Średniowieczne Kielce w świetle ostatnich badan archeologicznych

• Authors: Gliński Waldemar , Glińska Nina

Title variants

EN

Medieval Kielce in the light of recent archaeological excavations

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

Our knowledge about the origins of the town of Kielce has increased in recent years, due to rescue excavations carried out in the area of the City Centre (Plac św. Wojciecha, ul. Nowosilniczna, Plac św. Tekli). This paper offers a summary of results of recent excavation research and attempts at reconstructing the development of Kielce in the Middle Ages. The prelocation settlement was reconstructed by Janusz Kuczyński, based on hitherto archaeological research. He delimited the extent of the settlement on a primeval elongated promontory which was surrounded with water-courses and swamps. It is located in the area of present-day ul. IX Wieków Kielc, within the section from ul. Warszawska (at the former synagogue - now the Voivodeship State Archive) to St Adalbert Church. The chronology of the settlement was supposed to date from the 10th(?)/11th to the 13th c. At the end of the 11th or at the beginning of the 12th c. the wooden St Adalbert Church was founded. It was built at the settlement, to the east of it, presumably in the place of the present-day church. South to the settlement at St Adalbert Church, on a rocky prominence, the collegiate church dedicated to the Holy Virgin was built. It was founded in 1171 by Gedko, Bishop of Cracow, from the Powała clan. The consecration of the masonry collegiate church took place probably in 1213, and on this occasion it was granted with a canonry (later known as the “Jewish” canonry). That canonry was translocated from St Peter and St Paul Church in Kije. The collegiate church takes over the benefices and the parish function of St Adalbert Church. of special significance is the fact that the residence of the bishops of Cracow (in the form of a mansion) existed at the collegiate church. In the course of archaeological works in Plac św. Wojciecha in 2007 remains of a wooden semi-dugout hut were discovered. Based on finds within the feature and the historical analysis, this feature may be dated to the 11th(?) -12th c. Another excavation research was carried out in 2010 in ul. Nowosilnicza. The examined area was situated within the extent of the pre-location settlement (as reconstructed by J. Kuczyński) and in the immediate neighbour- hood of the trench from 2007, where the early medieval semi-dugout hut was discovered. The research confirmed the existence of features from the 11th-13th c. in this area. These must have been part of the afore-mentioned settlement. In 2010 archaeological research was carried out in Plac św. Tekli. It was the first archaeological examination in this area and it led to a discovery of remains of two medieval features. Feature 1 was remains of a wooden household building from the 13th c. Feature 2 was remains of a burnt wooden building, which was in all probability built in the log construction and was used for storing grain. A ceramic paving tile, ornamented with a relief, was an extremely valuable find that was discovered in the course of exploration of the “granary.” It was deposited at the bottom of the feature. Analogous fragments were found in the course of excavations in the collegiate church (the later cathedral) in Kielce. Identical paving tiles are known from the Wawel Cathedral, where paved floor was laid in 1250. Such finds are also known from St Mary Magdalene Church in okół, the Holy Trinity Church in Cracow, the Holy Virgin Church in Mogiła, the Holy Apostles St Peter and St Paul Church in Tyniec, St Giles Church in Inowłódz, and the Holy Trinity Church in Strzelno, where they are dated to the period from the mid-13th to the turn of the 13th and 14th c. There is no doubt that finds which have been discovered so far are the first archaeological trace to confirm the existence of the settlement from the 13th-14th c. in the area of present-day Plac św. Tekli, ul. Kozia and ul. orla. It was the other later settlement (the Episcopal one) in relation to the earlier (ducal) settlement from the 11th(?)-12th c., whose remains were identified in the vicinity of St Adalbert Church. In the light of research results it can be said that the original early medieval settlement in the territory of Kielce was situated in the area between present-day ul. Bodzentyńska and ul. IX Wieków Kielc on the one side and ul. Warszawska on the other side. In the 13th c. that settlement was translocated to the other bank of the River Silnica, in the area of the later Market Square. This later settlement was a trade settlement (locum forense). The spatial layout of medieval Kielce may have therefore looked like in the following way: the earlier settlement from the 11th(?)-12th c. was located on the right bank of the River Silnica (Plac św. Wojciecha and ul. Nowosilniczna), while the trade settlement originated on the left bank (Plac św. Tekli) of the river in the 13th c. The collegiate church (perhaps built at the turn of the 12th and 13th c.) and the Episcopal residence, situated in the highest point of the town (Cathedral Hill), dominated the settlement.

• Publisher: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
• Journal: Światowit
• Year: 2009-2010
• Volume: Tom VIII (XLIX), fasc. B
• Pages: 133-147

Contributors

author

Gliński Waldemar

author

Glińska Nina