Author: mm.tomczyk

Person conducting excavation: dr hab. Tomasz Nowakiewicz
Country: Poland
Site name:  Augustów Primeval Forest, area of Szczeberka river
Type of the site: early medieval cemeteries with cremation

Description of the research: The aim of excavation is research of cemeteries of Yatvingian elites from the 12th-13th centuries. Layers with the remains of funeral pyres containing rich burial assemblages were explored. The result of the research provides the best illustration of the material culture of early medieval Yatvingia (vel Sudovia), confirming the meaning of medieval historical sources, which emphasise the wealth and military power of the inhabitants of this land.

Person conducting excavation: dr Sławomir Wadyl
Country: Poland
Site name: Ciepłe, county Tczew, voivodeship pomorskie
Type of the site:  a complex of sites – three strongholds, two cemeteries and settlements
Involved institutions: Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw

Description of the research: The excavations are carried out as a part of  project ‘The early medieval settlement complex at Ciepłe: the Piast dynasty’s key to Eastern Pomerania’, which aim is to investigate the important archaeological site at Ciepłe in Eastern Pomerania, and to learn about the role that it played in incorporating this region into the first Polish state. Until recently Ciepłe was best known for the accidental discovery of an early medieval cemetery where there was a grave of an armed warrior thought to be a Viking. This cemetery is only one part of a vast complex made up of three strongholds, several settlements and two burial grounds. So far, researchers have concentrated on the discoveries made at the cemetery. This is no surprise. New excavations carried out at the cemetery (2004–2014) uncovered further richly furnished graves, which confirmed the remarkable importance of this place.

The settlement complex at Ciepłe is a unique cluster of sites dating from the late 10th/early 11th century. It was probably founded at the end of the 900s by people associated with the first rulers of the Piast dynasty (Mieszko I or Bolesław I the Brave). Gaining supremacy over Eastern Pomerania was one of the steps that helped build a fully formed and strong political structure at the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century. The Piasts were particularly keen to seize this area for economic reasons (it gave them access to trade and control of the River Vistula).

The planned research will be conducted on two levels. A multidisciplinary study of the Ciepłe settlement complex will examine the site at a narrow, regional level. The second, broader-level study will look at the site’s wider importance, and will include several innovative research methods. As well as traditional archaeological procedures, we will be using palaeoenvironmental and bioarchaeological studies (including genetic analysis, and analysis of stable isotopes of strontium, carbon nitrogen and sulfur).

Person conducting excavation: dr Sławomir Wadyl
Country: Poland
Site name: Nowy Chorów, pow. Słupski, woj. pomorskie
Type of the site: barrow cemetery
Involved institutions: Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw

Description of the research: The cemetery in Nowy Chorów is located on a small elevation, along the edge of the valley cut by watercourses. Excavations in the necropolis were initiated in 2022. They were preceded by geophysical research, which was carried out using magnetic and electrical resistance methods. In the first two seasons of research, three barrows were examined and protection works were carried out on one barrow, where there is a large robbery pit. The research allowed us to initially determine the chronology for the 11th-12th century.

In fact, most of the burial mounds at the site have a quadrangular shape. Objects of this type are called the Orzeszkowo type. The term comes from the cemetery in Orzeszków in the district of Łobez, examined in 1921-1924. In their classic form, they are found only in Pomerania. Barrows of the Orzeszkowo type are basically four-sided, usually square embankments “closed” with a stone surround. Inside the mound, there are various stone constructions in the form of burial chambers or stone pavements. They are usually the burial place of several people. They are characterized by bi-ritualism – apart from the prevailing inhumation, cremation was also used. The “equipment” of the dead is usually very modest. Although the Orzeszkowo-type graves belong to the more intriguing category of funerary objects, they have not been studied in recent decades. There are 16 mounds at the site. They form two clusters – the larger (Western) consisting of 10 and the smaller (Eastern) with six barrows.

Each of the examined burial mounds is a different funeral story. The goal is to explore a few more embankments. And due to the fact that the last studies of objects of this type took place in the years 1966–1968 – then excavations were carried out in Żydów in the Koszalin district – the research has great scientific and cognitive potential.