clear already in the tribal period. It was here that one of the
424
large monumental mounds discussed in Chapter
was discovered a cemetery of nomadic Magyars, dated to the first half of the
tenth century. According to its excavator's opinion, the oldest pre-state strong¬
hold (Plate
Krzyży).
of the monumental buildings which have survived to our times. The stone-built
palatium together with a rotunda, which were constructed on Castle Hill most
probably in the reign of
century), recalls the plan of the constructions known from the main centres of
the
be mentioned a potters' settlement discovered many years ago in the Zasanie
region of the town. The uniqueness of this find is due to the fact that it is one
of only a few archaeologically
together with its production hinterland from the Polish lands. Among the
products which it produced were 'korczagi
types of finds are objects linked with the Byzantine cultural zone (Plate
the beginning of the eleventh century
from
of which was Rurik Rostislavovich. In the topography of the town appeared
increasing numbers of buildings with analogies from the eastern cultural circles.
Wiślica
been the subject of an especial interest of Polish medievalists. A long time ago it
was suggested that this place had been the tribal capital of the
to many other areas of the country, we see here an unexpected richness of
archaeological features: two strongholds (Figs
with accompanying rotundas (Fig.
as evidence of the
the ninth century (Fig.
esque churches preserved in the crypt of the collegiate church
A special feature of one of them is the floor, dated to the second half of the
twelfth century, with the representation of
is still the subject of many scientific debates (Fig.
other discoveries from
supposed baptismal font near the church of St Nicholas
opinion that there was here in the tribal period a centre is now opposed by
the twelfth century dating of the stronghold. The arguments that have been
presented by both sides of this debate are not conclusive. In the opinion of the
author, the centre of
Cracow had an early origin, in tribal times. In time it became the chief
centre of the medieval state (Fig.
of centres which had an unbroken chain of development from before the middle
of the tenth century and which retained an important position in the structures
of the
SUMMARY
to the question of the origins
concerns its significance in the period of the formation of the Polish state. It
was Cracow which was regarded as the chief stronghold of the so-called
Wiślanie
are sited (see Chapter
foot of
four tonnes) dated to the second half of the ninth century. Archaeological
investigations have produced examples of imports which show the connections
between Cracow in the pre-state period and the Avar khanate and the cultural
zone of the Magyars.
Cracow is differentiated from the other centres of the country by the
unparallelled number of stone buildings connected with the early phases of the
functioning of the state. On
of the pre-Romanesque period (Fig.
buildings on the hill and dated to the early Medieval period is therefore
impressive. It is not comparable to any other town in the Polish lands. But at
the same time, not very much is known about the topography of
in the period of the formation of the Polish state.
In the case of
has revolved around three questions in recent years. The first is the question
of the beginnings and oldest phases of the occupation of the stronghold, remains
of which have been identified on
interpretation of the evidence is that it was founded in the middle of the 980s
and thus at a time when formally Silesia was still under Czech rule. The second
question which has been widely discussed are the newest investigations in the
crypt of Wroclaw cathedral, which have revealed the remains of previously
unknown sacral buildings. The oldest is a structure on the plan of a cross (Fig.
10.45),
hands in the second half of the tenth century. The precise date of its erection
as well as its (Czech) analogies are still a mater of heated discussion. And finally
the discovery which has drawn the attention of scholars, are the timber elements
of the construction of a pagan temple, which was still in use into the eleventh
century (Fig.
seat of one of the four bishoprics erected in
Is this building the traces of a small scale and insignificant episode, or is it
as some scholars mink
Christianisation of the region? If so, it would be an important argument against
Wrocław
a Christian state since the beginning of the tenth century.
These examples of the investigations of the beginnings of Polish towns
illustrate a selection of the problems to which in the past few years a relatively
large amount of attention has been paid. The massive growth in the amount
of archaeological information has meant that this picture is a dynamic one and
426
together with progress in the investigations will inevitably undergo the process
of critical verification.
Chapter
Not all strongholds became towns. The fate of many, known from written
sources was episodic and limited to the early stages of the functioning of the
state. A substantial portion of those strongholds existing today in the landscape
are anonymous, but among them, especially in the Russian-Polish borderlands
are some which it may be suspected were those mentioned in the written
sources (Plates
which have for years attracted especial attention.
Ostrów
exceptional features. Here, within the circuit of the stronghold on the island, in
its central part, was situated a residential complex of the first Piasts. This
consisted of a two-part structure, identified as a palatium and accompanying
centrally-planned chapel (or baptistery). The form of the palace shows
and southern influences (Figs
nearby aisleless masonry church, around which was a small cemetery (Figs
11.6).
archaeological sensation was the discovery in the interior of the church the
skeleton of a boy who died at an age of only a few years, and with a gold
ring on his finger. In the opinion of some researchers, this was the body of
a member of the ruling dynasty, though we cannot name the boy. The unique¬
ness of
function for the first Polish rulers, at the beginning of statehood, it became an
important place for baptisms, a necropolis of the
the elite of the princely retinue gathered, as well as an example of engineering
ability
collections of archaeological finds of the highest rank. It is also, probably, one
of the best archaeologically documented places ■where an ethnically-different
military force was stationed, most likely the bodyguards of the duke.
Giecz, situated forty kilometres south of
Polish historical record in a mention by
may assume that the stronghold fulfilled an important military role in the early
Piast
a palatium building with a rotunda, as well as the remains of a church of St
John the Baptist situated in the north part of the stronghold (Fig.
foundation of the palatium has been ascribed to Mieszko II, and the cessation
of the construction explained by the invasion of the Bohemian prince
at the end of the
drawn by the discovery in the northwest part of the courtyard of the stronghold
of the remains of the church of John the Baptist which was
SUMMARY
of the eleventh century. This church is distinguished (apart from its setting) by
its surprising
composed of two semicircular side towers (probable stair towers) and the
quadrangular central tower. Investigators have linked the form of the structure
with Carolingian-Ottonian influences. Who built such a building here and for
what purpose
questions which at the moment have no answer.
A significant event of the past few years has been the beginning of
excavations at Kaldus in the
the uncovering of the remains of a large stone-built structure of aisled basilican
form with semicircular apses (Fig.
Kaldus is similar to the plans of contemporary cathedrals at
and thus representing the architectural plan of Carolingian buildings. The church
at Kaldus is the most northerly of the sacral buildings in the early
From the cemetery sited near the stronghold
unusual which has been investigated to date in the region of eastern
-
Chapter
In the
with great attention, although in this case the reasons for this were completely
different ones. The discoveries made here made a great impression, it is rare
to find the "archaeological material" of an early urban centre in such a good
state of preservation (Plate
not only a rare case of building construction, but also a bishop's stronghold
which arose in the last phases of the early Middle Ages and also at the end of
the period of stronghold construction in the Polish lands. The well-preserved
remains of the medieval buildings found in the archaeological investigations
under
of detail they offered.
In the south of the country in the place called Stolpie near
mysterious five-storey stone tower
attached to its base (Plates
of a Greek cross and the original entrance to the tower was on the fourth floor.
There are no similar buildings in this part of Europe. There is a theory which
is being tested that this complex had a monastic-hermitage function. The
archaeological context of the finds which have so far been obtained from the
layers lying against the base of the tower and especially the glazed and slipped
pottery like that known from
including the presence of a church on its upper floor (with a rich decoration
with glazed floor tiles
duke Daniel of
of the tower building was of Rus-Byzantine inspiration, and that it was
constructed probably already before the end of the twelfth century.
428
Chapter
The rural landscape of the pre-state period has not been the subject of any
larger research projects in Poland. While residential and ancillary buildings are
frequently examined, their wider context in the settlement network has only
sporadically been analysed (Figs
case of rural settlements, ideas such as "Early Medieval", "Late Medieval" and
"Post-Medieval" have a different meaning. In rural cemeteries and settlements,
there is frequently a lack of the reflection in the material culture of the passing
from one epoch to another.
In the early state period, the most frequent group of settlements are those
which developed spontaneously, and thus with scattered buildings (Fig.
They are characterised by existing for a long period, sometimes going back to
tribal times and also a pattern of spatial development which is difficult to
categorise. Another group is formed by villages with the buildings in rows.
These are situated on the slopes of rises, along river valleys and streams,
sometimes along existing communication routes. Settlements adjacent to strong¬
holds often had such a form. Even rarer are villages arranged around a central
open space (Fig.
In the case of settlements with a long period of existence (from tribal times),
the possibilities of recognition of the original property divisions and buildings
are limited. The frequent divisions of property and rebuilding of structures have
meant that the properties of the same owners have sometimes been located in
different places. This hindered not only their use, but also the collection of rent
and tithes. For this reason in the twelfth and thirteenth century, in a period
when there was a considerable growth in the number of rural settlements, an
amalgamation was carried out in order to facilitate this. Only in the case of
Church property, together with the establishment and development of parishes,
were the newly-created settlements decidedly bigger.
A specific group of settlements are the so-called 'service settlements'. These
should be treated as the result of the rise of early urban centres and their
economic hinterland. In the opinion of many authors, this type of settlement
was an 'imported idea' in the Polish lands, and its beginnings should be
sought in the Carolingian world. In central Europe they were 'implanted'
earlier in Bohemia, from where the idea spread to
Hungary.
Their appearance in Poland should be dated to the period from the second
half of the tenth century to the beginning of the eleventh century. From the
twelfth century, settlements of this type passed out of the hands of the ruler,
mainly (though no only) as donations to the Church. It is thought that the
collapse of the system of service villages occurred in the thirteenth century and
finally disappeared at the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
A significant number survived in the vicinity of the main centres of the state,
SUMMARY
for nearly
Their names are connected mostly with livestock rearing, hunting, fishing,
services to the court, and also a broad range of other services (Fig.
of these settlements has so far been the subject of a dedicated project of
archaeological
Newer investigations have also produced examples of settlements which do
not fit into the old interpretive schemes. As an illustration of this, the author
describes the results of his own investigations of a settlement of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries carried out at Kaczyce (Fig.
differentiated from others of the same period by the number of 'rich' finds,
collected in a single, and in addition atypical context (Fig.
also occurred objects made of high quality
that the pottery from the site could compete in qualitative terms with that from
Sandomierz,
region. Also in the oldest features of the site (eleventh century) it was determined
that there were twice as many bones of small ruminants (sheep/goat) as those
of other animals. This is a feature which is exceptional in Early Medieval Poland
and only a few sites are comparable. The remains of horses also are many times
more frequent here than in other cases. Who were the inhabitants of this site?
Was the investigated area the eastern edge of a prosperous knightly estate? If
so, how to explain the "nomadic" consumption habits of its inhabitants in the
eleventh century phase? The lack of later medieval material on the site is notable,
it presumably did not continue to be used. In the opinion of the author, in
Polish lands, we have considerably more examples of this type of surprise
similar to the settlement described above. Their recognition will require the
acceptance of a new philosophy of investigation, in which rural settlements will
find the position they deserve.
Chapter
of the Oldest Monastic Complexes
This chapter considers the oldest monastic communities in the Polish lands
the Benedictines and Cistercians. Among the earliest of their foundations is the
Benedictine Abbey at
the middle of the eleventh century (Plates
excavations have been conducted in this complex over the past fifty years.
