Dariusz Wyczółkowski | Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences (original) (raw)
Papers by Dariusz Wyczółkowski
Science advances, May 17, 2024
Horse sacrifice and deposition are enigmatic features of funerary rituals identified across prehi... more Horse sacrifice and deposition are enigmatic features of funerary rituals identified across prehistoric Europe that persisted in the eastern Baltic. Genetic and isotopic analysis of horses in Balt cemeteries [1st to 13th centuries CE (Common Era)] dismantle prevailing narratives that locally procured stallions were exclusively selected. Strontium isotope analysis provides direct evidence for long-distance (~300 to 1500 kilometers) maritime transport of Fennoscandian horses to the eastern Baltic in the Late Viking Age (11th to 13th centuries CE). Genetic analysis proves that horses of both sexes were sacrificed with 34% identified as mares. Results transform the understanding of selection criteria, disprove sex-based selection, and elevate prestige value as a more crucial factor. These findings also provide evidence that the continued interaction between pagans and their newly Christianized neighbors sustained the performance of funerary horse sacrifice until the medieval transition. We also present a reference 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape for the southeastern Baltic, releasing the potential of future mobility studies in the region.
Zeszyty Kaliskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk, 2024
Gród Kalisz Zawodzie we wczesnym średniowieczu - eds. T. Baranowski, D. Cyngot , 2023
The issue of the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold fortifications was at the forefront of research, in p... more The issue of the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold fortifications was at the forefront of research, in planning and later fieldwork, as well as post-fieldwork studies. Part of the fortifications were provisionally identified along with the remains of St Paul’s Collegiate Church and a preliminary recognition of the interior of the stronghold during the first stage of excavations in 1958–1965, carried out under the direction of Iwona and Krzysztof Dąbrowski. Several trenches were dug on the ramparts, uncovering remains of the fortifications, which were dated to the 10th through 13th centuries. The excavators presented, in studies of a partial nature and articles, their idea of the development of the stronghold and its defenses, divided into four main chronological phases. This scheme was generally adopted in the literature. In the next stage of the excavations (1982–1993), headed by Tadeusz Baranowski, new data were collected for reconstructing changes in the stronghold topography. Features related to the earliest occupation, that is, a pagan burial ground together with a stone barrow from the 7th–8th centuries were uncovered. Further sections of the fortifications were excavated, with samples being taken for radiocarbon dating and dendrochronological analyses. Relics of the earliest wooden church, dating from the second half of the 10th or the early 11th century, were identified. Baranowski used the new data to propose a nine-stage phasing of the topographical trans formation of the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold site over time. In his publications on the subject, Baranowski took into account the course of the fortifications as published by the first excavators, but presented his own interpretation according to which the stronghold achieved its greatest extent in the 11th century, after which it shrank to just the core part in the center. Radiocarbon datings did not offer much toward the absolute dating of this new phasing due to the rather large discrepancy in dates. This article reviews the published material on the subject in an effort to present a unified approach, which, coupled with a thorough review of the extant field documentation from both stages of excavations, enables an amendment of previous ideas on the evolution of the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold defences. The present author’s conclusions draw heavily on new results following the discovery of yet another part of the fortifications during the most recent excavations carried out at the site in 2007. The location of this part in the area of the gate and the course taken by this part of the walls suggests a different view of the stronghold fortifications at the turn of the 11th century. Based on an extended study of the data available, the author proposes a six-phase development of the regular fortifications, taking into account the existence of a preceding open settlement with a probable barrow cemetery. In the following phases, the location of religious buildings in the northeastern part of the stronghold necessitated the line of fortifications to be moved further out a number of times. An inner embankment, overlooked in earlier research, appears to have existed in Phase III. The dating of individual phases was corroborated by the results of material studies and the fieldwork conducted in the villages around the stronghold. Concerning the extent of the stronghold in the 12th and 13th centuries, it is now proposed that the area of the stronghold was reduced due to either the destruction or dismantling of the defences in the southern part.
Gród Kalisz- Zawodzie we wczesnym średniowieczu, 2023
The chapter presents the issue of the formation of the Kalisz network of church foundations in th... more The chapter presents the issue of the formation of the Kalisz network of church foundations in the early medieval period. The few references from source texts have been analyzed anew in light of the results of archaeological research. All the foundations discussed were connected with the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold center. Based on the mentions in the written sources and archaeological discoveries, the existence of six different buildings has been conjectured at the site in various periods. The earliest of these, identifi ed during the excavation of the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold, can be dated to the end of the 10th century or the beginning of the 11th. It was a wooden church erected on a site later occupied by the stone building of St. Paul’s Collegiate Church uncovered during the excavations. Ecclesiastical foundations at the stronghold site developed during the 12th century. Four other religious buildings can be traced to this period. The first of these is a stone structure that replaced the wooden building, observed only in effect of an analysis of architectural elements. This structure preceded the later Collegiate Church of St Paul, which occupied the same spot. The successive churches were associated with nearby settlements in the Stare Miasto (Old Town) and in Podgórze. Subsequent churches were connected with nearby settlements in the Old Town and Podgórze. These were the churches of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the seat of the archdeacon, and the church of St. Gotthard. Both may have been built in the 12th century. St. Adalbert’s Church was constructed in the Zawodzie area most probably already in the 13th century.
KWARTALNIK HISTORII KULTURY MATERIALNEJ 71 (1), 2023
The article presents considerations on the role of single and mass monetary finds in exploring th... more The article presents considerations on the role of single and mass monetary finds in exploring the changes in early medieval settlement structures related to Kalisz and the region. Archaeological excavations has so far been conducted mainly in Kalisz. Other sources of knowledge about the settlement network: fieldwalking surveys carried out as part of the Polish Archaeological Record (AZP) and the few historical sources from the early Middle Ages made it possible to create only a preliminary reconstruction showing the historical, cultural and settlement processes taking place in the region. The 2020 discovery of the second silver hoard in Słuszków and the subsequent excavations provided interesting material for the assessment of the settlement structures of the Kalisz region and their evolution in each distinct phase of early medieval habitation.
