The excavations at the cemetery in Konopnica resulted in finding 114 fragments of terra sigillata from graves (Tab. 1) and 52 that were found loose. About 40% оГ the whole collection was attributed to a certain producer or at least a workshop (Tab. 2, 3). The set is badly preserved, partially destroyed in fire of funeral pyres. The analysis revealed that the fragments of vessels come from the Rhineland workshops in Rheinzabern and the Rhaetia ones in Westerndorf and Pfaffenhoffen. Forms of vessels are represented by bowls Drag. 37. The analysis of terra sigillata fragments found in the graves proves that they were treated in the same way of breaking and burning in piles as hand-made vessels or turnery ones. They were also divided among the dead, e.g. fragments of Comitialis bowel from Westerndorf were found in four different graves (Tab. 4). Terra sigillata is known from the graves of various category, from the rich ones, as well as, Trom the poor (Tab. 5-7). Terra sigillata might have been a sort of the „souvenir of Imperium” for people from Barbaricum although it is unknown whether their owners had enough awamess of their provenance. The cemetery in Konopnica dates back from the Late La Tene period A2-A3 to the phase D of the Migration of Nations period. Terra sigillata collected there dates back from the half of the phase B2/C1 to the end of the phase Cl. The forms are clearly connected with the flow of import after the Markomanian wars.
The paper is mostly devoted to Dint working technique in the inventory from Jastrzębia Góra. The site lying on the north-west edge of the Kępa Swarzewska was found in 1972 by W. Chmielewski. In years 1975-1977 and 1980 it was being explored by L. Domańska. A collection of four thousand flints was gathered. At first it had been assigned to the Chojnice-Pieńki culture but recently to the post-Maglemose. The material was arranged in two main concentrations of similar features. Two techniques of tool production (splinter and blade ones) were recognized in the inventory. Splinter cores dominate here (c. 90% of cores). Blade ones are small, microlithic, conical and sub-conical. The inventory has some characteristic features. Technical operations connected with prepairing and repairing blade cores were reduced to minimum. Splinter and blade techniques intermingle with each other. Blades are very regular and slim and they were used as inserts (without retouch) or for producing microliths. A great importance of the technique of obtaining blade semi-products is evident. The rest of tools were made mostly from splinter semi-products and side-scrapers dominate here. The Pomeranian flint is almost the only one (99%) that was used in Jastrzębia Góra, site 4 therefore the techniques distinguished there are determined by that stone material.
As a result of three-season conducted rescue researches 106 grave complexes were revealed. Materials from 49 graves are stored in Museum of Pabianice whereas furnishing of 57 graves in the collection of the Chair of Archaeology in the University of Łódź. There is the vessel with the picture of birds uncovered in the grave no 3 that deserves our attention. A grave pit had an oval shape of 50 cm diameter. A filling of the pit consisted of dark gray sand with a large amount of charcoal. Six coarse fragments of vessels (Tab. II, Figs. 1-6) and fragments with the picture of birds (Tab. III, Figs. 1, 2a-c) were found in the upper part of the filling in a layer 10-15 cm thick. At the bottom of the pit a cinerary urn was placed while above it an umbo and fragments of a shield handle were ucovered. Artifacts found in the grave have numerous analogies. On the basis of these the complex is dated from the 2nd half of the 3rd century to the 1st half of the 4th century (phases Cj -C j). It is difficult to interpret an idea of the picture from the vessel no 7. The picture made by one stamp (preasumbly traces of an ornament) shows birds floating on water. The birds differ by numbers of visible details, but it is hard to ascertain whether it is intentional idea or coarse vessel making. Ethnographic sources provide much information about the meaning of animals in folk beliefs. Birds emerging in beliefs e.g. in Slovenia and Belorussia are connected with a cult of the dead. The possibility of linking the pattern from the Wola Łobudzka vessel with beliefs where birds play an important role can not be excluded. However, the problem of beliefs connected with animals functioning in prahistory is too wide to be covered in this paper.