Further archaeological and conservation investigations carried out in the mid
1990s
buildings to be determined. The building of the abbey church was begun at
the end of the 1050s. Among the most spectacular discoveries were the graves
containing what are thought to be the remains of the first abbot
successor Anchora. The deceased were laid in stone sarcophagi with pastorals
and, in two cases, also with liturgical vessels (Figs
430
found of the oldest sacral building. In the phase dated to the last quarter of
the eleventh or twelfth century, in this place a complete Romanesque monastery
was built over the site.
The Benedictine house in
from the turn of the eighth and ninth centuries there had been an intensive
development of settlement. The beginnings of the monastery are dated to the
1040s. The construction of the monastic church was a long drawn-out proc¬
ess. In its style, the oldest building recalled a reduced form of Carolingian
architecture. It was determined that in the earliest phase, the western crypt
fulfilled the function of a Chapter House (Figs
the thirteenth century, on the site of the timber and earthwork defences of
the former settlement, was built the first masonry circuit wall. It is one of the
oldest examples of brick built defensive walls in Poland.
Other results came from the investigation of the former Benedictine house
at
Silesia. The first (failed) foundation dates to the second half of the eleventh
century. In the second phase (first half of the twelfth century) the original
building plan was abandoned. One could say therefore that in reality it was
a new foundation, and in addition, one realised after a long break (Fig.
Two graves here are worthy of especial note. While in a grave chapel,
discovered on the north side of the chancel, the remains of a man were found
a metre below the floor. The body was placed in bottomless chamber of wood.
It is suggested that the remains belonged to duke
[Laskonogi] (Fig.
complex was the discovery of a settlement associated with the construction of
the monastery. It was established that the majority of this settlement was cleared
after the construction of the monastery in the second half of the thirteenth
century. Some parts of it however remained in use and buildings were still
being erected there, connected with the use of this area by people providing
services for the monastery.
From the twelfth century, the Cistercians and their foundations constitute
and increasingly numerous group of monasteries in the landscape of early
Medieval Poland (Fig.
daughter house of the
of this group are the abbey at
Łekno.
The latter has been the subject of intensive investigations in recent years.
Among other things, the foundations and lower parts of the walls of the monastic
church in the form of a rotunda, dated to the period before the middle of the
eleventh century (Fig.
significance in the process of Christianisation of northeast
adjacent territories, especially Prussia and
SUMMARY
In Wachock in the
emotion in the scholarly milieu. These were the relics of a sacral structure
interpreted as a palace chapel
as a palatium. Both buildings were thought to be earlier than the walls of the
abbey (Fig.
as well as their context, the construction of the complex was defined as the
period to the middle of the eleventh century. But the material evidence arouses
much controversy and is difficult to interpret unequivocally.
In the eleventh century, many Canonical Orders came into being, with
whom are connected many collegiate churches (see Chapter
half of the twelfth century, the Augustine canons were particularly active. It is
with them that the projected (for more recent investigations have shown that
it was never finished) monastery on the peak of
linked (see Chapter
Trzemeszno
Poland was the Norbertans, who in the first decades of the thirteenth century
already had in Poland over a dozen abbeys. At the
thirteenth centuries the Norbertan monastery of The Virgin Mary and the
Holy Cross was founded as well as the rotunda of St Procopius in Strzelno
(Figs
the aisles with very rare
the oldest orders should also be mentioned the Joannites [Hospitallers of the
Knights of St John of Jerusalem] a military order founded in Jerusalem during
the Crusades, in order to look after pilgrims and the sick. Their first seat in
Poland was at
Crusades, duke Henry of
church of John the Baptist.
Chapter
The marks which are found on the base of pottery vessels are an unrecognised
element of the material culture of the Slavic countries of the Early Middle Ages.
They were placed on the exterior of the base, and are only rarely found
elsewhere. Another important feature was the way the symbol was created: they
are most frequently an impression of a negative mark cut into the potter's wheel,
only rarely were these marks made with a stamp or incised into the clay.
Attention is drawn by the variety of form of the signs, even on the same site
(Fig.
marks could be linked with solar themes (wheel, crosses, swastikas and their
variants), although the semantic content of many others remains unknown.
These marks occur in a particular chronological horizon, most often from the
second half of the tenth to the middle of the thirteenth centuries, though they
are also met in earlier and later periods (Fig.
432
sporadically. The marks have been interpreted as having many functions, in
economical terms (ownership marks, workshop marks, control marks) as well
as in magical terms (protection against evil forces). None of these hypotheses
however have led to a resolution of the problem.
The ceramics analysed recently from
in detail by the author, have produced interesting information for discussion on
the topic of the function of these potters' marks. This concerns especially the
rarer incised marks (Figs
(Fig.
(magical) marking of both the potter's wheel, as well as the products. The most
frequent group are marks impressed by the wheel. In many cases the impres¬
sions are illegible or very poorly legible. This suggests the hypothesis that the
marks had an atropaic effect directed at the wheel and protected it from evil,
while the marks placed on the pots by inscribing or by the use of stamps were
connected functionally with the product. The author considers the degree to
which these marks are a distinguishing characteristic of Slavic pottery. Both the
chronological and geographical contexts of the finds of pottery bases with such
marks shows that they were an inter-regional phenomenon, known also among
other European peoples, both
however, do these pottery marks occur in such concentrations as in Slav lands
(the example of an Early Medieval site on the Rhone mentioned in the text is
rather an exception to this general rule). It is difficult to give an unequivocal
answer to the question about the circumstances, when and why the Slavs began
on such a large scale to put these marks on the wheel and vessels. There are
no such marks on Early Slav vessels. The oldest marks appear on Slav pottery
made in the eighth century in the regions south of the Carpathians. This may
show that it was in this region that this custom became accepted by the Slavs.
It is highly probable that familiarity with the "ideology of marks" and its
acceptance in the Slavic culture took place as a result of the contact between
the Slavs and the nomadic peoples (Avars, Protobulgars) who knew the practice
earlier. In the Slavic milieu it was not however simply an adoption of this
custom, which is shown by its variety and scale. One may presume that the
Slavs adapted the practices already known among various European peoples to
give rise to a new clearer expression of symbolic culture, recognisable in the
archaeological material until the end of the Early Medieval period.
Chapter
A great change which occurred at the beginning of the early state period in the
Polish lands was the transition from cremation to inhumation which was brought
about by the introduction of Christianity in the second half of the tenth century.
In general, scholars are sceptical both about the possibility of a rapid and general
religious conversion as well as the thesis concerning the spread of inhumation
SUMMARY
in the Polish lands already by the end of the tenth century. Many biritual
cemeteries existed into the eleventh and twelfth centuries. This concerns
principally those areas where paganism lasted longer
or those places where people of a different cultural tradition were buried
(Fig.
was the non-churchyard row-cemetery (sometimes called rural cemeteries),
situated away from residential areas. These cemeteries have only shallow
stratigraphy and contain from a few dozen to a few hundred, and sometimes
more, burials. The graves are flat as opposed to the earlier type under barrows.
These row-graves retain some of the characteristics of the pagan rites, such as
burying the dead with weapons, ornaments, amulets and objects of daily use.
There are graves there with a western orientation (the dead "look to the east")
or with an eastern one, the latter is regarded as a survival of pre-Christian ritual.
The location of cemeteries away from habitation was due to a fear of the dead
who were in this manner isolated from the world of the living. This fear also
found expression in the anti-vampire practices which are attested by some of
the archaeological remains.
During the twelfth century, there were changes both in the location of
cemeteries as well as their form. This occurs in connection with the rise of
churches in early urban centres, at first stronghold churches, and with time
becoming parochial churches. Around these churches, in ground which had
been conseaated by the priest, the dead were buried. In this manner the next
ideological change took place, as a result of which the world of the dead came
into contact with that of the living, as a result of the cemeteries 'entering' the
towns. These changes in the funeral rite were accompanied by a successive
disappearance of grave goods. At the end of the Early medieval period, graves
were as a rule without any grave goods.
In the later parts of the chapter are presented examples of cemeteries in
which it has been possible to identify the alien (non-local) origin of some of
the deceased. In the biritual cemetery at Piaski-Rochy
basis of the form of the burials and their contents the origins of the deceased
have been sought among the Pomeranians and Wieleti (Wiltzi) resettled to this
region (Fig.
in a previously uninhabited area at the end of the tenth century. Similar evidence
has been identified at a few other cemeteries in the Polish lands.
An increasing number of burials dated to the period between the end of
the tenth century and middle of the eleventh century is being identified where
there is a suspicion that they contain the bodies of people of Scandinavian
origin. There is an interesting pattern, while the finds in graves before the tenth
century typically suggest a status of "settler" for the dead, graves of immigrants
of the period of the early state, dated from the end of the tenth to the middle
of the eleventh century are distinguished by their containing weapons. The
author discusses the examples of such cemeteries as
434
Łubowo, Luboń, Sowinki
the presence in the local Slavic milieu of representatives of the warrior elite
from the north, in some kind of relationship with the local Slavic elites. In
Łubowo
ducal residence (members of the personal retinue of the duke?).
Evidence of the presence of Scandinavians in the Polish lands is found on
both settlement sites as well as cemeteries. Although these traces are legible
over large areas of
that in no place was there evidence that they were dominant, nor in any way
having any power to organize the life of the native societies. Some of the
Scandinavian elements which appear together in these graves, such as scales
and swords, suggest that the basis for the daily life of the deceased had been
trade and the military arts. Graves with Scandinavian grave goods differ from
others in the cemeteries of the early state period. They are more richly-furnished,
with visible traces of coffins, and above all contain an exceptionally large
number of luxury items and
Europe. Most frequently they are imports from the areas of Middle Sweden,
Gotland, Oland, and
The situation is somewhat different in the case of the complex at Bardy-
Świelubie
probably coming from Middle Sweden (Fig.
cemetery at Lutomiersk near
was identified, it was shown that a large proportion of the grave equipment
was of Scandinavian origin (Fig.
graves of
of members of the retinue of the
in Russia in
near
in form and their rich furnishings from the rest (Fig.
these were the graves of immigrants, from among whom members of the Church
elite and the court were drawn.
In Mazovia, a specific feature of the funeral ritual are the so-called 'graves
with stone constructions' (Fig.
constructions varies across the region, they always have a number of features
in common. They have a row-grave layout, they have shallow stratigraphy, with
the graves aligned east-west, and the burials within them are richly-furnished
(Figs
of dress, many objects of daily use and weapons (Fig.
it was thought that graves with stone kerbs were the only form of burial in
Mazovia in the early state period, but, now that cemeteries of graves without
stone elements have been discovered, the question arises about the relationship
between the two characteristic but diametrically different characteristics of the
burial ritual of early Medieval Mazovia. It has not yet been possible to determine
SUMMARY
what lies behind these customs: Scandinavian influence, local pagan traditions,
or connections with the Baltic milieu. In the light of the current lack of
knowledge, there is no basis on which to argue either for a local evolution of
this burial ritual.
In the south of Poland, attention is drawn to elements of the funeral rite
which have clear eastern connections. As an example may be cited the
rich burials in stone sarcophagi including those from Trepcza near
(Plate
of the strategic centres on the eastern periphery of
and the radiocarbon dates which go back to the eleventh century, suggest the
significance of this centre in the process of the Christianisation of this part of
the Carpathian region.
In Silesia the cemetery at Niemcza (Site Niemcza
15.13),
around which he graves are laid out, but above all for the possibility that it
was founded under the Czechs, already before Poland had accepted Christianity.