Zawichost we wczesnym średniowieczu, red. S. Tabaczyński, D. Wyczółkowski, D. Cyngot, 2018
The cemetery next to St. Maurice’s Church in Zawichost. Preliminary remarks Dariusz Wyczółkowski ... more The cemetery next to St. Maurice’s Church in Zawichost. Preliminary remarks
Dariusz Wyczółkowski
The cemetery is located directly next to the relics of the Romanesque St. Maurice’s Church in Zawichost on the collapsed cliff of the Vistula river bank. As a result of erosion processes and human activity approximately three-fourths of the foundation layout were destroyed, as was the major part of the cemetery. The first archaeological excavations on the site were carried out by Andrzej Rozwałka in 1993. The next stage was the surveying and recording work associated with layers and structures visible in the collapsed cliff, which took place in the spring of 1994. This work enabled archaeologists to establish a more precise chronology and nature of the feature. The recorded collapsed cliff itself already explained many doubts. There were human bones across its entire length, in most cases in anatomic layout (seen in cross-section), which suggested their arrangement on the east-west axis and led archaeologists to interpret them as burials damaged by the collapse of the cliff. Their presence directly next to stone foundations became the evidence of the religious character of the damaged feature.
In 1996, rescue excavations commenced on the site. In the course of four excavation seasons, archaeologists investigated an area of around 75 square meters, exposing fragments of foundations of the Romanesque church, numerous graves, and modern period features. On that site archaeologists recorded 324 burials and numerous loose finds of human bones from burials damaged by cuts for later grave pits.
The large number of burials concentrated in the small area of the analysed site prompted the researchers to try to analyse the stratigraphy of the site. As a result of desktop studies three sub-phases of the cemetery’s functioning were identified: sub-phase I – associated with the tetraconch, with graves cut into the natural layer and visible row layout of graves and separated burial zones; sub-phase II – also associated with the stone church, while there is a greater number of shallower burials with the attempt to preserve the row layout; sub-phase III – cemetery created after the demolition of the tetraconch, next to the timber church known only from written sources (due to the large number of grave pits, its layout cannot be traced). It should be noted that in the analysed complex there was a large number of burials (20%) in the case of which it was difficult to establish their link to specific phases of the cemetery’s use.
This concerns burials from the sub-phases II and III. The analysis of the successive phases presented in the paper includes such elements as the number of graves, the characteristics of burial practices (grave pit, manner of depositing the body in the grave, hands), and grave goods, as well as the relation of the graves to the church and the spreading of the graves on the site.
The basis for establishing the chronology of the excavated features are usually artefacts found in the associated layers. In the case of the cemetery in Zawichost, finds were mainly pottery sherds, fragments of corroded iron artefacts, and lumps of melted bronze, which probably were remains of construction or clean-up work. The analysis of materials discovered in the course of excavations enabled the researchers to state that the finds from the site did not contain pottery older than the twelfth century. Less numerous were items of jewellery found in graves from phase I of the cemetery. Most of them (for example, temple rings, beads, or rings) are dated in various publications to the period between the eleventh century to the thirteenth century. Some clarification could be the date of the construction of the church, but there are also many differences in this respect. Currently a prudent assumption on the part of archaeologists and architectural historians dates the beginnings of the tetraconch no earlier than the end of the eleventh century-beginning of the twelfth century, but pointing rather to a later period, around the mid-twelfth century. It is possible to assume that the slow process of abandoning the cemetery had been taking place since 1465, when the centre of the parish was transferred to the new church in Borów, on the right bank of the Vistula River. However, the cemetery probably still functioned as a burial ground for the parish community for the next 20 years or so, until the end of the fifteenth century.
Metody, źródła, dokumentacja : Funeralia Lednickie - spotkanie 11 / red. Wojciech Dzieduszycki, Jacek Wrzesiński, 2009
Dusza maluczka, a strata ogromna. Funeralia Lednickie — spotkanie 6, ed. Wojciech Dzieduszycki, Jacek Wrzesiński, Poznań , 2004
Sześć Wieków Bieżunia. Czasy-Miejsca-Ludzie. Część I- Czasy. red A. K. F. Wołosz, 2007
Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt , 2022
A New Late Viking-age Hoard from Poland: Coins and Gold Jewellery as Evidence for the History of ... more A New Late Viking-age Hoard from Poland: Coins and Gold Jewellery as Evidence for the History of Central Europe. Preliminary Presentation
In the late autumn of 2020, a group of archaeologists from the city of Kalisz, Poland, undertook some research in the village of Słuszków (woj. wielkopolskie / PL). It was here in 1935 that one of the greatest hoards dating back to the beginning of the 12th century (»Słuszków 1«) had been discovered. The aim of the expedition was only to establish the position of this find, but in the course of a metal detector survey, something unexpected happened – the discovery of another hoard (»Słuszków 2«).
The first hoard, which had been divided among people in the village, was initially large. It could have contained up to 20,000 coins and probably more silver ornaments than the number that have survived from this find. It is estimated that the original deposit weighed 15 kg, so it would be the largest known hoard from the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries from Poland. The second deposit from Słuszków consists of 6,500 items, most of them coins, mainly Saxon and Polish cross deniers, and several dozen different European coins, as well as flat silver ingots, pieces of lead and four gold finger-rings.
The latter items are the first finds of this type in Viking-age Polish hoards. On one finger-ring there is a Cyrillic inscription suggesting the origin of the ring from the Kiev Principality. The three other rings were possibly produced according to Byzantine-Carolingian tradition in Germany in the Ottonian or Salian Periods.