In the northern part of the Dobrzyń Land, which since the 80s of the 13th century was within Rypin castellan's district and since the mid-14th century in the Rypin district, conditions were favourable for iron metallurgy development. Its source basis was constituted by turf ores lying on swampy meadows in the closest neighbourhood of Rypin and other areas of the castellan’s district, crossed by a number of streams (lowing into Rypienicą, Drwęca and Wkra rivers. Historical evidence testifies for functioning of five forges furnished with water wheels in this area. While searching for metallurgical settlements in areas rich in ores all notices about cereal mills being in use in modern times should be taken into account. According to Z. Guidon water smithy equipment from the 16th century was often rebuilt for cereal processing. One of such mills functioned in Mały Zakroczek, which is now included in the village of Dylewo. In the place where the mill worked as late as in the inter-war period, nowadays there are fishponds. Archaeologists’ attention was drawn by finds of medieval clay vessels and lumps of iron slag dug from the bottom of the river. In 2000 excavations on the area of 74 sq m were conducted in order to recognize possible settlement traces. Despite considerable transformation of the discussed terrain, which took place during the latest rebuilding of the ponds, the archaeologists succeeded in revealing relics of the forge. Preserved layers of roasted ore, iron slabs, accompanied by layers of burning from blast furnaces testify for its functioning. On the grounds of pottery sherds and stove tiles the forge has been dated to a period from the end of the 13th to the end of the 17th century. During the production local turf ores were used. The location of the productive settlement on the river was not accidental; water wheel was probably used as propulsion of bellows and mechanisms for ore crumbling. After the iron production had been given up water mechanisms were successfully adapted by the mill.
In Ihe medieval period no doubts are raised on proper classification of three representatives of the offensive armament: sword, spear and dagger (but not battle-knife). They should all be considered knight arms. It is generally assumed that in the late medieval period the plebs’ arms were battle-axes, battle flails, forks and above mentioned bludgeons of all types, spears, halberds, bows, choppers, cutlasses, and as regards protective armament - helmets of capalis and salada types. However, it does not mean that even in the late medieval period these elements of armament were only used by plebs, including also the middle class. Almost all the elements of armament (except battle forks) were also used by knights. In the 2nd half of the 15th century sable comes into use and were also used by the knights. This fact has been noted by chroniclers in a wedding suite of Casimir Jagiellon’s daughter - Jadwiga. This element of armament, in shape not very different from chopper, was also used by the plebs. In the battle of Grunwald in 1410, the knights, after having destroyed their spears, fought with swords and „securibus longius lingo extensis”. Face to face with the king Casimir Jagiellon a tournament duel with battle-axes between Jacob from Kobylany and a famous for tournament victories Englishman of unknown name. At the same time, peasants from Great Poland were called to defend the land from the Teutonic invasion in 1403 and were told to take „cum armis, arcubus, clypeis, lanceis, gladiis et securibus”. Even knights who belonged to the elite were wearing capalis, among others John from Czulice of the Czewoja clan. That is the reason why it is difficult to unambiguously state the class membership of many armament elements, which are nowadays preserved.
The following article presents the results of excavations undertaken within a masonry manor house (site 3) in Białaczów in 1997-1998 and an analysis of material gained during the works. Białaczów is situated in the southeastern part of the Łódź voivodeship, about 10 km to the south of Opoczno. The village is known from written sources dated to the 1“ half of the 13th century. In the Middle Ages it belonged to the Odrowąż family, in the 16th century as a result of relationships by marriage it got to the Kochanowski family. In the 1st half of the 18th century Białaczów was bought by the Małachowskis. The site under consideration lies within a park complex connected with the Małachowskis residence from the 18th century. It is an earthen mould on the plan of an oval, surrounded by partly irrigated moat. In the central part of the upper plateau there are relics of a masonry building forming a course of rooms (12 x 22 m) with complementary rectangular annex from the north-west. During archaeological excavations carried out in 1997 two ditches and three opencasts on total area of 31,75 sq m. In 1998 archaeological supervision connected with preserving the relics of the masonry manor house from further devastation was conducted. As a result of the archaeological research function of the discussed object as well as its preliminary chronology have been established.
