The walls of “building 1/62” were constructed with pine planks (flat logs worked flat at both ends, with natural roundness on the sides), ranging in width from 0.25 to 0.32 meters. They were preserved up to a height of 0.80-1.20 meters.

In the corners, structural cuts in the beams were visible. At a level approximately 1.5 meters below the level where the outline of the “building” was identified, four rectangular foundation beams were located, forming a square. Below them, to a depth of 100.15 meters above sea level (the lowest level detectable due to the presence of groundwater), several layers of small stones were recorded. The discoverer formulated a hypothesis that the stones stabilized the occurring loose sand.

Within the fill, over a thousand pottery fragments, over two thousand bone fragments, and approximately 200 other artifacts were recorded. Among them were many wooden objects related to cooperage production, such as parts of barrels, a scoop, a complete plate and plate fragments, a spoon, a carpenter’s mallet, a yardstick, a bark float, and others. In the southeast part, a large wooden barrel made of oak staves was discovered, inside of which a horse skull was found. This part of the object also contained leather products, including a child’s shoe sole and miniature shoe uppers. In the upper part of the “building,” a silver “cross denier” coin (from the 11th century), a glass ring and part of another, silver earring, four pieces of lead, including one weight, and others were found. In the lower parts, five bucket handles were also discovered.

In soil samples taken from the fill, plum, cherry, and peach pits, as well as hazelnuts, were identified. Of particular note is the incredibly large quantity of animal bones from “building 1/62”, primarily consisting of five horse skulls, as well as other horse remains (900 examples), cattle bones (789 fragments), pigs (297), sheep (104), dogs (44), wild boars (23), deer (10), roe deer (5), bisons (2), and one bear. Near this object, within cultural layers dated to the 11th century, a lead seal was discovered – identified as the seal of Prince Iziaslav Dmitriyevich.

The function of the object was most commonly described as residential. As a result, terms such as “hut with a barrel” or “counts’s hut” were used in literature. However, this interpretation is currently being challenged. The identification of the object as a type of cistern-well has been proposed. Attention was drawn to its deep foundation. Analysis showed that the bottom of the object was at least half a meter below the stabilizing structure at the base of the nearby wall. Therefore, it could have been even below the water level. The layers of stones found at the bottom, which help water to get into the interior of the object and indirectly stabilized the sand layers, are not surprising. The fill of the object formed at a later period. The buried barrel without a bottom would also have functioned as a draw well, representing another stage in the object’s use.

Dendrochronological analyses, which determine the age of wood based on the analysis of growth rings, allowed for the estimation of the probable time of tree felling used for construction between the years 980 and 1050.

Dariusz Wyczółkowski