Two large groups of cross deniers found in this deposit were previously known almost exclusively from the Słuszków 1 hoard. They were minted at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, probably in the mint in Kalisz or in its vicinity. Their issue is hypothetically attributed to the Polish ruler Zbigniew († 1111?). Also noteworthy is a fragment of an official coin of Duke Władysław Herman († 1102), showing his name and image, minted in Cracow after 1080. Other notable finds are examples of very rare large deniers issued by Palatine Sieciech († ca. 1110). These coins are the first private issues of bullion coins in Poland by a known and recognized magnate. Among the several dozen foreign coins, it seems that the most recent one is a denier of King Ladislaus I the Saint of Hungary († 1095), minted at the earliest in the 1080s. In the case of the two hoards from Słuszków, the concealment of such a large amount of precious metal items can probably be associated with some violent event, such as the war between two royal brothers, Zbigniew and Bolesław. The paper is a preliminary presentation of this new hoard and its contents.
En 1991, des travaux au nord-est de Marseille furent l’occasion d’etudier le quartier Sainte-Barb... more En 1991, des travaux au nord-est de Marseille furent l’occasion d’etudier le quartier Sainte-Barbe (Ve-XVIIe s.). Ces fouilles ont mis au jour les vestiges d’un bourg extra-muros specialise dans l’artisanat de la ceramique au XIIIe s. Pour la premiere fois en France, la production, sur plus d’un siecle, d’ateliers urbains polyvalents (vaisselle commune, vaisselle culinaire glacuree, faiences peintes …) a ete analysee. La presence d’un four de tradition islamique, le repertoire des formes suggerent des transferts de savoir-faire, des circulations de modeles, la mobilite des artisans. L’histoire des techniques ceramiques, notamment l’origine de la majolique dans le Midi, s’en trouve renouvelee. L’ouvrage est augmente d’une etude des fours a barres dans le bassin Mediterraneen et au Proche-Orient qui met en lumiere une technique de cuisson aujourd’hui disparue en Occident. Un document exceptionnel pour la connaissance des arts du feu et l’histoire de Marseille.
Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej, 2021
St Adalbert’s church at Zawodzie in Kalisz was one of the oldest religious foundations in that to... more St Adalbert’s church at Zawodzie in Kalisz was one of the oldest religious foundations in that town. From the mid-19th c. authors writing on the history of the town stressed the antiquity of the church, linking its origins with the legendary stay of St Adalbert in Kalisz. The thesis about the ancient origin of the church and the parish was supported by using a range of sources, interpreted in accordance with the previously made assumptions. In the 20th c. no attempt was made to reinterpret the available written sources, and analyses were based on the dedication of the church and the history of the early settlement.The excavations conducted around the church in 1959 were not properly documented and their results were not taken into account in later publications. However, results of recent excava-tions (2017–2018) prove without any doubt that the church was founded later that it was assumed. A new analysis of written sources has shown that as late as in the 1290s Zawodzie was owned by the duke while the church was first mentioned in 1292. Archaeological finds indicate that the church was built in the location of a settlement that had still functioned in the 12th c., and the features uncovered can be dated to the 13th c. Written sources contradict the existence of a separate parish in this place, confirming that St Adalbert’s church at Zawodzie was connected with The Holy Virgin parish i Kalisz.
Notae Numismaticae, 2020
A settlement cluster around Kalisz first emerged in the Roman Period on a route leading from the ... more A settlement cluster around Kalisz first emerged in the Roman Period on a route leading from the south towards the Baltic coast. In the Early Middle Ages, a settlement centre connected with the Kalisz Zawodzie stronghold developed at the crossroads of trade routes linking Wielkopolska with Silesia, Mazowsze, and Małopolska, with the earliest traces of early medieval occupation dating back to the 8th century. In the 10th century, oriental silver in the form of silver dirhams startedto flow into the discussed region. These coins were part of deposits discovered inthe sites of Kalisz Szałe and Kalisz Rajsków. Many years of research on artisanal settlement Kalisz Stare Miasto produced a few fragments of Sāmānid dirhams minted between AH 279–343 (892–954). In 2018, during research at the Church of St. Adalbert located within the Kalisz Zawodzie settlement accompanying the stronghold, a part of what was probably a larger silver deposit was found. In total, 13 dirham fragments were recovered, among which Sāmānid emissions dated to the first half of the 10th century were identified (8 pcs), as well as five pieces of undetermined dynastic attribution. As demonstrated by the stratigraphic analysis,the early medieval hoard had been discovered and dispersed at some point during the period when the church cemetery was used, between the 17th century and second half of the 18th century.
Kędzierski A., Wyczółkowski D. Toporki miniaturowe ze Starego Miasta w Kaliszu. Wielkopolskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 15, : 99-106, 2014
The settlement on the Old Town in Kalisz was one of the most important components in the topograp... more The settlement on the Old Town in Kalisz was one of the most important components in the topography of Kalisz agglomeration in Early Middle Ages. Located on sandy hills on the bottom of the Prosna river valley, it neighbored with the stronghold on Zawodzie, and with set¬tlement with St. Adalbert Church. The excavations of the settlement are held by archaeologists of Archaeology and Ethnology Institute of Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw.