If so, it would be the oldest inhumation cemetery of peoples living in the Polish
lands.
An important element of research over the past few years has been
consideration of the social aspects of the analysis of Early Medieval cemeteries.
This approach was pioneered in the investigation of the cemetery at Dzieka-
nowice in the hinterland of
Radom
the investigation of a rural cemetery located near the parish church at
near
was compared with those of modern times. The cemetery supplies an example
of a rural population, in which the influence of settlers from the outside
remained limited during the seven centuries over which the cemetery was in
use. This may explain the large degree of "stability" in the characteristics of the
discovered skeletal remains over a long period of time.
In recent years attempts have been made to describe the blood relationships
of the deceased by archaeological and anthropological means. Investigations of
cemeteries such as
is possible to recreate the specific rules which governed the burials of the dead.
These include hypotheses concerning the blood relationships between the
people buried there and also concerning the influx of people of
in Early Medieval
In the light of the analyses carried out, from the second half of the tenth century,
a considerable component of the population in the cemeteries of
was made up of people of
populations.
The consideration of the mortal remains surviving in the soil of the Early
Medieval population
43б
presentation of the key problems of Polish Early Medieval archaeology. The
author notes that the discovery and study of the past is inevitably accompanied
by the dilemma of the interpretation of many of the discoveries. Because of
this, it is necessary to consider that the conclusions presented in this book will
themselves inevitably undergo the process of critical verification.
Translation by Paul Barford |
| adam_txt |
Spis
Wstęp
Rozdział
POCZĄTKI ZAINTERESOWAŃ, NARODZINY I ROZWÓJ
Początki najdawniejsze
Wiek
Narodziny i powolny wzrost: pierwsze dwudziestolecie
Lata trzydzieste: archeologia wczesnego średniowiecza w natarciu
sporu o Słowian ciąg dalszy i systematyczne prace wykopaliskowe
obiektów wczesnośredniowiecznych
Dwie dekady powojenne: zbliżające się milenium i badania nad początkami
państwa polskiego
Lata siedemdziesiąte i osiemdziesiąte: udane pokłosie badań milenijnych
Ostatnia dekada
odpowiedzi
Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej: archeologia regionów
czy archeologia bez granic?
Rozdział
Stanowisko archeologiczne
Stratyfikacje, warstwy, obiekty
Wczesnośredniowieczne stanowiska archeologiczne i ich stratyfikacje:
problemy eksploracji
Stratyfikacje stanowisk wczesnomiejskich
Stratyfikacje osad typu wiejskiego
Stratyfikacje obiektów sakralnych i pogańskich miejsc kultu
Stratyfikacje cmentarzysk wielowarstwowych
Warstwy i ich zawartość ruchoma: znaleziska masowe
Ceramika jako źródło do badania dawnych społeczności
Szczątki archeozoologiczne i
Zabytki wydzielone
Gleba i jej komponenty przyrodnicze
Pozostałe grupy danych
Pozostałe grupy danych (II): przedstawienia ikonograficzne
Rozdział
„Autochtoniści", „allochtoniści" i inni: długie dzieje sporu o pochodzenie
Słowian
Między starożytnością a wczesnym średniowieczem ziem polskich:
przerwa czy kontynuacja?
Jeden czy wiele wzorców kultury materialnej Słowian?
Słowiański fenomen: jak go wytłumaczyć?
Rozdział
„Geografìa
Najstarsze grody "wczesnośredniowieczne: kiedy powstawały?
Wielość czy jedność obrządku pogrzebowego?
"Wiele pytań i mało odpowiedzi
Rozdział
W kręgu wielkich ośrodków kultu okresu plemiennego: Łysa Góra na
wschodniej krawędzi Łysogór (Góry Świętokrzyskie)
Tajemnice góry Ślęży
Inne góry
Zagadkowe Żmigrody
Rozdział
Świątynie pod gołym niebem
Stary cmentarz i nowe problemy
Zapomniana czy żywa tradycja?
Rozdział
Monumentalizm, który zadziwiał od dawna
Kopiec Przemysława (Tatarski) w Przemyślu
Domniemane monumentalne kopce w Przemyskiem
Sandomierski kopiec
Krakowskie kopce Krakusa i Wandy
Pozostałe wielkie kopce w Małopolsce
Kontekst europejski
Kopce małopolskie: kiedy i dlaczego je wznoszono?
Rozdział
Odkrycie, które budzi emocje
Co odkryto na tabliczkach z Podeblocia?
Powrót do tematu: tabliczki w świetle najnowszych badań
Rozdział
Między archeologią, tradycją dynastyczną a legendą
Tam, gdzie narodziła się Polska: Wielkopolska u progu przełomu
państwowego
Skąd pochodzili Piastowie?
Z Wielkopolski do Małopolski: piastowskie wyjście na zewnątrz
Kierunek północny: Piastowie nad Zatoką Gdańską
„Zapomniane" Mazowsze czy strategiczna rezerwa terytorialna?
Od Bałtyku po Sudety: Śląsk i Pomorze Zachodnie
Śląsk „czeski" czy „piastowski"?
Pomorze Zachodnie: „republiki miejskie" i dawne terytoria plemienne
Ziemia krakowska: ostatni etap budowy państwa polskiego
Próba bilansu
Rozdział
Stolice państwa gnieźnieńskiego: rywalizacja o prymat pierwszeństwa
Od legendarnego Lecha do Mieszka I
ЅДпу
Gród na bursztynowym szlaku
Miasto o dwunastu bramach
Gdańsk wczesnopaństwowy czy plemienny?
Początki Płocka ciągle poznawane
Pierwsza wielka inwestycja piastowska w Małopolsce?
Intrygujący rywal Sandomierza
Tajemnice Góry Katedralnej w Chełmie
Centrum na peryferii
W cieniu pogańskiego księcia
Kraków, Wawel i archeologia
Kto wybudował najstarszy
Rozdział
Ostrów Lednicki: rezydencjonalny ośrodek pierwszych Piastów czy najstarsze
na ziemiach polskich episcopium?
Niesfinalizowana wielka inwestycja
Chełmiński sedes
Gród pod zamkiem
Kamienna wieża i grodek w Stołpiu: wczesnośredniowieczne baptysterium,
grodek strażniczy czy wieżowy monastyr na wschodniej rubieży państwa?
Rozdział
Na uboczu zainteresowań
Osady wiejskie: jak je postrzegamy?
Niewykorzystany
Wsie nieodgadnione
Rozdział
ZESPOŁÓW KLASZTORNYCH
Najstarsze klasztory i archeologia
U progu chrystianizacji: pierwsze opactwa benedyktyńskie
W cieniu Wzgórza Wawelskiego: archeologia w badaniach opactwa
oo. benedyktynów św. Piotra i Pawła w Tyńcu pod Krakowem
Kościół i klasztor na osadzie grodowej
Podwójna fundacja i spór o pochówek książęcy
Archeologia w badaniach najstarszych fundacji cysterskich
Łekneński „klasztorek"
Klasztor na ruinach palatium?
Klasztory ciągle poznawane
Rozdział
Długa historia badań i niejednoznaczne wyniki
Znaki na dnach naczyń z Kalisza i Ostrowa Lednickiego: obfitość
nowych jakościowo źródeł archeologicznych
Znaki, jakich mało
Skąd ten zwyczaj i dlaczego znakowano naczynia?
Rozdział
Od kremacji do inhumacji: cmentarze okresu wczesnopaństwowego
Pomorzanie i "Wieleci w Wielkopolsce?
Groby wikingów?
Wielka nekropola wojowników
Nie tylko wojownicy
Kogo chowano w mazowieckich grobach z konstrukcjami kamiennymi?
Obcy na południu
Kim byli, co ich łączyło?
Bibliografia
Summary
Indeks nazw geograficznych i miejscowych
Summaiy
The Archaeology of Early Medieval Poland.
Discoveries
Introduction
The book presents the most interesting archaeological discoveries, hypotheses
and interpretations concerning the archaeology of the Polish lands between
the sixth and middle of the thirteenth century. These concern the stages of the
settlement of these areas by Slavic peoples, the transition from tribal organization
to early state ones, the rise of towns, rural centres and ecclesiastical organization.
The work also provides an overview of the archaeology of Polish lands in the
Early Medieval period, illustrated by discoveries, the interpretation of which
sometimes has divided the scientific milieu.
The geographical scope of the book covers the area of today's Poland,
excepting the territories occupied by Bait peoples
of
therefore an area which is roughly the same as the Poland which was occupied
in the times of the early monarchy of the
the tenth century in which the stage of the formation and consolidation of state
structures ended in western Europe, but in Poland was marked by the
beginnings of Christianisation and the building of the structure of the
This is why the book considers the processes of the chartering
Polish towns on German Law which was initiated about the middle of the
thirteenth century. The book is addressed to students of archaeology, archae¬
ologists, historians as well as to a wider readership interested in the archaeology
of the Early Middle Ages. Each chapter is accompanied by a list of the most
important literature.
Chapter
Beginnings of Interest, Birth and Development
This chapter describes the most important periods connected with the begin¬
nings of interest in Early Medieval sites and objects, beginning in the Later
Middle Ages when attention was first paid to elements of the landscape
408
connected with legendary events (for example the monumental barrows
of
country) through to the nineteenth century, when the distant roots of a Slavic
identity were being sought and the first archaeological scientific institutions were
bom.
The first decades of the twentieth century may be defined as a period of
the birth and slow growth of archaeology as a scientific discipline. It was in
this period that the first academic centres at Cracow, Warsaw and
created, centres which in subsequent decades played an important role in
Poland. In this period, we observe a large number of field investigations carried
out. These tendencies, which were favourable for the growth of Early Medieval
archaeology in Poland, intensified in the
the Slavs and Germans took on a greater significance in the run-up to the
Second World War and in the confrontation with the so-called 'ethnic school'
of G. Kossinna,
After the end of the Second World War, the study of the archaeology of
Polish lands experienced an unprecedented development connected with the
approach of the
also a period of the methodological revolution (though one unwanted by the
scientific milieu) which aimed to adapt scientific methodology to the needs of
the new Marxist ideology. But at the same time, the scale of the programme
of fieldwork initiated created favourable conditions for the development of
interdisciplinary co-operation and international contacts.
The
successful development of the gains of the Millennium Project period. It was in
these decades that we meet the first large synthetic publications of the sites
excavated earlier. The origin of the Slavs remained a topic of considerable
interest (though a problem which remained unresolved by the organization of
many conferences and discussions). The last decade of the twentieth century
was also an exceptionally fruitful period for the archaeological study of the Early
Medieval period. Due to the wider use of dendrochronology, many earlier ideas
about the chronology of the construction of strongholds in the tribal and early
state period underwent considerable modification.
A new impulse to the undertaking of research was found in the preparations
for the 1000th anniversary in the year
programmes of scientific investigation carried out on this occasion led to the
critical verification of many earlier conclusions. A new element of research in
the last decade has been the carrying out of investigations (abandoned after the
Millennium Project period) of early centres in Poland's borderlands. From
the very beginning, they have revealed the complexities, but also richness, of
the Russian-Byzantine culture of frontier communities. The last decade of the
twentieth century saw above all a stiffening of positions of investigators engaged
in the (already traditional) conflicts over the origins of the Slavs.
