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EN
The authors present finds (pottery, metal artifacts and so on) from the Early Medieval stronghold, composed of several (two or three) ramparts, take up approx. 7 hectares, at Busówno on the borderland between Poland and Rus'. Then they reconstructed two evolution phases of the mentioned stronghold: (I) before the formation of the state (the beginning of the settlement in Busówno was related to the circular external rampart surrounding an area of approx. 7 hectares (at the present stage of exploration, open settlement at an earlier period cannot be ruled out). Its well-thought-out structure combined defensive elements with protection against the erosive activity of water. The rampart consisted of a low earthen embankment and undetermined wooden constructions filled with earth and reinforced with a stone 'offset'), (II) the first centuries of the state (re-settlement of Busówno resulted in spatial transformation of the town: its functional area and the extent of its development decreased. A large complex covering several hectares was changed into a 3-hectare settlement concentrated around the mound and the northern and western parts of the inner grounds. The interior rampart, traceable only in the eastern and northern part of the complex, probably dates back to that period. Its earthen embankment, the presence of a fascine on its slopes and the lack of traces of reinforcement show that the feature may have functioned as a dam protecting the settlement from seasonal rises of the water level). Busówno in Phase II has been noted in historical sources. The Galych-Volhynian chronicle mentions a Yatvingian raid against Busowno and Ochoz under the year 1234. This extremely important information probably establishes the terminus ad quem for the construction of the stronghold, but it also points to political significance of the place.
EN
The Early Medieval stronghold in the Lublin voivodeship was explored archaeologically in 2004–2005. The site, which lies in the riverside zone of the Swinka river, comprises ring-shaped ramparts encircling an area of 7 ha trenches were dug through two of the ramparts, in the inner area of the stronghold and on the so-called mound. The stratigraphical data combined with dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating have confirmed a two-phase development of the site in the tribal (9th-10th century) and early statehood (12th-13th century) periods. Large ceramic assemblages were recovered from the deposits explored in particular features. Seven sherds were dated by the thermoluminescent (TL) dating method. In Polish research, the method is usually applied at the intercrossing of archeology and geology pleistocene deposits. The possibility of dating of younger deposits has generated little interest so far, mostly due to a sustained belief in a still extensive error margin that has made the method less than effective for the middle ages. TL age is the quotient of the archaeological dose (AD) and the annual dose (DR). Radioisotope concentration measurements were made by the gamma spectrometric method for parts of the mineral deposits with a mass of about 600 g and pottery samples weighing from 60 to 100 g in the form of round plates c. 60 mm in diameter. TL age estimates confirmed the two-phase chronology of the ceramic selected material. The dating for all ceramic samples from group 1 fell within the time range between A.D. 717 and 1102 . In four cases the results ranged between A.D. 717 and 947 falling within the chronological timeframe assumed for group 1. An interesting experiment was the 'double' dating of sample Lub-4350, giving a TL age estimate of A.D. 784-928 compared to 14C dating of A.D. 860-1000. These dating appears promising at this early stage of the research providing two kinds of information: concerning the firing date of a given vessel and a potential dating of the context. At the present stage of the research, the scope of effective TL method usefulness for dating Early Medieval ceramics cannot be fully evaluated. The analyses series is still too small on a site which has yet to be investigated comprehensively.The TL age estimates obtained for the site have been burdened with an error margin of 6-7%, allowing them to be correlated with the results of 14C and dendrochronological dating. There are still many limiting factors at this stage of the research, resulting from the method's imperfections as well as from the little attention paid to contextual data: further close and continuous cooperation between the archaeologist and the physicist is demanded. The TL age estimates obtained for the stronghold are a reason for optimism, leading one to express the hope that the method will soon be accepted as an effective dating technique for Early Medieval as well as prehistoric materials. 7 Figures, 4 Tables.
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