During the excavations they recognized the range of the settlement, and they gained many unique antiques evidencing trade contacts of the citizens of Kalisz settlement center. During the excavation surveys conducted in seasons 2012 and 2013 at 13 Stare Miasto Str. they recognized an interesting complex of habitable and production features. The whole is dated quite precisely, due to coins discovered in the fills of the features, on the period since the half of the X century till the half of the XIII century. Many an interesting artifacts were gathered. Among them, what attracts attention, is two whole and two fragmentarily preserved miniature axe heads. There are only circa 170 specimens of such type known to us from the areas of early medieval Rus, Central Europe and Scandinavia. On the function of these rare artifacts there has been a debate for a long time, presented in subsequent publications. There are attenuated hypotheses on their cult importance, as well as on their being a specify discriminated of a group of warriors. Theses hypotheses are ordered and summarized by a publication of 2001 (Kucypera, Pranke, Wadyl, 2011). Most authors stand in favor of their eastern origin, pointing the regions of early medieval Rus, where most of the specimens of that type have been known. The specimens discovered in Kalisz have been included into type I according to Makarów (specimens made of copper alloy), and into type of miniatures related to type I (ferric specimen).
In 2020 it is known already about 8 miniature axes or their fragments found during the excavation in Kalisz.
zawichost we wczesnym średniowieczu, 2018
The main part of the chapter is dedicated to the discussion of the successive phases of the site’... more The main part of the chapter is dedicated to the discussion of the successive phases of the site’s occupation based on the collected archaeological data, artifacts, and absolute dating. Archaeologists identified four phases associated with human activity. In phase I, in the Bronze Age and in the early Middle Ages, the area was only marginally affected by human activity. In the next phase – phase II – the tetraconch was built and the cemetery next to the church was established. Phase III is associated with the demolition of the stone church and construction of the wooden church. Phase IV is the period from the abolition of St. Maurice’s parish until the modern period. In this period, new structures appeared on the site that are linked to the use of the area between the end of the 15th c. and the beginning of the 21st c.
This chapter also presents research problems concerning the dating of the materials associated with the construction of the church and the use of the cemetery with the C14 method. The dating analyses were
performed in the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, and in the AMS Laboratory in Poznań. The majority of dates linked to the time of the
church’s construction point toward the period until the end of the 12th century. Samples of organic materials taken from the walls of the structure indicate the period between 971 AD and 1155 AD. Organic materials associated with phase I of the use of the cemetery indicated a similar range post-calibration – from 1028 AD to 1184 AD.
Zawichost we wczesnym średniowieczu, 2018
The paper presents the problems of the topography of Zawichost in the early Middle Ages. The auth... more The paper presents the problems of the topography of Zawichost in the early Middle Ages. The author discusses archaeological sources associated with the Zawichost-Podgórze settlement complex with the stronghold dated to the period between the 8th and 10th centuries. The paper also contains the analysis of the development of the settlement on Zawichost Hill on the site of the modern-day town in connection with the changes of the road network and the Vistula River crossings. Furthermore, the author discusses the problem of the location of the Zawichost stronghold, presenting in his paper results of archaeological excavations and architectural investigations of monumental buildings from the settlement area and their place in the topographic structure
Science advances, May 17, 2024
Horse sacrifice and deposition are enigmatic features of funerary rituals identified across prehi... more Horse sacrifice and deposition are enigmatic features of funerary rituals identified across prehistoric Europe that persisted in the eastern Baltic. Genetic and isotopic analysis of horses in Balt cemeteries [1st to 13th centuries CE (Common Era)] dismantle prevailing narratives that locally procured stallions were exclusively selected. Strontium isotope analysis provides direct evidence for long-distance (~300 to 1500 kilometers) maritime transport of Fennoscandian horses to the eastern Baltic in the Late Viking Age (11th to 13th centuries CE). Genetic analysis proves that horses of both sexes were sacrificed with 34% identified as mares. Results transform the understanding of selection criteria, disprove sex-based selection, and elevate prestige value as a more crucial factor. These findings also provide evidence that the continued interaction between pagans and their newly Christianized neighbors sustained the performance of funerary horse sacrifice until the medieval transition. We also present a reference 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape for the southeastern Baltic, releasing the potential of future mobility studies in the region.
Zeszyty Kaliskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk, 2024
Gród Kalisz Zawodzie we wczesnym średniowieczu - eds. T. Baranowski, D. Cyngot , 2023
The issue of the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold fortifications was at the forefront of research, in p... more The issue of the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold fortifications was at the forefront of research, in planning and later fieldwork, as well as post-fieldwork studies. Part of the fortifications were provisionally identified along with the remains of St Paul’s Collegiate Church and a preliminary recognition of the interior of the stronghold during the first stage of excavations in 1958–1965, carried out under the direction of Iwona and Krzysztof Dąbrowski. Several trenches were dug on the ramparts, uncovering remains of the fortifications, which were dated to the 10th through 13th centuries. The excavators presented, in studies of a partial nature and articles, their idea of the development of the stronghold and its defenses, divided into four main chronological phases. This scheme was generally adopted in the literature. In the next stage of the excavations (1982–1993), headed by Tadeusz Baranowski, new data were collected for reconstructing changes in the stronghold topography. Features related to the earliest occupation, that is, a pagan burial ground together with a stone barrow from the 7th–8th centuries were uncovered. Further sections of the fortifications were excavated, with samples being taken for radiocarbon dating and dendrochronological analyses. Relics of the earliest wooden church, dating from the second half of the 10th or the early 11th century, were identified. Baranowski used the new data to propose a nine-stage phasing of the topographical trans formation of the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold site over time. In his publications on the subject, Baranowski took into account the course of the fortifications as published by the first excavators, but presented his own interpretation according to which the stronghold achieved its greatest extent in the 11th century, after which it shrank to just the core part in the center. Radiocarbon datings did not offer much toward the absolute dating of this new phasing due to the rather large discrepancy in dates. This article reviews the published material on the subject in an effort to present a unified approach, which, coupled with a thorough review of the extant field documentation from both stages of excavations, enables an amendment of previous ideas on the evolution of the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold defences. The present author’s conclusions draw heavily on new results following the discovery of yet another part of the fortifications during the most recent excavations carried out at the site in 2007. The location of this part in the area of the gate and the course taken by this part of the walls suggests a different view of the stronghold fortifications at the turn of the 11th century. Based on an extended study of the data available, the author proposes a six-phase development of the regular fortifications, taking into account the existence of a preceding open settlement with a probable barrow cemetery. In the following phases, the location of religious buildings in the northeastern part of the stronghold necessitated the line of fortifications to be moved further out a number of times. An inner embankment, overlooked in earlier research, appears to have existed in Phase III. The dating of individual phases was corroborated by the results of material studies and the fieldwork conducted in the villages around the stronghold. Concerning the extent of the stronghold in the 12th and 13th centuries, it is now proposed that the area of the stronghold was reduced due to either the destruction or dismantling of the defences in the southern part.