SUMMARY
An indicator of the good condition of Early Medieval "archaeology at the
beginning of the third millennium is the increasingly closer collaboration with
Medieval historians, which symbolises a return to the inspiration of its origins
and development. These connections have born fruit in increasing numbers
of joint research initiatives and consequent publications.
Chapter
This chapter characterises the most important types of evidence used in this
research: material from excavations, including their context (broadly under¬
stood), the records of chroniclers, preserved sacral and secular architecture and
data from other disciplines. Much space is devoted to the definition of the
concept of an archaeological site. These include both historical spatial organi¬
zations in Polish towns, the remains of ancient fortifications, sites of pagan cult
practices, sacral architecture, deserted settlements, former production sites,
communication routes, cemeteries and also surviving elements of the primeval
landscape. Each of these types of site is presented in the context of their
stratification, manner of using them as sources of evidence and the characteristics
of fieldwork on them (Plates
Special attention is paid to archaeological layers, the manner of their
investigation, the stratigraphical method (Figs
and contents of layers are discussed, including mass finds (pottery, animal bone)
and "small finds" (Plate
archaeozoological investigation and the use of the methods of the natural
sciences (Figs
of written sources and
cance for the study of the Early Medieval period are indicated (Figs
Chapter
The title of this chapter makes reference to the debates which have been going
on in Poland for many years concerning the origin of the Slavs. The effect of
these discussions has so far been a polarisation of positions between the two
main options which have been formulated. The first is the concept of a "western"
origin of the Slavs, that is as autochthonous to the Polish lands, while the
alternative is that which proposes an "eastern" (allochthonous) origin of the
Slavs. In the first, the cradle of the Slavs is located most frequently in the
watersheds of the Vistula and Oder, and thus in the territory of today's Poland,
while the second proposes the ancient homeland would have lain mainly in
modern Ukraine and partly Belarussia. An "intermediate" concept exists, in
which the genesis of the Slavs has been linked with both the western and
eastern territories (between the Oder-Vistula and
homeland of the Slavs in completely different areas of Europe and Asia. The
410
author presents the arguments for the basic hypotheses in the context of the
so-called 'Early Slav cultural model'. He suggests that it is difficult to speak of
a single cultural pattern, since in different areas of Europe the material remains
are so different. From the eastern part of the Mediterranean Basin, we have
written sources which tell us of the presence of Slavs, while most frequently
there is a total lack of material evidence of their presence. A similar picture
emerges in the case of the western Balkans (Croatia), where the Slavs arrived
during the first phase of their expansion southwards. "What differentiates those
areas from others? Above all, the fact that they belong to the zone of the
so-called Roman-Byzantine culture. Further to the north, in the territories along
the Danube, the situation is more differentiated. We find here both the material
evidence of the presence of nomads, as well as the autochthonous
peoples but also the Slavs. Among the southern neighbours of Poland pottery
vessels of the 'Prague' type (Plate
logically advanced type, including wheelmade vessels
Ipoteşti-Cindeşti-Ciurel
Slav graves seems not to be reflected by the early Medieval cemetery with over
1500
originally belonging to the former Roman province of
by intense "mixing" of cultural elements of Roman and barbarian civilization; in
the latter case this concerns Germans, Slavs, groups of autochthonous peoples
and nomadic groups.
A model area for the study of the material culture of the Early Slavs are the
territories lying to the north of the arc of the Carpathians, including the area of
modem Poland. How can one explain the selectivity of the material evidence
of the cultures that are ascribed to them? One of the possible answers is as
follows: in the areas where there were the greater number of civilizing influences
to be assimilated (Mediterranean region), the Slavs rapidly and willingly resigned
from their "unprepossessing cultural pattern", and became absorbed into the
local environment (here one is reminded of the
they invaded Italy). Further to the north, and thus in areas where we encounter
enclaves of people with a heterogeneous level of civilization, their choices were
more selective. This is the reason why the pattern of Early Slav culture seen
through its material correlates is equivocal in its message. Only in the territories
to the north of the Carpathians, demographically depleted by the population
movements of the fifth century
-
This includes sunken floored huts with corner ovens (Fig.
type (Plate
strongholds (Plates
frequently connected with later periods. This raises the question, why the Slavs
of this earliest phase remained so culturally unlike their neighbours? The author
is of the opinion that, in considerations of this question, not enough attention
SUMMARY
has been paid to the fact frequently emphasised by Byzantine writers concerning
the surprising mobility of the Slavs who in a few generations were visible
throughout almost all of Europe. This factor, characteristic for the social models
of the nomads, and not agriculturalists and livestock herders as were the Slavs,
meant the material conditions of their existence, especially in the period of
seeking new areas to settle, became similar to that of the nomads. While for
nomads, wandering was a permanent and normal situation, it was one which
was forced upon these agriculturalists and livestock herders. The Slavs however
did not become nomads because of their long and enforced
material culture of the earliest phase is not only surprisingly impoverished, but
also comprises a unique phenomenon in this part of the continent. The source
of the poverty and simplification of the material cultural inventory in this phase
of the settlement of Europe might, therefore, be the lack of conditions for the
creation of material goods requiring a more considerable expenditure of work,
in the unstable economic conditions. An important obstacle might have been
both the frequency of wandering, as well as the scattered settlement pattern of
the oldest settlement (Fig.
lack among the oldest Slavs in central Europe a developed
tools in the material culture, including the potter's wheel, and the only sporadic
finds (though not lack!) of ornament (Plate
material culture, so characteristic of other sedentary societies of the period. In
the opinion of the author, in the phase of migration, the occupation and bringing
into use (sometimes only temporarily) of new territories, the settlers confined
themselves to producing the most simple and basic objects indispensable for
daily life. This is the model which is suggested by, for example, pots of the
'Prague' type. These were products of the most simple form possible, undeco-
rated, handmade without the use of the wheel, out of generally available local
materials. In the opinion of the author, one might imagine this simplified cultural
assemblage to be similar to the situation of the American pioneers of the Wild
West in the period when they were seeking new lands to settle down. It would
be difficult to compare the quality of the material culture during their wanderings
with the culture of the inhabitants of the towns of the East Coast. The simplified
instrumentarium
Slavic culture would therefore be a reflection of the period of economic
instability in the phase of the search for and occupation of new settlement
habitats. But the Slavs, seen in the context of their own migrations not on
a regional basis but in the context of developments over the whole of Europe
-
ideology of "unpretentiousness". In the opinion of the author, this was a society
above all of considerable creative inventiveness and adaptive capabilities.
Agriculturalists and livestock herders, but mobile like nomads: accepting in the
phase of settling new territories an "unprepossessing level of material culture",
but at the same time wherever this was possible, making use of the civilisational
412
benefits they encountered on their way. It was this which eventually decided
their historical role as the co-creators of Early Medieval Europe.
Chapter
About the middle of the seventh century, the peoples inhabiting today's Polish
lands entered the phase of the consolidation of settlement. This is a period of
slow (extending into the eighth and even to the beginning of the ninth century)
disappearance of the relatively egalitarian material culture of the early Medieval
period, at the same time the creation of a tribal structure of a new type.
Alongside the open settlements, strongholds became an element of the land¬
scape, and it was around them that clusters of open settlements developed. The
names of peoples such as the
were known already to the Byzantine and Frankish writers who associated some
of these tribes with certain political episodes in the history of Europe of these
times.
The author analyses the tribal structures of the peoples known from the
written sources, and then confronts this information with the archaeological
evidence. He feels that, although the term "tribe" is used in the book, a more
suitable one would be "ethnic group" in the sense that it is used in contemporary
anthropology. The adjective "tribal" is thus used mainly to refer to settlement
communities inhabiting various regions of Polish lands in the period directly
preceding the formation of a state. A difficulty arises in that the written sources
do not give the names of some of the tribes and archaeological investigations
suggest different pictures, of the settlement of the Polish lands (Figs
A fundamental question of the archaeology of the "tribal" period are the
beginnings and stages of development of stronghold construction. Already in
the period of Early Slav culture, in the Polish lands the Slavs were building
defensive structures (see Chapter
identified is surprisingly small in relation to the overall number of archaeological
sites of the period. It would be difficult to say what the reason was for the
decidedly rare use which was made of this possibility in the earliest phases.
A specific feature of the construction of strongholds in
against the background of other regions are the so-called Great Strongholds of
the
mostly located on heights or the slopes of hills. They have varying forms and
plans, though they all have timber ramparts. They are distinguished from other
strongholds of the period primarily by their size. They are as a rule large sites
(with a surface area of
the ramparts in many cases there is a lack of traces of internal structures, though
in some cases
huts has been identified. From that point of view however these sites do not
form a homogeneous group. In the south of the country there are also
SUMMARY
strongholds with ramparts with a stone facing (Fig.
systems of defences with linear earthworks (Fig.
A subject of wide discussion is the date of and circumstances in which the
oldest barrow cemeteries appear. While it is true that Early Medieval barrow
burial has a beginning in the Late Roman period, the span of time which
separates the two phases is a considerable one, a period of about
years. An important element of investigations into the burial rituals of the "tribal
period" is the evidence from the monumental barrows of
investigation and analysis of the most impressive of them demonstrates a similarity
of symbolism and their probable association with the attributes of tribal authority
(Chapter
Krzna
burials, sometimes with internal constructions of a type not met anywhere else
in Poland. In the regions of
of the Alt
The beginnings of the rite of inhumation in the Polish lands are also
analysed. These are often assigned to the second half of the tenth century,
though in the opinion of some, they had a completely different chronology. In
this context it is worth drawing attention to the graves of Magyar nomads (Figs
4.11, 4.12)
The author recapitulates the discussions on the subject of the possibilities
of the earlier reception of Christianity which were animated after the Second
World War by the discoveries in
some so-called tablets with what is thought to be traces of writing from the
tribal period at
the penetration of Polish lands by settlers from the Christian south and their
taking root in the local tribal environments.
The transition between cremation to inhumation, the abandonment of
barrow burials for flat graves and the western orientation of the bodies and the
progressive reduction of the burial equipment
generally associated with great ideological changes in the period of transition
from paganism to Christianity. In this context the probably Czech origin of
Cracow and Wroclaw are mentioned. At the same time, the author draws
attention to the fact that so far neither any inhumation graves can be with
certainly assigned to the period before the end of the tenth century, or any
churches connected with the Czech episode of Polish history.
Chapter
Łysa Góra
5.2, 5.3)
associated with many legends The former lies on the eastern edge of the Holy
Cross Mountains and the latter
414
been the subject of archaeological investigations, and although many interdis¬
ciplinary studies have been carried out and new evidence obtained, not all the
fundamental questions have been examined and definitively resolved. These
and other hilltop sites (Plate
A separate topic in the discussion of former cult places is occupied by the places
called
with these associations occur in southern Poland and characteristically in
connection with frontier zones (Plate
puzzles surrounding these sites have yet to bring satisfactory results. Some
authors have drawn attention to their situation on communication routes, but
at the same time there is a lack of firm evidence to confirm the existence of a
stronghold, for example in
investigations of the
evidence of its association with the nomad Avars. More evidence links it with
the world of former belief systems. In this context we may refer to the motifs
of folklore connected with the motif of the
hearth and with control over the lightening, patron of fertility, and combating
aquatic monsters. This motif is especially vivid in the mythology of the South
Slavs, where this being was the guardian of the most important elements of the
homestead: water and the harvest. In this meaning one may treat
a sacral enclosed area
breaking taboos. The fact that these sites are restricted to southern Poland might
indicate a regional variant of a belief in the
Most of the hilltop cult sites are situated in two zones, southern and northern
Poland. There are considerably fewer in
A specific feature of their toponymy is the relatively frequent appearance of the
term
this phenomenon is identified. But none of these sites has attracted as much
attention as
isolated and widely separated from each other, the differentiating factor in the
case of the great mountains is
that in their nearest vicinity there are several similar centres. Despite the time
which has passed since investigations of these sites began, it still remains unclear
why, at whose bidding, or whether at the same time and for what purpose
these sites were built.