Archaeological excavations on the area of the market place in Bieruń Stary were next stage of researches intended to lead to modernisation and rebuild of the market surface as well as rebuild and partial exchange of the terrain’s infrastructure. As a result of an agreement between a building company and the Preservation Service, after having informed the Investor, the Town and Commune Council in Bieruń Stary, seven exploratory units of total 200 sq m have been marked out. They were located in places where earlier radar and electromagnetic investigations of the ground made with the SIR radar indicated disturbances in stratification. It suggested that archaeological features occurred there. The disturbances were interpreted as remains of a town hall, scales, other market buildings and surfaces hardening the market area (covering with wood, stone pavements). The excavations carried out on the market of Bieruń Stary have yielded considerable collection of artefacts. Together 5875 items have been found; the most numerous group (4565) was constituted by fragments of clay vessels. The frequency of each collection of artefacts in different exploratory units was various and the whole material can be treated as strongly shattered and secondary mixed to a great extent. The artefacts quite regularly saturated stratification of all the units except unit VII where barely 144 specimens have been found. As a result of the excavations it has been stated that in the areas in point there are no remains that could be connected with the town functioning from its location at the end of the 14th till the 17th century. It is possible that the town originally had a different location and different directions of development and no sooner than after the great fire in 1677 a new town regulation took place. Great probability of this hypothesis is well founded by the fact that the oldest traces of the market usage only come from the 2nd half of the 17th century. Also all the discovered relics of wooden buildings are dated to the years immediately after the fire. As far as inter-market buildings are concerned, in the northern part of the market (in a place indicated as a result of the radar investigation) relics of the south-western comer of a building have been revealed. We believe that, with great probability, it can be assumed that it is a remnant of the town scales. In the terrain it manifests in a layer of broken stone being a foundation of inconsiderably preserved comer wall beam. The relic can be preliminarily dated to the 19th century. Unfortunately no other remains of the inter-market building area have been found although their occurrence is suggested by the SIR radar investigation. Similarly, relics of the stone paved road have not been found. Only the presence of earthen layers from the 2nd half of the 17th - the beginning of the 20th century. In the central part of the market, in the place suggested by the SIR investigation, relics of the town hall have not been found. To be quite truthful, there are some relics of an archaeological object, but its fragmentary state excludes any far-reaching conclusions. We think that there is an interesting situation in the south-western frontage of the market where relics of its older, southern frontage have been registered. It should be dated to the period from the 2nd half of the 17th to the end of the 18th century. It was shifted about 13 metres north of the present frontage. A wooden pavement once coming under the arcades has been registered, which is showed by relics of posts placed in the surface of the pavement. Before padding beams were laid, the surface of the market had been strengthened by fascine. Whereas after the liquidation of the original building line and enlargement of the market to its present size its surface (at least in the region under consideration) was paved with broken limestone. It probably happened at the end of the 18th or at the beginning of the 19th century. In the surface the presence of a gutter (a sewer canal) made of different kinds of coniferous wood has been stated. At the beginnings of the 20th century the rebuild of the market surface took place. In the area under investigation it was carefully paved with broken limestone, what undoubtedly contributed to the town’s aesthetics, but unfortunately at the opportunity destroyed the older layers.
Two tombstones of the ensign of Poznań Nicolas Tomicki, of the Łodzia clan, are not numerous cases when the same person appears in iconography more than once. It enables the comparison of the images as well as their analysis not only from the portrait point of view, but also the correlation between dress or armament details. In the article the results of an analysis of both Nicolaus Tomicki’s tombstones are presented; the aim of the analysis is to show the armament in the images. The first tombstone comes from the turn of the 15th century, so it must have been made for the ensign and under his supervision. Foundation of the second tombstone, from 1524, is the work of his son Nicolaus - the archbishop of Cracow and Poznań as well as of the secretary of Sigismund the Old - Peter Tomicki. Both sets of armament considerably differ from each other not only in respect of the suite of elements, but also a variety of their ornamentation. It can be presumed that Peter Tomicki considered the first tombstone of his father too simple for an ancestor of a church notable and the king’s secretary and that is why he founded another tombstone, with a changed image and an accompanying inscription. Certainly the armament showed on the earlier tombstone can be regarded as materialised representation of how, according to the bishop, a powerful knight, who follows the changes of battlefield, or maybe only knights’ fashion, should look like. Only few elements of the armament, on the grounds of comparison with the older tombstone, can be included to authentic components of the armament of Nicolaus Tomicki.