Gród Kalisz- Zawodzie we wczesnym średniowieczu, 2023
The chapter presents the issue of the formation of the Kalisz network of church foundations in th... more The chapter presents the issue of the formation of the Kalisz network of church foundations in the early medieval period. The few references from source texts have been analyzed anew in light of the results of archaeological research. All the foundations discussed were connected with the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold center. Based on the mentions in the written sources and archaeological discoveries, the existence of six different buildings has been conjectured at the site in various periods. The earliest of these, identifi ed during the excavation of the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold, can be dated to the end of the 10th century or the beginning of the 11th. It was a wooden church erected on a site later occupied by the stone building of St. Paul’s Collegiate Church uncovered during the excavations. Ecclesiastical foundations at the stronghold site developed during the 12th century. Four other religious buildings can be traced to this period. The first of these is a stone structure that replaced the wooden building, observed only in effect of an analysis of architectural elements. This structure preceded the later Collegiate Church of St Paul, which occupied the same spot. The successive churches were associated with nearby settlements in the Stare Miasto (Old Town) and in Podgórze. Subsequent churches were connected with nearby settlements in the Old Town and Podgórze. These were the churches of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the seat of the archdeacon, and the church of St. Gotthard. Both may have been built in the 12th century. St. Adalbert’s Church was constructed in the Zawodzie area most probably already in the 13th century.
KWARTALNIK HISTORII KULTURY MATERIALNEJ 71 (1), 2023
The article presents considerations on the role of single and mass monetary finds in exploring th... more The article presents considerations on the role of single and mass monetary finds in exploring the changes in early medieval settlement structures related to Kalisz and the region. Archaeological excavations has so far been conducted mainly in Kalisz. Other sources of knowledge about the settlement network: fieldwalking surveys carried out as part of the Polish Archaeological Record (AZP) and the few historical sources from the early Middle Ages made it possible to create only a preliminary reconstruction showing the historical, cultural and settlement processes taking place in the region. The 2020 discovery of the second silver hoard in Słuszków and the subsequent excavations provided interesting material for the assessment of the settlement structures of the Kalisz region and their evolution in each distinct phase of early medieval habitation.
Zawichost we wczesnym średniowieczu, red. S. Tabaczyński, D. Wyczółkowski, D. Cyngot, 2018
The cemetery next to St. Maurice’s Church in Zawichost. Preliminary remarks Dariusz Wyczółkowski ... more The cemetery next to St. Maurice’s Church in Zawichost. Preliminary remarks
Dariusz Wyczółkowski
The cemetery is located directly next to the relics of the Romanesque St. Maurice’s Church in Zawichost on the collapsed cliff of the Vistula river bank. As a result of erosion processes and human activity approximately three-fourths of the foundation layout were destroyed, as was the major part of the cemetery. The first archaeological excavations on the site were carried out by Andrzej Rozwałka in 1993. The next stage was the surveying and recording work associated with layers and structures visible in the collapsed cliff, which took place in the spring of 1994. This work enabled archaeologists to establish a more precise chronology and nature of the feature. The recorded collapsed cliff itself already explained many doubts. There were human bones across its entire length, in most cases in anatomic layout (seen in cross-section), which suggested their arrangement on the east-west axis and led archaeologists to interpret them as burials damaged by the collapse of the cliff. Their presence directly next to stone foundations became the evidence of the religious character of the damaged feature.
In 1996, rescue excavations commenced on the site. In the course of four excavation seasons, archaeologists investigated an area of around 75 square meters, exposing fragments of foundations of the Romanesque church, numerous graves, and modern period features. On that site archaeologists recorded 324 burials and numerous loose finds of human bones from burials damaged by cuts for later grave pits.
The large number of burials concentrated in the small area of the analysed site prompted the researchers to try to analyse the stratigraphy of the site. As a result of desktop studies three sub-phases of the cemetery’s functioning were identified: sub-phase I – associated with the tetraconch, with graves cut into the natural layer and visible row layout of graves and separated burial zones; sub-phase II – also associated with the stone church, while there is a greater number of shallower burials with the attempt to preserve the row layout; sub-phase III – cemetery created after the demolition of the tetraconch, next to the timber church known only from written sources (due to the large number of grave pits, its layout cannot be traced). It should be noted that in the analysed complex there was a large number of burials (20%) in the case of which it was difficult to establish their link to specific phases of the cemetery’s use.
This concerns burials from the sub-phases II and III. The analysis of the successive phases presented in the paper includes such elements as the number of graves, the characteristics of burial practices (grave pit, manner of depositing the body in the grave, hands), and grave goods, as well as the relation of the graves to the church and the spreading of the graves on the site.