Chapter
The cemetery in the forest at
identified at the beginning of the
the subject of discussions due to the survival for over
and oval barrows despite being situated in the deforested loess uplands.
Fourteen of the
SUMMARY
augering (Fig. 6.2).
mostly between
In the context of the discussed phenomenon, an interesting circumstance is the
presence of an empty area among the mounds (Fig.
the traditional meeting place for the local inhabitants at "Whitsun: a procession
here was the culmination of the religious festivities. The barrows are in the
forest which is the only enclave of greenery in the totally deforested loess
plateau. What was the reason for the inhabitants of this area saving this fragment
of greenery? Was it the
zone? Maybe the woodland owed its existence throughout the years because it
contained barrows? There is also one other feature worthy of note. Below the
woodland, on its south side are very prolific springs which today feed fishponds
situated in this place. Perhaps in the early Medieval period these springs (Fig.
6.5)
additional element defining the sacrum of the terrain. Could the woodland, the
barrows within it and the springs flowing below it qualify as a Slavic holy grove?
In the opinion of the author, this thesis, formulated recently, seems quite
probable in the light of the evidence, including other evidence of the practice
of pagan cult (Fig.
Chapter
A specific feature of the tribal period of the south of Poland (but also in this
part of Europe) are monumental mounds. They are distinguished by their
dimensions, exceeding
served height of
from afar and thus constitute a dominating landmark in the landscape. These
mounds occur in the vicinity of former centres of tribal power. The author
presents in this chapter the results of investigations of three of these mounds:
the
and the Salve
Attention has been drawn in the literature to the similarities between the
monumental mounds of
known from Scandinavia. Equally the internal constructions discovered in the
Krakus
find parallels in those barrows (Western Mound at Old Uppsala, South Mound
at Jelling). Also the manner of construction, first the building of a small mound
and then erecting a larger one over it, is very similar to that used to construct
the Chernaya
Sandomierz,
complex. Apart from local tradition (and it is unclear when this originated),
there is a lack of evidence for its Early Medieval origin. It is true that there is
a link in the legends with the Tartars, but there is a lack of material evidence
4l6 SUMMARY
to define the period of origin of the mound. The slopes have been shaped to
make them steeper and to give the mound the form of a regular pyramid
(Plate
case of Cracow, it is situated in a region where we have evidence of significant
centres of tribal authority and of the early state.
We meet a different situation in the case of the Tartar Mound (or Mound of
Przemysław)
are equally complicated matters. The oldest Early Medieval material recovered
so far from its body can be dated at the earliest to the second half of the twelfth
century, and thus to a period considerably later than researchers were expecting.
But this material was found just below the surface. The context of their discovery
-
were lit on the side of a mound existing from some unknown time prior to
this, and it was in the remains of these fires that the broken pottery was found.
Equally complex is the question of the construction of the feature. The outer
layers of the mound contain a large amount of rock fragments, and on its slopes,
solid rock appears just under the turf (Fig.
mound we are dealing with a type of construction which is somewhere between
that of the Cracow mound
mound, created by reshaping a natural feature. The
other feature in common with the
form, while the Cracow mound has a more oval shape.
The monumental mounds of
chambers under them. In the case of the example from Cracow this is because
of the central post and wattle-work constructions, at
is a natural loess hill, and in
with an earthen mound on top.
Theoretically, all of these mounds could have been monumental barrows
with burials on, rather than under, the mound, as in the case of many met over
a wide area of Slavic territory. In such cases, the burnt remains of the deceased
are placed on the summit of the mound. This model of burial widespread in
the Slavic world had at its basis the idea of
Any military intervention would have led to the profanation and destruction of
the remains of even the most famous leader. It cannot be excluded however
that these mounds fulfilled a symbolic function, for example as cenotaphs.
In the chapter other examples of monumental mounds of the region are dis¬
cussed, including those examined in the past at
on the Bug (Fig.
In the first case this was an Early Medieval structure dug into a Roman one.
Other earthworks (Plates
Early Medieval date have not yet been the subject of archaeological investigation.
It is difficult to explain why there is a lack of evidence for a similar
phenomenon in other regions of Poland (Fig.
SUMMARY
Wielkopolska,
reason, the author regards the phenomena observed in
the regional oddities among the formation of tribal structures in wide areas of
Europe. It is unclear whether we should seek traces of outsiders in the genesis
of this phenomenon, or maybe this was a local tradition, or an attempt to imitate
something seen earlier elsewhere and remembered? Each of these options seems
possible at the present state of research.
Chapter
The
a stronghold and settlements and a cemetery (Plate
in history because of the scholarly storm which erupted around the discovery
of three fragments of fired clay, called conventionally "the
(Plates
of the "tribal period", dated to the ninth century (see Fig.
one feature in common: on their surface they have signs resembling writing.
These inscriptions have been read as Turkish runes or Greek writing; in the
second case the inscription would have read "Jesus Christ conquer", or as has
been recently suggested been the monogram of Christ (Fig.
been suggested that the inscription was made by a person who could not in
fact write. If these hypotheses could be positively verified, we would be dealing
not only with the traces of the earliest writing in the Polish lands, but also traces
of the presence of Christians at least
acceptance of Christianity by Poland.
of the tablets were made of local clay, while the raw material of the third,
described as terra
In the same context as the tablets were found ceramic vessels dated to the
ninth century with interesting solar ornament and zoomorphic motifs. Similar
decoration on ceramics from Poland are unique (Figs
questions concerning the discovery itself as well as their wider context require
■further critical analysis, the described finds place
the most fascinating archaeological discoveries of the last century.
Chapter
The first description of the rise of the Polish state appears in the twelfth century
chronicle of
predecessors of Mieszko. The chronicler states that the version given there of
the oldest history was that which was preserved by as he put it "faithful
memory". The thesis of the evolutionary beginnings of the state has dominated
the majority of the interpretations for many years. More recent archaeological
investigations however, carried out in different regions of the country (Figs
9.2)
418 .
of events took place in the tenth century. As a result there was a rapid,
sometimes even catastrophic, collapse of many of the pre-existing tribal centres.
These events were accompanied by permanent or temporary depopulation of
former areas of settlement. Within a short time new centres of the
arose on new sites, beginning the thousand year history of the Polish nation
and state.
A problem which is more widely discussed by the author is the origin of
the creators of the
assigned both a local as well as foreign (Varangian) origin. Archaeologists
however have not earlier considered this problem in much detail, but the author
feels that certain archaeological evidence suggest that the birthplace of the new
dynasty might have been southeast
area shows a lack of the traces of the destruction of tribal centres so characteristic
for other parts of the region. On the contrary, here we see traces of investment
of considerable resources in stronghold construction and other evidence of the
growth of the
What is more,
pre-state strongholds, not only survived, but also developed successfully after
the rise of the state. Thus, in the opinion of the author, it was precisely here
that the best conditions existed for the beginning of the
the archaeological traces of which are the destroyed tribal strongholds and the
construction of new political centres in new locations.
The effects of the
regions of the country. The process is most clearly visible in
Mazovia and the eastern parts of
was the latest to become part of the Polish state, we see more often than other
regions of the country the occupation of older tribal centres either temporarily
(e.g., Naszacowice or
In Silesia however a specific feature of the area is the rise of the chief centres
before
into the Polish state. This may show the annexation of these lands in the 980s,
and thus a few years before their formal incorporation into the
In
centres. They were built in new locations, replacing earlier settlement patterns
(Fig.
tribal centres, which is characteristic of western
brzeg,
In the light of current research, one may be tempted to sketch the stages
of the formation of the territorial foundations of the Polish state. In the light of
the newest archaeological data and dendrochronological analyses, we may
accept that until the end of the 960s the Piasts were organizing the core of the
state
of tenth century?), they had also occupied the western part of Mazovia. Such
SUMMARY
an interpretation would explain the catastrophe which affected the tribal centres
in this area. Perhaps this was the result of a rapid and co-ordinated reaction of
the rulers of the
power of their eastern neighbours. Even if this were the case, it did not lead
to the permanent involvement of the Piasts in the process of the creation of a
state organization in the region, which is indirectly indicated by the lack of any
traces whatsoever of the construction of their strongholds in the area. On the
contrary, the beginnings of
on a previously unoccupied site at the end of the tenth century. If this hypothesis
is valid, it means that until the end of the century, in the eyes of the policies
of the Piasts of
a territorial backwater. It is not known if any attempt was made in this early
period to protect the region against the pagan Prussians which might be the
reason behind the construction of the linear earthwork defences, traces of which
survive in the landscape of the northern periphery of the region (Fig.
Mazovia was the region which was for the longest bereft of any traces of early
urbanization, and in the case of its eastern regions Christianisation also. Perhaps
this hypothesis explains the reasons for the differences between the different
cultural development of Mazovia from other regions of the country, and above
all the intriguingly long survival in daily life of the long-term mixing of different
cultural which is demonstrated by the results of archaeological investigations.
The second
a state occurred in the 970s. This should be related to the activities of the Piasts
on the "eastern bulwark" of the state formed by the territories of eastern
Małopolska
that a group of the oldest towns of
all
in existence.
was either annexed or built. In this manner, already by the end of the tenth
century, the expansion of the Piasts extended along the Vistula river from its
source to its mouth. In the light of the available archaeological information, in
both eastern
justified to see this expansion as having above all a military dimension.
In the light of the available information, the 980s were the period of the
building of the "western bulwark" of the state (Fig.
results of dendrochronological analysis, in the middle of the decade, there was
investment of labour in the strongholds of Western
brzeg)
conducting of military actions on a large scale, which are mentioned in the
written sources of the period. In the case of the centres of Western
a specific trait was the attempt to fit them into the area already occupied by
existing centres, and in the case of Silesia, building totally new main centres
for the region.
420
The climax of the process of the building of the state was the annexation
by the Piasts at the end of the 980s of Cracow and the surrounding region
from the hands of the Czechs. The most suitable starting point for the carry¬
ing out of this task was undoubtedly the
centre,
the Piasts. A phenomenon worth noting in this context is the lack in west¬
ern Mazovia of traces of the destruction of the older settlement centres,
which is so characteristic of other areas of the country. The archaeological
data show that the most important centres of this region were of a type, with
Cracow at the forefront, which were still developing after their occupation by
the Piasts.
Poland of the times of Mieszko I was, in today's terminology, a country
undergoing deep structural changes. The processes of the fortification of the
country and the germs of early urbanisation were inevitably accompanied by
demographic changes. The scale of changes which were occurring at this time
is a reflection of the position of a leader in charge of a well-trained and
professional army, in which immigrant Scandinavians (among others) played an
important role. This is suggested by the investigation of certain cemeteries, like
Łubowo, Lutomiersk
Scandinavian warriors (see Chapter
in Polish lands in the times of Mieszko I, were part of the processes of state
formation which were taking place all over central Europe. The major structural
transformations and political and ideological reconstruction of tribal organiza¬
tions lie at the basis of the preservation of cultural and ethnic identification of
the Lechitic tribes
Chapter
The buildings of the territorial foundations of a state were accompanied by
the rise of central or local centres of regional authority. In the strongholds
which fulfilled leading roles
were built, and the foundations laid for the administrative structure of the Church.