The excavations of the post-Dominican complex et Brześć Kujawski have yielded 257 glass fragments from which 76 vessels have been partly reconstructed. They include 52 narrow-neckcd bottles, 15 bell-shaped beakers, 2 jugs, 2 glasses and 4 pharmaceutic ampoules. All vessels came from layers linked with demolition and building works carried out by the monks at the close of the 18th up to the thirties of the 19th century. On the basis of stratigraphical sequence, associated finds, typological characteristics and results of chemical analyses it has been possible to assign the vessels in question to the period from the close of the 18th to the first half of the 19th century. The analysis of the chemical composition of the glass indicates that most vessels were made of sodium-calcium-potassium-magnesium glass. The ratio of particular alcaline components points to the use of raw material derived from the ashes of halophytes and of continental plants as well. Potassium glass is commonly regarded as a characteristic product of our lands. As the occurrence of the bell-beakers is also confined to Polish sites it is justifiable to assume that sodium glass has been produced in Poland at least since the end of the 18th century. Sodium glass could be made from material derived from halophytes growing in the regions of inland salt oans. The same applies to the bottles made according to sodium-calcium- potassium-magnesium recipes. Since the number of analyses of glass composition, made for selected samples, is still inadequate, errors may creep into the findings. As an example we can quote here the results of the analysis of the Brześć beakers inconsistent with data known from literature. Forest glass-works were active over the whole northern and central Europe, and so they would also produce potassium glass obtaining alcaline raw material from the ashes of ferns. Potassium bottles were also produced in France, England and other countries of that zone. Findings оГ the studies on the composition and production not only o f Polish but also of Europea glass should be tested.
The defensive architecture of the province of Łęczyca (an area located north of Łódź, measuring over 4000 km2 in size) in the Late Middle Ages and in modem times is considered. In 1980 the author published a book on this subject (vol. I in the series „Acta Universitatis Lodziensis”, Folia archaeologica), which contains a catalogue of 77 defensive features (castles, town walls, fortified manor-houses, etc.) and describes their character and principles on which they functioned. Now, after more than 15 years since the appearance of this book, the author reconsideres the problem, scrutinizing the results of recent archaeological field researches. His findings can be summed up as follows: 1. In recent years 31 features have been excavated on the rather small scale. Test excavations for the purpose of conservation, and sondages were dominant. 2. As far as the publication is concerned, the situation is highly unsatisfactory, and in most cases the reports on the researches have not been made public. 3. Though archaeological and archaeological-architectural studies became distincly more intensive, the findings that would invalidate the hypotheses formed in 1980 were limited in number. 4. Major discoveries include a long rectangular brick manor-house at Gaj near Łęczyca, erected on a mound at the close of the 16th or in the early 17th century, and surrounded by a moat, and relics of a hexagonal tower of bricks at Sobota near Łowicz. The tower should probably be dated to the second half of the 14th or to the first half of the 15th ccntury. 5. With regard to the state of knowledge of 1980, the chronology of the features in question had to be slightly altered. Though the title of the book of 1980 refers to the 13th-17th centuries, recent excavations have failed to reveal a feature unquestionably dated to the second half of the 13th century. The earliest fortified residences date from the turn of the 13th/14th centuries, and the latest, from the 18th century. Accordingly, it seems fairly certain that the custom of building manor-houses on mounds originated in the Łęczyca region somewhat later (about 1300) and lasted longer (to about 1800) than has been surmised so far.
Most early medieval coins come from hoards, and only few are revealed by archaeological excavations. The Wilkowice coins were found in a feature defined as a hut, which contained numerous sherds of pottery made by hand and finished on the wheel. The hut was located within an open settlement. Denarii of this type (no 54 according to Stronczyński’s classification) were struck in the times of Bolesław the Curly after 1160. Accordingly, the feature that contained them dates from the turn of the 3rd/4th or from the 4th quarter of the 12th century.
In 1991 this author published a paper entitled Defensice architecture in the Liber beneßciorum o f Jan Długosz and archaeological data where all mentions about small fortified residences have been analysed. In this way, three volumes of Dhigosz’s works published in the 19th century have been examined. In the early 20th century S. Inglot made an attempt to reconstruct the lost first part, which probably was written about 1440 and which contained descriptions of the estates of the bishopric of Kraków with the exclusion of the chapter’s property. References to residences and seats of the bishops are of special interest to the archaeologist. The aim of this article, which is a continuation of the paper mentioned above, was to collect information about the 15th-century seats of the bishops of Kraków. In addition to a few remarks about castles, there was a large group of references to manor-houses usually located in the centres of the estates. A number of references to features defined by S. Inglot as „travelling stations” have also been found. This paper is only a starting-point of further studies of written sources primarily of test excavations of the places described.