The basis for establishing the chronology of the excavated features are usually artefacts found in the associated layers. In the case of the cemetery in Zawichost, finds were mainly pottery sherds, fragments of corroded iron artefacts, and lumps of melted bronze, which probably were remains of construction or clean-up work. The analysis of materials discovered in the course of excavations enabled the researchers to state that the finds from the site did not contain pottery older than the twelfth century. Less numerous were items of jewellery found in graves from phase I of the cemetery. Most of them (for example, temple rings, beads, or rings) are dated in various publications to the period between the eleventh century to the thirteenth century. Some clarification could be the date of the construction of the church, but there are also many differences in this respect. Currently a prudent assumption on the part of archaeologists and architectural historians dates the beginnings of the tetraconch no earlier than the end of the eleventh century-beginning of the twelfth century, but pointing rather to a later period, around the mid-twelfth century. It is possible to assume that the slow process of abandoning the cemetery had been taking place since 1465, when the centre of the parish was transferred to the new church in Borów, on the right bank of the Vistula River. However, the cemetery probably still functioned as a burial ground for the parish community for the next 20 years or so, until the end of the fifteenth century.
Metody, źródła, dokumentacja : Funeralia Lednickie - spotkanie 11 / red. Wojciech Dzieduszycki, Jacek Wrzesiński, 2009
Dusza maluczka, a strata ogromna. Funeralia Lednickie — spotkanie 6, ed. Wojciech Dzieduszycki, Jacek Wrzesiński, Poznań , 2004
Sześć Wieków Bieżunia. Czasy-Miejsca-Ludzie. Część I- Czasy. red A. K. F. Wołosz, 2007
Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt , 2022
A New Late Viking-age Hoard from Poland: Coins and Gold Jewellery as Evidence for the History of ... more A New Late Viking-age Hoard from Poland: Coins and Gold Jewellery as Evidence for the History of Central Europe. Preliminary Presentation
In the late autumn of 2020, a group of archaeologists from the city of Kalisz, Poland, undertook some research in the village of Słuszków (woj. wielkopolskie / PL). It was here in 1935 that one of the greatest hoards dating back to the beginning of the 12th century (»Słuszków 1«) had been discovered. The aim of the expedition was only to establish the position of this find, but in the course of a metal detector survey, something unexpected happened – the discovery of another hoard (»Słuszków 2«).
The first hoard, which had been divided among people in the village, was initially large. It could have contained up to 20,000 coins and probably more silver ornaments than the number that have survived from this find. It is estimated that the original deposit weighed 15 kg, so it would be the largest known hoard from the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries from Poland. The second deposit from Słuszków consists of 6,500 items, most of them coins, mainly Saxon and Polish cross deniers, and several dozen different European coins, as well as flat silver ingots, pieces of lead and four gold finger-rings.
The latter items are the first finds of this type in Viking-age Polish hoards. On one finger-ring there is a Cyrillic inscription suggesting the origin of the ring from the Kiev Principality. The three other rings were possibly produced according to Byzantine-Carolingian tradition in Germany in the Ottonian or Salian Periods.
Two large groups of cross deniers found in this deposit were previously known almost exclusively from the Słuszków 1 hoard. They were minted at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, probably in the mint in Kalisz or in its vicinity. Their issue is hypothetically attributed to the Polish ruler Zbigniew († 1111?). Also noteworthy is a fragment of an official coin of Duke Władysław Herman († 1102), showing his name and image, minted in Cracow after 1080. Other notable finds are examples of very rare large deniers issued by Palatine Sieciech († ca. 1110). These coins are the first private issues of bullion coins in Poland by a known and recognized magnate. Among the several dozen foreign coins, it seems that the most recent one is a denier of King Ladislaus I the Saint of Hungary († 1095), minted at the earliest in the 1080s. In the case of the two hoards from Słuszków, the concealment of such a large amount of precious metal items can probably be associated with some violent event, such as the war between two royal brothers, Zbigniew and Bolesław. The paper is a preliminary presentation of this new hoard and its contents.
En 1991, des travaux au nord-est de Marseille furent l’occasion d’etudier le quartier Sainte-Barb... more En 1991, des travaux au nord-est de Marseille furent l’occasion d’etudier le quartier Sainte-Barbe (Ve-XVIIe s.). Ces fouilles ont mis au jour les vestiges d’un bourg extra-muros specialise dans l’artisanat de la ceramique au XIIIe s. Pour la premiere fois en France, la production, sur plus d’un siecle, d’ateliers urbains polyvalents (vaisselle commune, vaisselle culinaire glacuree, faiences peintes …) a ete analysee. La presence d’un four de tradition islamique, le repertoire des formes suggerent des transferts de savoir-faire, des circulations de modeles, la mobilite des artisans. L’histoire des techniques ceramiques, notamment l’origine de la majolique dans le Midi, s’en trouve renouvelee. L’ouvrage est augmente d’une etude des fours a barres dans le bassin Mediterraneen et au Proche-Orient qui met en lumiere une technique de cuisson aujourd’hui disparue en Occident. Un document exceptionnel pour la connaissance des arts du feu et l’histoire de Marseille.
Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej, 2021
St Adalbert’s church at Zawodzie in Kalisz was one of the oldest religious foundations in that to... more St Adalbert’s church at Zawodzie in Kalisz was one of the oldest religious foundations in that town. From the mid-19th c. authors writing on the history of the town stressed the antiquity of the church, linking its origins with the legendary stay of St Adalbert in Kalisz. The thesis about the ancient origin of the church and the parish was supported by using a range of sources, interpreted in accordance with the previously made assumptions. In the 20th c. no attempt was made to reinterpret the available written sources, and analyses were based on the dedication of the church and the history of the early settlement.The excavations conducted around the church in 1959 were not properly documented and their results were not taken into account in later publications. However, results of recent excava-tions (2017–2018) prove without any doubt that the church was founded later that it was assumed. A new analysis of written sources has shown that as late as in the 1290s Zawodzie was owned by the duke while the church was first mentioned in 1292. Archaeological finds indicate that the church was built in the location of a settlement that had still functioned in the 12th c., and the features uncovered can be dated to the 13th c. Written sources contradict the existence of a separate parish in this place, confirming that St Adalbert’s church at Zawodzie was connected with The Holy Virgin parish i Kalisz.