During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the stronghold complexes founded
in the times of the first Piasts took on the characteristics of centres of early-
urban character. The latest research has shown that in the great majority of
cases, the beginnings of Polish towns go back to the times of the origins of the
state, that is the second half of the tenth century (Fig.
of this time played a key role in the process of the creation and strengthening
of the state: and have retained their importance to our times. Not all, however,
Piast
them had in the first monarchy is undeniable. We know of examples of centres
which retained such a key role from the period of the rise of the state until
modem times.
SUMMARY
In the further parts of the chapter, the author also presents the most
important discoveries made in the early urban centres, and which still give
researchers the basis for much controversy and interpretive problems.
We start with the dispute which took place in the past about the primacy
of two centres,
In the case of
stressed, assigning it the role of the holy centre of a local community, which
was taken over by the Piasts of
From the earliest phase of the use of the Hill (before
feature on the highest point of the Hill, a mound
stones with a diameter of about
cathedral, as well as the church of St George stand on the remains of these
features (Fig.
of
the first Piasts. In recent years the hypothesis has been formulated that the
oldest church at
were added. It is in this church (Fig.
thought to have been interred immediately after his tragic death among the
Prussians.
In
residence of Jordan, the first missionary bishop
past few years has been the palatium of Mieszko I, which has been dated to
the second half of the tenth century. Further investigations have shown that
adjacent to this building there probably was a chapel in the form of a rotunda
with an apse. The entire complex was therefore similar to that known from
Ostrów
controversy for many years is the so-called 'baptistery' from
a structure with a central post identified under the cathedral (Figs
This is regarded by some investigators as the remains of a mortar-mixer, others
reject that interpretation, demonstrating that around this structure stood a rec¬
tangular structure. Even however if this was so, it still remains unclear whether
this supposed baptistery functioned beside a church already in existence (and
if so, what kind of church?). No trace of such a structure has been found.
Equally puzzling is the question of the elaborate tombs, the remains of which,
identified by some scholars as the graves of the first
in the nave of
An interesting phenomenon from the period of the beginnings of the Polish
state is the ring of dozens of strongholds around
beginning of Polish statehood (see Fig.
pied sites, they were settled by people brought in from the outside. In the
Zawodzie
remains of a stronghold, dated to the second half of the ninth century, have
been discovered (Figs
422
are the remains of a wooden sacral building from the beginning of the eleventh
century which have been identified in the interior of the twelfth century
collegiate church of St Paul (Figs
according to the hypothesis of the author
Chapter
The development of the centres on the Baltic coast followed other patterns.
Their genesis, which was earlier than any other such sites in the rest of the
country, resulted from the existence in this region, already in the tribal period
of a broad zone of exchange around the Baltic and linked with exchange across
the rest of Europe. Among these sites, a special place was occupied by
It is here that Scandinavian traditions locate the Jomsvikings, doing heroic deeds
in the Baltic Sea zone, the results of investigations done so far indicate that
Wolin
Shortly afterwards, in the ninth century, it existed as an urban republic, with its
own council. It also became an important emporium on the routes leading in
the direction of Prussia, Novgorod and in the west to Hedeby and Starigard
(Figs
The interpretation of the oldest centres of eastern
complicated. An illustration of this might be the discussions of the origins of
Gdańsk
dated to the 970s and was ascribed to the activities of the first Piasts. Currently
its beginnings are the subject of debate. Its earlier ('tribal') origin is now one
of the options being considered, as is the possibility that it came into being
only at the beginning of the eleventh century. A key to understanding the
chronology of events taking place in this region remains the definition of the
(independent?) sequence of events occurring within each of the three separate
centres of settlement activity: the so-called ducal stronghold on the
River, the settlement zone around the Town Hall and the concentration of
settlement around the churches of St Nicholas and St Catherine (Fig.
Mazovia does not supply very many examples of towns created in the period
of state formation. In the case of
is drawn to its relatively late genesis, the turn of the tenth and eleventh centuries.
One of the results of recent investigations is among other things, a new picture
of the topography of Turn Hill
town had its beginnings (Figs
connecting the hill with a place of pagan worship has been disproved.
The beginnings of
mous as
a unique set of chessmen made of red deer antler (Fig.
why there were two towns of high rank
region, and from the beginning of Polish statehood? In the opinion of the author,
this can be justified by the fact that the creation of
connected with the political expansion into this region of the first Piasts,
SUMMARY
including the resettlement here in the 970s of settlers from
(Fig.
,
The place is regarded by Medieval historians as a "supplement to
An enigmatic mention in the work of
caput terrae
tribal centre preceding
(Fig.
Romanesque building found so far in Zawichost, are the remains of a church
built on the plan of a tetraconchos (Figs
chronology and function are still under discussion. In the light of the current
state of research on the excavated material, the context of the tetraconchos
should be seen in the context of the finds of eastern origin dated no earlier
than the twelfth century
contemporary cemeteries. The origins of a Romanesque church discovered in
the crypt of the church of the BVM in Zawichost in recent years also remains
unresolved (Fig.
from the point of view of their material culture are not very similar to each
other. We identify in a direct form (that is traceable in the archaeological
material) a connection between the material culture of Early Medieval
domierz
Zawichost influences from eastern milieux. The reasons for the clear cultural
frontier which appears between these two towns is unclear.
Other problems are involved in the interpretation of
on the eastern frontier of
the siting on Cathedral Hill herein the first half of the thirteenth century by duke
Daniel Romanovich of what was in fact the capital of his western
the diocesan seat of a bishop of the Greek rite. At this time, as the results of
the latest excavations show, the town and it material culture took on clear
Russo-Byzantine
churches on Cathedral Hill (Figs
Below it, there was a rich residential district and craftsmen's workshops
(Fig,
probably the houses of the elite. Remains of similar buildings can be found in
the central places of thirteenth century Russia. On the settlements and Cathedral
Hill there have been frequent finds of fragments of glazed pottery vessels, and
also very many other valuable finds belonging to the
zone (Plate
The town of
state border. Just as in the case of
cannot be matched anywhere else in Poland. The significance of the
Gate (Pass) in long-distance trade, including with the Byzantine Empire and the
Islamic world is clear already in the tribal period. It was here that one of the
424
large monumental mounds discussed in Chapter
was discovered a cemetery of nomadic Magyars, dated to the first half of the
tenth century. According to its excavator's opinion, the oldest pre-state strong¬
hold (Plate
Krzyży).
of the monumental buildings which have survived to our times. The stone-built
palatium together with a rotunda, which were constructed on Castle Hill most
probably in the reign of
century), recalls the plan of the constructions known from the main centres of
the
be mentioned a potters' settlement discovered many years ago in the Zasanie
region of the town. The uniqueness of this find is due to the fact that it is one
of only a few archaeologically
together with its production hinterland from the Polish lands. Among the
products which it produced were 'korczagi
types of finds are objects linked with the Byzantine cultural zone (Plate
the beginning of the eleventh century
from
of which was Rurik Rostislavovich. In the topography of the town appeared
increasing numbers of buildings with analogies from the eastern cultural circles.
Wiślica
been the subject of an especial interest of Polish medievalists. A long time ago it
was suggested that this place had been the tribal capital of the
to many other areas of the country, we see here an unexpected richness of
archaeological features: two strongholds (Figs
with accompanying rotundas (Fig.
as evidence of the
the ninth century (Fig.
esque churches preserved in the crypt of the collegiate church
A special feature of one of them is the floor, dated to the second half of the
twelfth century, with the representation of
is still the subject of many scientific debates (Fig.
other discoveries from
supposed baptismal font near the church of St Nicholas
opinion that there was here in the tribal period a centre is now opposed by
the twelfth century dating of the stronghold. The arguments that have been
presented by both sides of this debate are not conclusive. In the opinion of the
author, the centre of
Cracow had an early origin, in tribal times. In time it became the chief
centre of the medieval state (Fig.
of centres which had an unbroken chain of development from before the middle
of the tenth century and which retained an important position in the structures
of the
SUMMARY
to the question of the origins
concerns its significance in the period of the formation of the Polish state. It
was Cracow which was regarded as the chief stronghold of the so-called
Wiślanie
are sited (see Chapter
foot of
four tonnes) dated to the second half of the ninth century. Archaeological
investigations have produced examples of imports which show the connections
between Cracow in the pre-state period and the Avar khanate and the cultural
zone of the Magyars.
Cracow is differentiated from the other centres of the country by the
unparallelled number of stone buildings connected with the early phases of the
functioning of the state. On
of the pre-Romanesque period (Fig.
buildings on the hill and dated to the early Medieval period is therefore
impressive. It is not comparable to any other town in the Polish lands. But at
the same time, not very much is known about the topography of
in the period of the formation of the Polish state.
In the case of
has revolved around three questions in recent years. The first is the question
of the beginnings and oldest phases of the occupation of the stronghold, remains
of which have been identified on
interpretation of the evidence is that it was founded in the middle of the 980s
and thus at a time when formally Silesia was still under Czech rule. The second
question which has been widely discussed are the newest investigations in the
crypt of Wroclaw cathedral, which have revealed the remains of previously
unknown sacral buildings. The oldest is a structure on the plan of a cross (Fig.
10.45),
hands in the second half of the tenth century. The precise date of its erection
as well as its (Czech) analogies are still a mater of heated discussion. And finally
the discovery which has drawn the attention of scholars, are the timber elements
of the construction of a pagan temple, which was still in use into the eleventh
century (Fig.
seat of one of the four bishoprics erected in
Is this building the traces of a small scale and insignificant episode, or is it
as some scholars mink
Christianisation of the region? If so, it would be an important argument against
Wrocław
a Christian state since the beginning of the tenth century.
These examples of the investigations of the beginnings of Polish towns
illustrate a selection of the problems to which in the past few years a relatively
large amount of attention has been paid. The massive growth in the amount
of archaeological information has meant that this picture is a dynamic one and
426
together with progress in the investigations will inevitably undergo the process
of critical verification.
Chapter
Not all strongholds became towns. The fate of many, known from written
sources was episodic and limited to the early stages of the functioning of the
state. A substantial portion of those strongholds existing today in the landscape
are anonymous, but among them, especially in the Russian-Polish borderlands
are some which it may be suspected were those mentioned in the written
sources (Plates
which have for years attracted especial attention.
Ostrów
exceptional features. Here, within the circuit of the stronghold on the island, in
its central part, was situated a residential complex of the first Piasts. This
consisted of a two-part structure, identified as a palatium and accompanying
centrally-planned chapel (or baptistery). The form of the palace shows
and southern influences (Figs
nearby aisleless masonry church, around which was a small cemetery (Figs
11.6).
archaeological sensation was the discovery in the interior of the church the
skeleton of a boy who died at an age of only a few years, and with a gold
ring on his finger. In the opinion of some researchers, this was the body of
a member of the ruling dynasty, though we cannot name the boy. The unique¬
ness of
function for the first Polish rulers, at the beginning of statehood, it became an
important place for baptisms, a necropolis of the
the elite of the princely retinue gathered, as well as an example of engineering
ability
collections of archaeological finds of the highest rank. It is also, probably, one
of the best archaeologically documented places ■where an ethnically-different
military force was stationed, most likely the bodyguards of the duke.