The site at Orlik is located in the so-called Leśno microregion, which has been investigated for several years by the Archaeological Expedition of Łódź University. Of the 4 graves recorded on the site the first has been totally destroyed by building operations. Finds from another grave, also revealed during building works, have found their way to the Expedition and proved to represent forms rarely encountered in this part of Pomerania, and typical of the so-called Wielka Wieś phase of Hallstatt С. Excavations conducted in the region of the first two graves have yielded another two burials: no 3, well preserved and no 4, damaged. Pottery from the graves is typical of Hallstatt С. On the other hand, undisturbed grave no 3 was unique in from. Its bottom and the walls of the burial chamber were built of field stones, while the vessels put inside the chamber were covered with a loose stone pavement. This grave is closest in form to the so-called stone-set graves. The site is an important addition to archaeological sources in the Leśno microregion and in the whole southern part of East Pomerania.
A considerable part of the materials of the Macromannic-Quadian culture circle, dated to the second century AD, can be unquestionably linked with the Przeworsk culture. Finds of Przeworsk character (Fig. 2) occur mainly in Moravia and in lesser numbers in southwestern Slovakia and north-eastern Austria (Fig. 1). Their presence in the areas in question has so far been interpreted (cf. footnote 1) as a result of far-flung intertribal exchange or as an effect of local (Marcomannic-Quadian) production inspired by Przeworsk models. According to this author, such interpretation is contradicted by the character and kind of the artifacts in question. Most of them (pottery, fibulae, spurs or parts of belts) are distinguished neither by the material they were made of nor by their esthetic qualities and thus they do not have attributes usually linked with „imports”. This concerns primarily pottery which is average and by its very nature not transportable. Moreover, the Przeworsk finds occuring in graves (cf. cataloque) form definite sets which are peculiar to the Przeworsk culture alone. From all this it seems reasonable to infer that the occurrence of the above mentioned artifacts on the Middle Danube could not have taken place without the participation of the „Przeworsk” human factor. Accordingly, the presence in the area in question of a considerable group of newcomers from beyond the Sudeten-Carpathian Mountains should be taken into account. The earliest Przeworsk materials discovered on the Middle Danube indicate that the newcomers appeared in the first two decades of the 2nd century AD, and stayed in their new homeland et least to the end of that century. Moreover, it should be noted that the earliest phase of the Danubian settlement of the Przeworsk culture (developed phase B2 - about 110/120-150/160 AD) is far better documented by archaeological materials that the later phase (phase Bj/C, about 150/160-200/210 AD). The latter is distinctly on the wane, this being doubtless due to the Marcomannic wars (166-180 AD), within the orbit of which the areas in question were located. An attempt is made to answer the question: which area of the Przeworsk culture could the human groups that settlet on the Middle Danube have come from? The survey of the categories of finds (eg fibulae - Figs. 3-5, parts of belts, spurs etc.) point fairly clearly to the western and central areas of the Przeworsk culture, and more precisely to the basins of the Upper Odra and Upper Warta as the starting point of the hypothetical migration.