Notae Numismaticae, 2020
A settlement cluster around Kalisz first emerged in the Roman Period on a route leading from the ... more A settlement cluster around Kalisz first emerged in the Roman Period on a route leading from the south towards the Baltic coast. In the Early Middle Ages, a settlement centre connected with the Kalisz Zawodzie stronghold developed at the crossroads of trade routes linking Wielkopolska with Silesia, Mazowsze, and Małopolska, with the earliest traces of early medieval occupation dating back to the 8th century. In the 10th century, oriental silver in the form of silver dirhams startedto flow into the discussed region. These coins were part of deposits discovered inthe sites of Kalisz Szałe and Kalisz Rajsków. Many years of research on artisanal settlement Kalisz Stare Miasto produced a few fragments of Sāmānid dirhams minted between AH 279–343 (892–954). In 2018, during research at the Church of St. Adalbert located within the Kalisz Zawodzie settlement accompanying the stronghold, a part of what was probably a larger silver deposit was found. In total, 13 dirham fragments were recovered, among which Sāmānid emissions dated to the first half of the 10th century were identified (8 pcs), as well as five pieces of undetermined dynastic attribution. As demonstrated by the stratigraphic analysis,the early medieval hoard had been discovered and dispersed at some point during the period when the church cemetery was used, between the 17th century and second half of the 18th century.
Kędzierski A., Wyczółkowski D. Toporki miniaturowe ze Starego Miasta w Kaliszu. Wielkopolskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 15, : 99-106, 2014
The settlement on the Old Town in Kalisz was one of the most important components in the topograp... more The settlement on the Old Town in Kalisz was one of the most important components in the topography of Kalisz agglomeration in Early Middle Ages. Located on sandy hills on the bottom of the Prosna river valley, it neighbored with the stronghold on Zawodzie, and with set¬tlement with St. Adalbert Church. The excavations of the settlement are held by archaeologists of Archaeology and Ethnology Institute of Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw.
During the excavations they recognized the range of the settlement, and they gained many unique antiques evidencing trade contacts of the citizens of Kalisz settlement center. During the excavation surveys conducted in seasons 2012 and 2013 at 13 Stare Miasto Str. they recognized an interesting complex of habitable and production features. The whole is dated quite precisely, due to coins discovered in the fills of the features, on the period since the half of the X century till the half of the XIII century. Many an interesting artifacts were gathered. Among them, what attracts attention, is two whole and two fragmentarily preserved miniature axe heads. There are only circa 170 specimens of such type known to us from the areas of early medieval Rus, Central Europe and Scandinavia. On the function of these rare artifacts there has been a debate for a long time, presented in subsequent publications. There are attenuated hypotheses on their cult importance, as well as on their being a specify discriminated of a group of warriors. Theses hypotheses are ordered and summarized by a publication of 2001 (Kucypera, Pranke, Wadyl, 2011). Most authors stand in favor of their eastern origin, pointing the regions of early medieval Rus, where most of the specimens of that type have been known. The specimens discovered in Kalisz have been included into type I according to Makarów (specimens made of copper alloy), and into type of miniatures related to type I (ferric specimen).
In 2020 it is known already about 8 miniature axes or their fragments found during the excavation in Kalisz.
zawichost we wczesnym średniowieczu, 2018
The main part of the chapter is dedicated to the discussion of the successive phases of the site’... more The main part of the chapter is dedicated to the discussion of the successive phases of the site’s occupation based on the collected archaeological data, artifacts, and absolute dating. Archaeologists identified four phases associated with human activity. In phase I, in the Bronze Age and in the early Middle Ages, the area was only marginally affected by human activity. In the next phase – phase II – the tetraconch was built and the cemetery next to the church was established. Phase III is associated with the demolition of the stone church and construction of the wooden church. Phase IV is the period from the abolition of St. Maurice’s parish until the modern period. In this period, new structures appeared on the site that are linked to the use of the area between the end of the 15th c. and the beginning of the 21st c.
This chapter also presents research problems concerning the dating of the materials associated with the construction of the church and the use of the cemetery with the C14 method. The dating analyses were
performed in the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, and in the AMS Laboratory in Poznań. The majority of dates linked to the time of the
church’s construction point toward the period until the end of the 12th century. Samples of organic materials taken from the walls of the structure indicate the period between 971 AD and 1155 AD. Organic materials associated with phase I of the use of the cemetery indicated a similar range post-calibration – from 1028 AD to 1184 AD.
Zawichost we wczesnym średniowieczu, 2018
The paper presents the problems of the topography of Zawichost in the early Middle Ages. The auth... more The paper presents the problems of the topography of Zawichost in the early Middle Ages. The author discusses archaeological sources associated with the Zawichost-Podgórze settlement complex with the stronghold dated to the period between the 8th and 10th centuries. The paper also contains the analysis of the development of the settlement on Zawichost Hill on the site of the modern-day town in connection with the changes of the road network and the Vistula River crossings. Furthermore, the author discusses the problem of the location of the Zawichost stronghold, presenting in his paper results of archaeological excavations and architectural investigations of monumental buildings from the settlement area and their place in the topographic structure
Kalisz-Stare Miasto. Cmentarzysko. Część I – Archeologia/ Kalisz-Stare Miasto. Cemetery. Part I – Archaeology, 2023
The work presents the results of research conducted at a multi-phased early-medieval site located... more The work presents the results of research conducted at a multi-phased early-medieval site located in Stare Miasto district of the city of Kalisz. The area of Stare Miasto was subject to an extensive program of field exploration conducted over the course of many years by the teams of archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology and Polish Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (former Institute of Material Culture History). Stare Miasto is a village located in the direct vicinity of the fortified settlement of Kalisz whose beginnings are traced back to the 9th c. The human activity at Stare Miasto was directly connected with the stronghold and its phases of development. The village was established already in the tribal phase, roughly half kilometre north of Kalisz, on several sandy hills in the Prosna River valley, within the arms of the meandering river. As the archaeological data suggest, the most intensive phase of development of Stare Miasto happened from the mid-11th to the 13th c. It was stopped by the unfavourable climate change and the rising level of water which limited the available settlement space.