Giecz, situated forty kilometres south of
Polish historical record in a mention by
may assume that the stronghold fulfilled an important military role in the early
Piast
a palatium building with a rotunda, as well as the remains of a church of St
John the Baptist situated in the north part of the stronghold (Fig.
foundation of the palatium has been ascribed to Mieszko II, and the cessation
of the construction explained by the invasion of the Bohemian prince
at the end of the
drawn by the discovery in the northwest part of the courtyard of the stronghold
of the remains of the church of John the Baptist which was
SUMMARY
of the eleventh century. This church is distinguished (apart from its setting) by
its surprising
composed of two semicircular side towers (probable stair towers) and the
quadrangular central tower. Investigators have linked the form of the structure
with Carolingian-Ottonian influences. Who built such a building here and for
what purpose
questions which at the moment have no answer.
A significant event of the past few years has been the beginning of
excavations at Kaldus in the
the uncovering of the remains of a large stone-built structure of aisled basilican
form with semicircular apses (Fig.
Kaldus is similar to the plans of contemporary cathedrals at
and thus representing the architectural plan of Carolingian buildings. The church
at Kaldus is the most northerly of the sacral buildings in the early
From the cemetery sited near the stronghold
unusual which has been investigated to date in the region of eastern
-
Chapter
In the
with great attention, although in this case the reasons for this were completely
different ones. The discoveries made here made a great impression, it is rare
to find the "archaeological material" of an early urban centre in such a good
state of preservation (Plate
not only a rare case of building construction, but also a bishop's stronghold
which arose in the last phases of the early Middle Ages and also at the end of
the period of stronghold construction in the Polish lands. The well-preserved
remains of the medieval buildings found in the archaeological investigations
under
of detail they offered.
In the south of the country in the place called Stolpie near
mysterious five-storey stone tower
attached to its base (Plates
of a Greek cross and the original entrance to the tower was on the fourth floor.
There are no similar buildings in this part of Europe. There is a theory which
is being tested that this complex had a monastic-hermitage function. The
archaeological context of the finds which have so far been obtained from the
layers lying against the base of the tower and especially the glazed and slipped
pottery like that known from
including the presence of a church on its upper floor (with a rich decoration
with glazed floor tiles
duke Daniel of
of the tower building was of Rus-Byzantine inspiration, and that it was
constructed probably already before the end of the twelfth century.
428
Chapter
The rural landscape of the pre-state period has not been the subject of any
larger research projects in Poland. While residential and ancillary buildings are
frequently examined, their wider context in the settlement network has only
sporadically been analysed (Figs
case of rural settlements, ideas such as "Early Medieval", "Late Medieval" and
"Post-Medieval" have a different meaning. In rural cemeteries and settlements,
there is frequently a lack of the reflection in the material culture of the passing
from one epoch to another.
In the early state period, the most frequent group of settlements are those
which developed spontaneously, and thus with scattered buildings (Fig.
They are characterised by existing for a long period, sometimes going back to
tribal times and also a pattern of spatial development which is difficult to
categorise. Another group is formed by villages with the buildings in rows.
These are situated on the slopes of rises, along river valleys and streams,
sometimes along existing communication routes. Settlements adjacent to strong¬
holds often had such a form. Even rarer are villages arranged around a central
open space (Fig.
In the case of settlements with a long period of existence (from tribal times),
the possibilities of recognition of the original property divisions and buildings
are limited. The frequent divisions of property and rebuilding of structures have
meant that the properties of the same owners have sometimes been located in
different places. This hindered not only their use, but also the collection of rent
and tithes. For this reason in the twelfth and thirteenth century, in a period
when there was a considerable growth in the number of rural settlements, an
amalgamation was carried out in order to facilitate this. Only in the case of
Church property, together with the establishment and development of parishes,
were the newly-created settlements decidedly bigger.
A specific group of settlements are the so-called 'service settlements'. These
should be treated as the result of the rise of early urban centres and their
economic hinterland. In the opinion of many authors, this type of settlement
was an 'imported idea' in the Polish lands, and its beginnings should be
sought in the Carolingian world. In central Europe they were 'implanted'
earlier in Bohemia, from where the idea spread to
Hungary.
Their appearance in Poland should be dated to the period from the second
half of the tenth century to the beginning of the eleventh century. From the
twelfth century, settlements of this type passed out of the hands of the ruler,
mainly (though no only) as donations to the Church. It is thought that the
collapse of the system of service villages occurred in the thirteenth century and
finally disappeared at the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
A significant number survived in the vicinity of the main centres of the state,
SUMMARY
for nearly
Their names are connected mostly with livestock rearing, hunting, fishing,
services to the court, and also a broad range of other services (Fig.
of these settlements has so far been the subject of a dedicated project of
archaeological
Newer investigations have also produced examples of settlements which do
not fit into the old interpretive schemes. As an illustration of this, the author
describes the results of his own investigations of a settlement of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries carried out at Kaczyce (Fig.
differentiated from others of the same period by the number of 'rich' finds,
collected in a single, and in addition atypical context (Fig.
also occurred objects made of high quality
that the pottery from the site could compete in qualitative terms with that from
Sandomierz,
region. Also in the oldest features of the site (eleventh century) it was determined
that there were twice as many bones of small ruminants (sheep/goat) as those
of other animals. This is a feature which is exceptional in Early Medieval Poland
and only a few sites are comparable. The remains of horses also are many times
more frequent here than in other cases. Who were the inhabitants of this site?
Was the investigated area the eastern edge of a prosperous knightly estate? If
so, how to explain the "nomadic" consumption habits of its inhabitants in the
eleventh century phase? The lack of later medieval material on the site is notable,
it presumably did not continue to be used. In the opinion of the author, in
Polish lands, we have considerably more examples of this type of surprise
similar to the settlement described above. Their recognition will require the
acceptance of a new philosophy of investigation, in which rural settlements will
find the position they deserve.
Chapter
of the Oldest Monastic Complexes
This chapter considers the oldest monastic communities in the Polish lands
the Benedictines and Cistercians. Among the earliest of their foundations is the
Benedictine Abbey at
the middle of the eleventh century (Plates
excavations have been conducted in this complex over the past fifty years.
Further archaeological and conservation investigations carried out in the mid
1990s
buildings to be determined. The building of the abbey church was begun at
the end of the 1050s. Among the most spectacular discoveries were the graves
containing what are thought to be the remains of the first abbot
successor Anchora. The deceased were laid in stone sarcophagi with pastorals
and, in two cases, also with liturgical vessels (Figs
430
found of the oldest sacral building. In the phase dated to the last quarter of
the eleventh or twelfth century, in this place a complete Romanesque monastery
was built over the site.
The Benedictine house in
from the turn of the eighth and ninth centuries there had been an intensive
development of settlement. The beginnings of the monastery are dated to the
1040s. The construction of the monastic church was a long drawn-out proc¬
ess. In its style, the oldest building recalled a reduced form of Carolingian
architecture. It was determined that in the earliest phase, the western crypt
fulfilled the function of a Chapter House (Figs
the thirteenth century, on the site of the timber and earthwork defences of
the former settlement, was built the first masonry circuit wall. It is one of the
oldest examples of brick built defensive walls in Poland.
Other results came from the investigation of the former Benedictine house
at
Silesia. The first (failed) foundation dates to the second half of the eleventh
century. In the second phase (first half of the twelfth century) the original
building plan was abandoned. One could say therefore that in reality it was
a new foundation, and in addition, one realised after a long break (Fig.
Two graves here are worthy of especial note. While in a grave chapel,
discovered on the north side of the chancel, the remains of a man were found
a metre below the floor. The body was placed in bottomless chamber of wood.
It is suggested that the remains belonged to duke
[Laskonogi] (Fig.
complex was the discovery of a settlement associated with the construction of
the monastery. It was established that the majority of this settlement was cleared
after the construction of the monastery in the second half of the thirteenth
century. Some parts of it however remained in use and buildings were still
being erected there, connected with the use of this area by people providing
services for the monastery.
From the twelfth century, the Cistercians and their foundations constitute
and increasingly numerous group of monasteries in the landscape of early
Medieval Poland (Fig.
daughter house of the
of this group are the abbey at
Łekno.
The latter has been the subject of intensive investigations in recent years.
Among other things, the foundations and lower parts of the walls of the monastic
church in the form of a rotunda, dated to the period before the middle of the
eleventh century (Fig.
significance in the process of Christianisation of northeast
adjacent territories, especially Prussia and
SUMMARY
In Wachock in the
emotion in the scholarly milieu. These were the relics of a sacral structure
interpreted as a palace chapel
as a palatium. Both buildings were thought to be earlier than the walls of the
abbey (Fig.
as well as their context, the construction of the complex was defined as the
period to the middle of the eleventh century. But the material evidence arouses
much controversy and is difficult to interpret unequivocally.
In the eleventh century, many Canonical Orders came into being, with
whom are connected many collegiate churches (see Chapter
half of the twelfth century, the Augustine canons were particularly active. It is
with them that the projected (for more recent investigations have shown that
it was never finished) monastery on the peak of
linked (see Chapter
Trzemeszno
Poland was the Norbertans, who in the first decades of the thirteenth century
already had in Poland over a dozen abbeys. At the
thirteenth centuries the Norbertan monastery of The Virgin Mary and the
Holy Cross was founded as well as the rotunda of St Procopius in Strzelno
(Figs
the aisles with very rare
the oldest orders should also be mentioned the Joannites [Hospitallers of the
Knights of St John of Jerusalem] a military order founded in Jerusalem during
the Crusades, in order to look after pilgrims and the sick. Their first seat in
Poland was at
Crusades, duke Henry of
church of John the Baptist.
Chapter
The marks which are found on the base of pottery vessels are an unrecognised
element of the material culture of the Slavic countries of the Early Middle Ages.
They were placed on the exterior of the base, and are only rarely found
elsewhere. Another important feature was the way the symbol was created: they
are most frequently an impression of a negative mark cut into the potter's wheel,
only rarely were these marks made with a stamp or incised into the clay.
Attention is drawn by the variety of form of the signs, even on the same site
(Fig.
marks could be linked with solar themes (wheel, crosses, swastikas and their
variants), although the semantic content of many others remains unknown.
These marks occur in a particular chronological horizon, most often from the
second half of the tenth to the middle of the thirteenth centuries, though they
are also met in earlier and later periods (Fig.
432
sporadically. The marks have been interpreted as having many functions, in
economical terms (ownership marks, workshop marks, control marks) as well
as in magical terms (protection against evil forces). None of these hypotheses
however have led to a resolution of the problem.
The ceramics analysed recently from
in detail by the author, have produced interesting information for discussion on
the topic of the function of these potters' marks. This concerns especially the
rarer incised marks (Figs
(Fig.