Das Gräberfeld mit Hügeln und Steinkreisen in Babi Dół-Borcz wird seit 1978 systematisch untersucht. Es wurden zudem Suchschnitte angelegt, um die in der Nähe eine vermutete Siedlung zu finden, sowie Sondagcn in einem Moor südlich des Gräberfeldes vorgenommen, wo ein Opferplatz entdeckt werden konnte. Im Jahre 1999 wurde eine zweite Nekropole mit Steinkistengräbem der Periode Hallstatt С entdeckt. Das Gräberfeld der Wielbark-Kultur besteht aus fünf grossen Hügeln mit Steinmantel und Steinkranz, drei Steinkreisen und Flachgräbem. Vier Hügeln und alle drei Steinkreise wurden bereits untersucht; im Bereich der Flachgräbergruppe hat man bisher insgesamt 37 Skelett-, 17 Brandgruben- und 9 Umengräber, zwei Bearbeitungsstellen von Grabsteinen und sieben Feuerstellen am Südrand des Gräberfeldes entdeckt. Die Gräber sind weit, bis 18 m, voneinander entfernt, was allerdings für die Nekropolen vom Typ Odry - Węsiory - Grzybnica, zu denen auch der Platz von Babi Dół-Borcz gehört, charakteristisch ist. Die in den letzten zehn Jahren entdeckten Gräber datieren, vor allem aufgrund von Fibeln, in den Zeitraum von der Stufe В 2a bis C la. Mehr als die Hälfte der in den letzten zehn Jahren untersuchten Bestattungen wies Grabstörungen auf. Die Raublöchcr befanden sich im Nord- und Mittelteil der Grabgrubc und reichten bis zur Grabsohle. Im bereits publizierten Grab 48 mit zwei vermutlich von Räubern übergcschencn Goldfingerringen lag der Verstorbene im östlichen Teil der Grabgrubc und nur dorthin zielte das Raubloch. Dies unterstützt die These, dass die Grabberaubung kurze Zeit nach dem Begräbnis stattfand, als die Lage des Grabes und der Leiche noch gut bekannt war. ln der Regel zeichnet sich die Beraubung der Gräber durch grosse Gruben ab, was darauf hindeutet, dass diese Bestattungen reich ausgcstallet waren. Von grossem Interesse sind zwei Bearbcitungsstcllcn von Grabsteinen. Die erste bestand aus drei Konzentrationen von grossen und flachen Granitabschlägcn, die in geringer Tiefe von 20-40 cm lagen. Unter der grösslen Konzentration waren Aschespuren sichtbar. Mehrere Abschläge waren stark zertrümmert, was bedeutet, dass sie einmal hoher Temperatur ausgezetzt waren. Die drei Konzentrationen lagen zwischen zwei Skelettgräbern und teilweise darüber. Die zweite Stelle war der Bearbeitungsplatz nur eines rosafarbenen Granitgrabsteines. Die Lage der Abschläge über einem allerdings vollständig ausgeraubten Grab ist ein Beweis dafür, dass man manche Grabsteine bearbeitete, als im Gräberfeld bereits bestattet wurde. Eine umgekehrte Situation ist nach T. Grabarczyk in Odry, Kr. Chojnice zu beobachten, wo die Gräber anscheinend in späterer Zeit, ausserhalb von bereits bestehenden Steinkreisen, angelegt wurden. Im Südteil des Gräberfeldes wurden sieben Feuerstellen entdeckt, die einen Halbkreis bildeten und wahrscheinlich am Rande der Nekropole plaziert worden waren. Es ist zu hoffen, dass noch weitere solche Objekte in diesem, noch nicht vollständig untersuchten Teil entdeckt werden. Sie sind rechteckig und enthalten je zwei Steinschichten; der Boden im Umkreis ist stark verbrannt. Aus den Füllungen stammen wenige uncharakteristische Scherben und Holzkohle, manchmal Tierknochen und einmal dünne, verbrannte Balken. Feuerstellen kommen in den Nekropolen der Wielbark-Kultur selten vor. In Grzybnica lagen sie am Nordrand des Gräberfeldes und enthalten menschliche Knochen, was bedeuten mag, dass sie als Ustrinen dienten, ln Babi Dół-Borcz fehlen Mcnschenknochcn, da aber die Verfüllungen der Feuerstcllen höchstwahrscheinlich antik ausgeräumt worden waren, darf dies nicht als Argument dafür gewertet werden, dass es sie ursprünglich nicht gab. Weitere Feuerstcllen sind aus Pielgrzymowo und Kitki, Kr. Nidzica, vor allem aber aus Krosno, Kr. Elbląg, bekannt. In Krosno wurden zwei Gruppen dieser Objekte entdeckt; in der ersten befanden sich die Feuerstcllen mit Holzkonstruktion, in der zweiten solche mit Stcinschichtcn. Nur in den erstgenannten wurden menschliche Knochen gefunden. Die beiden Typen wurden als Ustrinen interpretiert. Die Feuerstellen aus Babi Dół-Borcz gehören dem Typ mit Steinkonstruktionen an. Ob sie als Ustrinen gedient haben, bleibt ungeklärt, da ihre Ausmässe (1,10-1,90 m lang) manchmal zu gering Schemen. Auch die Feuerstellen mit Steinen aus Krosno sind für diesen Zweck zu klein, da ihre Länge von 0,70 bis 1,10 m beträgt. Die Belegungszeit des Gräberfeldes in Babi Dół-Borcz stimmt mit der Chronologie der Nekropolen auf der Kaschubischen und Krajna-Seeplattc überein und umfasst die Zeit von der Stufe В 2a, frühestens vom Ausgang der Stufe В 1, bis В 2/C 1-C la. Wenige Grabkomplexe aus den Stufen С lb -C 2 dürfen den kleinen, nach der Abwanderung eines Grossteils der Population verbliebenen Gruppen zugewiesen werden.
