Tumulus – a pagan cemetery

Reconstruction of a burial mound

During the second stage of archaeological research at the stronghold in 1990, beneath the layers of the rampart dated to the 11th century, a mound made of medium-sized stones was uncovered. This feature was interpreted by researchers as the remnants of a scattered stone tumulus. According to the interpretation of Tadeusz Baranowski and Leszek Gajewski, it would be the remains of a pagan cemetery preliminarily dated to the 7th-8th century, with the possibility of its establishment even in the 6th century.

Fragment of a vessel from the 8th century (photo by M. Osiadacz)

In the layers exposed near the tumulus, burnt bones and ceramic fragments were observed. Clusters of pottery were identified as remnants of cremation burials. The tumulus itself was constructed on the surface of a small elevation on a layer of sands heavily saturated with charred remains, containing burnt bones, fragments of pottery, as well as artifacts such as a small copper alloy ring and a sheet made of the same material. The modest archaeological inventory is typical of early Slavic burials, similar to the presence of charcoal and fragments of burnt bones. This would confirm the interpretation of the feature as remnants of a cemetery.

Stone burial mound (photo by T. Baranowski)

During the compilation of materials for the stronghold monograph, documentation from the first stage of excavations (1958-1965) revealed the presence of two additional scattered stone deposits located at a similar level on the top of the same elevation near the mound discovered in 1990. These were described by the discoverers as stone pavements. Judging from the documentation, at least one of them was covered at a later period by the accumulation of the 11th-century ramparts, similar to the mound discovered in 1990. It can be assumed that these are remnants of two additional mounds associated with the pagan cemetery.

Burial mound (drawing from the IAE PAN archives)

According to the discoverers, the mound uncovered in 1990 was located beyond the range of the ramparts of the oldest stronghold built in the 9th century. However, a recent analysis of the course of the ramparts of this feature suggests that these fortifications extended further to the south. This would indicate that the mounds were located within the interior of the feature. Currently, it seems that the dating of layers associated with the stone tumulus needs to be somewhat adjusted. In the layer where the stone mound was erected and in the layer that formed after its construction, pottery is found, which could be dated as early as the 8th century.

Dariusz Wyczółkowski