The site known as Stare Miasto Cmentarzysko (Graveyard) is located at the southern edge of the settlement, at the direct vicinity of the fortified centre of Kalisz. Exploration was carried out there in 1990, and then again in 2004-2006. The exploration uncovered a destroyed early-medieval graveyard. The research also yielded multiple objects proving earlier usage of the area.
The graveyard, according to the findings presented in the publication, was established relatively late, in the 2nd half of the 12th century at the earliest. It seems that its creation was directly linked with the construction of the church of St. Paul in Kalisz and the changes to the stronghold itself. The graveyard occupied the south-western part of the hill bordered by the arms of Prosna river. The earliest phase of usage of that area is connected with the first phase of the stronghold in Kalisz and was dated for the 10th c. on the basis of found pottery and fragments of dirhams. Workshops and houses were built in the central part of the hill in the 11th-12th c. No objects from that period have been found in the area later occupied by the graveyard. However, the cultural layer has yielded much material of similar dating, proving the direct vicinity of objects from that period.
The site was destroyed in the 14th c. by a flood, which is confirmed by the results of stratigraphic analysis and dating of discovered artefacts. The rising level of water significantly eroded the riverbank sections of the hill and caused partial blurring of the site. The stratigraphy of layers uncovered during the exploration shows two more stages of terrain damage. The first one, also dated for the 14th c., is another flooding caused by Prosna and further erosion of the hill surface and slopes. The second one is dated for the modern era and is connected with the agricultural use of the area which was significantly levelled at that time and the graves were destroyed by heavy ploughing, which brought human skeletal remains to the surface. Those were then gathered and reburied in ossuaries.
All information regarding the archaeological research conducted at the site is presented in Chapter 4.
The presented work is the first volume of a planned series of publications presenting the results of research conducted in Stare Miasto. Due to that the first chapters were used to introduce the scope of the works. The first one presents the history of Stare Miasto contrasted with the settlement in the fortified area of Kalisz Zawodzie. The settlement's history was shown on the basis of written sources and the analysis of the results of archaeological research conducted in the area of the fortified settlement in Kalisz. Chapter two presents the topography of the area and the changes it underwent in the early middle ages. This work was based on the analysis of previous environmental studies and observations made during the archaeological survey. The third chapter presents the history of archaeological research in Stare Miasto. Excavations carried out between 1953 and 1957 and then from 2001 to 2020 were preceded by surface surveys. The results of the work at the Stare Miasto Cmentarzysko site are discussed in Chapter Four. It describes the successive research seasons and their results. This is followed by a presentation of the successive phases of use of the site based on stratigraphy, analysis of historic materials and C14 dating. It concludes with a catalogue of historic materials. The archaeological study is complemented by a study of the anthropological and archaeozoological materials acquired during the site investigations. These are presented in the second part prepared by Agata Bisiecka.
Zawichost we wczesnym średniowieczu, 2018
Zawichost is a center in northern Lesser Poland, which, according to the late medieval tradition,... more Zawichost is a center in northern Lesser Poland, which, according to the late medieval tradition, noted by the medieval historian and chronicler Jan Długosz, was considered the leading in the Sandomierz region - caput terrae Sandomiriensis. In historiography, the idea returns that this is a place where one should look for the seeds of a political and church structure, which would later become the basis of the identity of the Sandomierz region.
Research on the beginnings and development of Zawichost was initiated and conducted from the 1950s by the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Polish Academy of Sciences, continued in the years 1994–1999 as the work of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. During the work, there was a harmonious, effective interaction between researchers representing various specialties. At the same time, outstanding specialists, not only archaeologists and historians, but also Quaternary geologists and geomorphologists, geophysicists, anthropologists, and architectural historians were cooperating. The results of excavations played a key role in the research, which, bringing many unusual discoveries, enabled the verification of previous findings.
The effect of many years of work is the volume of Zawichost in the early Middle Ages - a monograph presenting the state of research of the Zawichost center together with its current update.
Gród Kalisz-Zawodzie we wczesnym średniowieczu, 2023
The Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold is one of the main early medieval strongholds in Greater Poland. I... more The Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold is one of the main early medieval strongholds in Greater Poland. It is also a strong settlement and economic center, the seat of secular power and, earlier, probably a center of pagan cult. The publication “Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold in the Early Middle Ages” is a summary of field and study work of several generations of archaeologists and historians. Archaeological research in Zawodzie was initiated by Włodzimierz Demetrykiewicz (1903). The most important discoveries (including the collegiate church of St. Paul from the second half of the 12th century) are the work of the IHKM PAN team under the supervision of Iwona and Krzysztof Dąbrowski (1958-1965). They were continued by the IAE PAN team led by Tadeusz Baranowski (1982-1995 and 2006-2007), discovering, among others, remains of the earliest wooden church (early 11th century). Archaeological materials obtained during excavations in the Kalisz stronghold have been published at source level. The discovered objects (fortifications of the stronghold, residential and economic buildings, sacred architecture with reconstructions of buildings, burials within the church cemetery) were shown against the background of changes in the natural environment and in the context of the history of the stronghold known from written sources. Numerous artefacts were also presented (ceramics, metal objects, bones, wood, clay, stone, glass, coins). The latest interpretations of discovered objects and monuments were presented, and research hypotheses were put forward that require verification in the future.