(magical) marking of both the potter's wheel, as well as the products. The most
frequent group are marks impressed by the wheel. In many cases the impres¬
sions are illegible or very poorly legible. This suggests the hypothesis that the
marks had an atropaic effect directed at the wheel and protected it from evil,
while the marks placed on the pots by inscribing or by the use of stamps were
connected functionally with the product. The author considers the degree to
which these marks are a distinguishing characteristic of Slavic pottery. Both the
chronological and geographical contexts of the finds of pottery bases with such
marks shows that they were an inter-regional phenomenon, known also among
other European peoples, both
however, do these pottery marks occur in such concentrations as in Slav lands
(the example of an Early Medieval site on the Rhone mentioned in the text is
rather an exception to this general rule). It is difficult to give an unequivocal
answer to the question about the circumstances, when and why the Slavs began
on such a large scale to put these marks on the wheel and vessels. There are
no such marks on Early Slav vessels. The oldest marks appear on Slav pottery
made in the eighth century in the regions south of the Carpathians. This may
show that it was in this region that this custom became accepted by the Slavs.
It is highly probable that familiarity with the "ideology of marks" and its
acceptance in the Slavic culture took place as a result of the contact between
the Slavs and the nomadic peoples (Avars, Protobulgars) who knew the practice
earlier. In the Slavic milieu it was not however simply an adoption of this
custom, which is shown by its variety and scale. One may presume that the
Slavs adapted the practices already known among various European peoples to
give rise to a new clearer expression of symbolic culture, recognisable in the
archaeological material until the end of the Early Medieval period.
Chapter
A great change which occurred at the beginning of the early state period in the
Polish lands was the transition from cremation to inhumation which was brought
about by the introduction of Christianity in the second half of the tenth century.
In general, scholars are sceptical both about the possibility of a rapid and general
religious conversion as well as the thesis concerning the spread of inhumation
SUMMARY
in the Polish lands already by the end of the tenth century. Many biritual
cemeteries existed into the eleventh and twelfth centuries. This concerns
principally those areas where paganism lasted longer
or those places where people of a different cultural tradition were buried
(Fig.
was the non-churchyard row-cemetery (sometimes called rural cemeteries),
situated away from residential areas. These cemeteries have only shallow
stratigraphy and contain from a few dozen to a few hundred, and sometimes
more, burials. The graves are flat as opposed to the earlier type under barrows.
These row-graves retain some of the characteristics of the pagan rites, such as
burying the dead with weapons, ornaments, amulets and objects of daily use.
There are graves there with a western orientation (the dead "look to the east")
or with an eastern one, the latter is regarded as a survival of pre-Christian ritual.
The location of cemeteries away from habitation was due to a fear of the dead
who were in this manner isolated from the world of the living. This fear also
found expression in the anti-vampire practices which are attested by some of
the archaeological remains.
During the twelfth century, there were changes both in the location of
cemeteries as well as their form. This occurs in connection with the rise of
churches in early urban centres, at first stronghold churches, and with time
becoming parochial churches. Around these churches, in ground which had
been conseaated by the priest, the dead were buried. In this manner the next
ideological change took place, as a result of which the world of the dead came
into contact with that of the living, as a result of the cemeteries 'entering' the
towns. These changes in the funeral rite were accompanied by a successive
disappearance of grave goods. At the end of the Early medieval period, graves
were as a rule without any grave goods.
In the later parts of the chapter are presented examples of cemeteries in
which it has been possible to identify the alien (non-local) origin of some of
the deceased. In the biritual cemetery at Piaski-Rochy
basis of the form of the burials and their contents the origins of the deceased
have been sought among the Pomeranians and Wieleti (Wiltzi) resettled to this
region (Fig.
in a previously uninhabited area at the end of the tenth century. Similar evidence
has been identified at a few other cemeteries in the Polish lands.
An increasing number of burials dated to the period between the end of
the tenth century and middle of the eleventh century is being identified where
there is a suspicion that they contain the bodies of people of Scandinavian
origin. There is an interesting pattern, while the finds in graves before the tenth
century typically suggest a status of "settler" for the dead, graves of immigrants
of the period of the early state, dated from the end of the tenth to the middle
of the eleventh century are distinguished by their containing weapons. The
author discusses the examples of such cemeteries as
434
Łubowo, Luboń, Sowinki
the presence in the local Slavic milieu of representatives of the warrior elite
from the north, in some kind of relationship with the local Slavic elites. In
Łubowo
ducal residence (members of the personal retinue of the duke?).
Evidence of the presence of Scandinavians in the Polish lands is found on
both settlement sites as well as cemeteries. Although these traces are legible
over large areas of
that in no place was there evidence that they were dominant, nor in any way
having any power to organize the life of the native societies. Some of the
Scandinavian elements which appear together in these graves, such as scales
and swords, suggest that the basis for the daily life of the deceased had been
trade and the military arts. Graves with Scandinavian grave goods differ from
others in the cemeteries of the early state period. They are more richly-furnished,
with visible traces of coffins, and above all contain an exceptionally large
number of luxury items and
Europe. Most frequently they are imports from the areas of Middle Sweden,
Gotland, Oland, and
The situation is somewhat different in the case of the complex at Bardy-
Świelubie
probably coming from Middle Sweden (Fig.
cemetery at Lutomiersk near
was identified, it was shown that a large proportion of the grave equipment
was of Scandinavian origin (Fig.
graves of
of members of the retinue of the
in Russia in
near
in form and their rich furnishings from the rest (Fig.
these were the graves of immigrants, from among whom members of the Church
elite and the court were drawn.
In Mazovia, a specific feature of the funeral ritual are the so-called 'graves
with stone constructions' (Fig.
constructions varies across the region, they always have a number of features
in common. They have a row-grave layout, they have shallow stratigraphy, with
the graves aligned east-west, and the burials within them are richly-furnished
(Figs
of dress, many objects of daily use and weapons (Fig.
it was thought that graves with stone kerbs were the only form of burial in
Mazovia in the early state period, but, now that cemeteries of graves without
stone elements have been discovered, the question arises about the relationship
between the two characteristic but diametrically different characteristics of the
burial ritual of early Medieval Mazovia. It has not yet been possible to determine
SUMMARY
what lies behind these customs: Scandinavian influence, local pagan traditions,
or connections with the Baltic milieu. In the light of the current lack of
knowledge, there is no basis on which to argue either for a local evolution of
this burial ritual.
In the south of Poland, attention is drawn to elements of the funeral rite
which have clear eastern connections. As an example may be cited the
rich burials in stone sarcophagi including those from Trepcza near
(Plate
of the strategic centres on the eastern periphery of
and the radiocarbon dates which go back to the eleventh century, suggest the
significance of this centre in the process of the Christianisation of this part of
the Carpathian region.
In Silesia the cemetery at Niemcza (Site Niemcza
15.13),
around which he graves are laid out, but above all for the possibility that it
was founded under the Czechs, already before Poland had accepted Christianity.
If so, it would be the oldest inhumation cemetery of peoples living in the Polish
lands.
An important element of research over the past few years has been
consideration of the social aspects of the analysis of Early Medieval cemeteries.
This approach was pioneered in the investigation of the cemetery at Dzieka-
nowice in the hinterland of
Radom
the investigation of a rural cemetery located near the parish church at
near
was compared with those of modern times. The cemetery supplies an example
of a rural population, in which the influence of settlers from the outside
remained limited during the seven centuries over which the cemetery was in
use. This may explain the large degree of "stability" in the characteristics of the
discovered skeletal remains over a long period of time.
In recent years attempts have been made to describe the blood relationships
of the deceased by archaeological and anthropological means. Investigations of
cemeteries such as
is possible to recreate the specific rules which governed the burials of the dead.
These include hypotheses concerning the blood relationships between the
people buried there and also concerning the influx of people of
in Early Medieval
In the light of the analyses carried out, from the second half of the tenth century,
a considerable component of the population in the cemeteries of
was made up of people of
populations.
The consideration of the mortal remains surviving in the soil of the Early
Medieval population
43б
presentation of the key problems of Polish Early Medieval archaeology. The
author notes that the discovery and study of the past is inevitably accompanied
by the dilemma of the interpretation of many of the discoveries. Because of
this, it is necessary to consider that the conclusions presented in this book will
themselves inevitably undergo the process of critical verification.
Translation by Paul Barford |
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| edition | Wyd. 1. |
| era | Geschichte Anfänge-1100 gnd |
| era_facet | Geschichte Anfänge-1100 |
| format | Book |
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| geographic | Polen Poland Antiquities Poland History Polen (DE-588)4046496-9 gnd |
| geographic_facet | Polen Poland Antiquities Poland History |
| id | DE-604.BV022300097 |
| illustrated | Illustrated |
| index_date | 2024-07-02T16:54:46Z |
| indexdate | 2025-03-18T09:01:24Z |
| institution | BVB |
| isbn | 8374360232 |
| language | Polish |
| oai_aleph_id | oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-015510103 |
| oclc_num | 63010449 |
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| owner | DE-12 |
| owner_facet | DE-12 |
| physical | 446 S., [10] Bl. Ill., Kt. |
| publishDate | 2005 |
| publishDateSearch | 2005 |
| publishDateSort | 2005 |
| publisher | Wydawn. Trio |
| record_format | marc |
| spelling | Buko, Andrzej 1947- Verfasser (DE-588)1065254288 aut Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje Andrzej Buko Wyd. 1. Warszawa Wydawn. Trio 2005 446 S., [10] Bl. Ill., Kt. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Zsfassung in engl. Sprache u.d.T.: The archaeology of early medieval Poland Geschichte Anfänge-1100 gnd rswk-swf Funde Geschichte Archaeology, Medieval Poland Excavations (Archaeology) Poland Mittelalter (DE-588)4129108-6 gnd rswk-swf Mittelalterliche Archäologie (DE-588)4138633-4 gnd rswk-swf Polen Poland Antiquities Poland History Polen (DE-588)4046496-9 gnd rswk-swf Polen (DE-588)4046496-9 g Mittelalterliche Archäologie (DE-588)4138633-4 s DE-604 Geschichte Anfänge-1100 z 1\p DE-604 Mittelalter (DE-588)4129108-6 s 2\p DE-604 Digitalisierung BSBMuenchen application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=015510103&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Inhaltsverzeichnis Digitalisierung BSB Muenchen application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=015510103&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Abstract 1\p cgwrk 20201028 DE-101 https://d-nb.info/provenance/plan#cgwrk 2\p cgwrk 20201028 DE-101 https://d-nb.info/provenance/plan#cgwrk |
| spellingShingle | Buko, Andrzej 1947- Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje Funde Geschichte Archaeology, Medieval Poland Excavations (Archaeology) Poland Mittelalter (DE-588)4129108-6 gnd Mittelalterliche Archäologie (DE-588)4138633-4 gnd |
| subject_GND | (DE-588)4129108-6 (DE-588)4138633-4 (DE-588)4046496-9 |
| title | Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje |
| title_auth | Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje |
| title_exact_search | Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje |
| title_exact_search_txtP | Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje |
| title_full | Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje Andrzej Buko |
| title_fullStr | Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje Andrzej Buko |
| title_full_unstemmed | Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje Andrzej Buko |
| title_short | Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej |
| title_sort | archeologia polski wczesnosredniowiecznej odkrycia hipotezy interpretacje |
| title_sub | odkrycia, hipotezy, interpretacje |
| topic | Funde Geschichte Archaeology, Medieval Poland Excavations (Archaeology) Poland Mittelalter (DE-588)4129108-6 gnd Mittelalterliche Archäologie (DE-588)4138633-4 gnd |
| topic_facet | Funde Geschichte Archaeology, Medieval Poland Excavations (Archaeology) Poland Mittelalter Mittelalterliche Archäologie Polen Poland Antiquities Poland History |
| url | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=015510103&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=015510103&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
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