In den Jahren 1995-2003 wurden die Gräber zwischen Hügel 23 und 24 untersucht, die alle in eine Belcgungsphasc (Stufe B2/Cl-Cla) datiert werden, worauf nicht nur die Ausstattung, sondern auch die Grabkonstruktion hinweist. Alle Körperbestattungen waren mit zahlreichen eratischen Steinen versehen, die während der Beisetzung in Grabgruben deponiert wurden.
Present article deals with a block of basalt found on Et-Tell, identified with biblical Bethsaida. The block is only partially preserved and has today the dimensions: length 105,5 cm and 83 cm, height varying from 38 cm to 36,6 cm, depth between 46 cm and 36,5 cm. From the shape of the fragment and from the placement of the decoration it may be deduced that the stone formed originally a lintel. Decoration is carefully executed by use of the small-calibrated claw-chisel. It consists of a meander pattern with the motives of rosettes. Alternately a whirling rosette and a still standing are placed between the arms of meander. It is argued, on the stylistic and iconographical reasons, that the lintel should be dated to the Augustean period. There is pointed out on intensified influence of Roman art and culture during the reign of Herod the Great and his heirs. Further, the analysed motif of meander is compared to the similar motifs on basalt architecture of Hauran and Golan and the limestone architecture of nearby settlements of Galilee.
Site I in Gorzkowie, Piotrków voivodeship, the so-called fortalicium is situated on the south-east of the village, on the left bank of the river Prutka. The object was formed by digging a 7 m high and 10 m deep moat which cut off a natural hummock spreading out along the river from the rest of terrain. As a result of this action a rectangle of 110 m x 70 m was shaped. In the north of the object there is a hollow, 40 m wide wedging it into 30 m. Altogether there were 29 excavations within the area of 350 m2 and the cubature of 300 m3 was digged out. Moreover 100 bores (sorted out in seven strings) were made by a geological drill. The excavations situated in a plateau of the object resulted in a negative out-come i.e. layers associated with the use of it were not found. In the excavations located in the hollow (in the north of the object) relics of wall foundations and their negatives were revealed. The remains of a building of 27 m x 12,5 m were uncovered. It had presumably a military function. Little of archeological materials was found and the overwhelming majority comes from the modern period or even present times. The object in Gorzkowice is regarded as an unfinished plan of the so-called palazzo in fortezza which was being built in the first half of 17th century and was soon interrupted by the Swedish wars. Therefore the foundation that had been planed there were never realized. Moreover, the masonry object which had already been built fell into pieces.
Although the archaeological and architectonic works were carried out in Brześć Kujawski castle from 1989-1992, vessel ceramics from the first season of excavations (2174 fragments) only is the subject of this article. Changes in the picture of the late mediaeval and early modern vessel pottery articles is shown by Brześć assemblage which was the subject of technological anf formal analysis. The basis of the assemblage are sherds fired in the reduced atmosphere (82,06%). Elements characteristic to the end of early mediaeval period outlive there (16,61%). Fragments of vessels fired in advanced oxidizing atmosphere, glazed vessels and the ones covered by painting or slip are the trace part (1,33%). The rythm of changes of technological group corresponds directly with assemblages from Raciążek and Radziejów castles and specifies the northern zone of the late mediaeval and modern Kujawy ceramics. The formal feature of the collection from Brześć, makes it close to the various assemblages from Kujawy, particularly to the one from Franciscan cloister in Inowrocław. During the excavation in 1989, 3 fragments of the so-called hussitic sherds were found. They are dated (by stratification) to the second half of the 16th century and have a local provenance. They have their counterparts to other kind of these founds known from Kujawy region. The collection from Brześć Kujawski dated back from half of the 14th century to the half of the 17th century (which limits the time of the fundation of the castle structure and its abandonment after the Swedish invasion).
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