During the excavations, the foundations of the tower were exposed. They were constructed from unworked fieldstones, irregular in shape, with diameters ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 meters. The uncovered remains of the foundation had a width of up to 3 meters and were irregular. The north wall measured 9.6 meters in length, the west wall 11.0 meters, the south wall 9.3 meters, and the east wall 9.0 meters. The discoverers noted that the tower foundations were laid on the remnants of two ramparts: an earlier, overlaying one dated to the 11th century, and a box-like construction rampart, faced with stone, from the 12th century. However, it should be emphasized that the relationship between the tower and the ramparts is not entirely clear. Because of the discovered foundations of the tower, the archaeological work was not completed here as further investigation would require dismantling the stone underpinning. The excavation carried out near the foundations indicated that the tower was partially erected on the remains of an earlier intervening rampart, and that the thickness of cultural deposits above the undisturbed soil layer registered at levels ranging from 101.60 to 102.00 meters above sea level exceeds slightly over 4 meters. Due to the preserved remains of the tower only at the foundation level, its precise dating is not possible. Reconstructing its above the ground structure is also challenging. The foundation itself showed no traces of any binding material; it can only be assumed, drawing an analogy with the collegiate church foundations, that the upper stone layers were bonded with clay.

During the excavation in the demolition layers heavily saturated with fine brick dust, numerous brick fragments were discovered, including some with traces of glaze. For this reason, some researchers lean towards the assumption that the tower was constructed from this very material. Due to the use of brick, there is a prevailing belief in scholarly literature that it was built only in the 14th century when Zawodzie became a knightly seat. However, it seems that its construction should be considered as part of the princely residence built during the time of Mieszko I. Other early princely residences, such as Wleń, Legnica, or Wrocław, should serve as examples for reconstruction, with the Wrocław residence being the most thoroughly studied. What catches our attention here is the coexistence of a representative, monumental princely residence, a church, and defensive towers. Particularly interesting is the construction of brick, representative buildings on Wrocław’s Ostrow Tumski. The latest literature shifts the previous dating of these structures from the 13th century to the second half of the 12th century. In the case of the Kalisz stronghold, there are currently two elements of such a residential complex known, namely the tower situated on the rampart and the collegiate church, which, according to the intentions of Mieszko III, served as a kind of family, dynastic mausoleum.

Dariusz Wyczółkowski