In 2022, fragments of hand-held firearms were discovered at the site of the castle of the Ciołek family in Żelechów, Garwolin County, Masovian Voivodeship. Based on the craftsmanship, analogies known from the literature, and museum artefacts, it can be assumed that these were elements of a 16th-century hackbut. They most likely originated from a single barrel, which was damaged during use. Metallurgical analyses have shown that the barrel was forged from iron. A formal analysis allowed for a graphical reconstruction of its original form.
During archaeological excavations at Kichary Nowe, Site 2, near Sandomierz, five graves belonging to the Kraków-Sandomierz group of the Corded Ware culture were unearthed, three of which contained metal artefacts, including ornaments and tools made of gold and copper. The presentation of these finds in the context of other metal specimens belonging to this culture is the subject of this article. The results of their chemical composition analyses will also be discussed.
The rounded retouched tools that have been singled out in the Micoquian assemblages (‘Keilmessergruppe’)have long been an enigma. Even though their presence was recognised as early as the early 20th century, they received their formal name, the so-called ‘groszaki’, much later. More recently, similar tools have been recorded at the open-air site Pietraszyn 49a, SW Poland. These examples are slightly larger than average. They were made from flakes and a chunk. During production, marginal and invasive retouch and thinning were used. The same technical means were used to produce bifacial tools. These specimens were compared with other tools of this type in Poland, both in metric and morphological terms. On this basis, the tools differed in this respect within and between assemblages. Nevertheless, the repetition of the oval forms suggests that they may be the result ofthe transmission of cultural information.
Corded ornamentation is known on pottery from various Eneolithic and Bronze Age archaeological cultures in the Northwestern Pontic region. The ornamental patterns vary and are not associated with any particular type of vessel. This article examines beakers decorated with compositions of cord impressions. These have predominantly been found in the burials of the Budzhak/Yamna culture. Their distribution may be related to the influence of different cultural blocks – the northern block, associated with the Corded Ware culture, and the western block, linked to the cultures of the Early Bronze Age in the Balkan and Danube region.
One of the most characteristic elements of the Brześć Kujawski culture (4350-4000 cal. BC) were central settlements distinguished by dense development in the form of longhouses and associated graves, a large area (on average 3-6 ha), and a long period of use. A controversial issue is the dating of the beginning of this type of settlement (4600/4500 cal. BC versus 4350 cal. BC) and, consequently, of a given culture.The article aims to analyse six radiocarbon dates from a previously unpublished central settlement in Żegotki, Strzelno commune (Site 3), excavated in 1995. Each date refers to a separate house, giving a general picture of the settlement chronology within the range of 4300-3980 cal. BC. This finding is consistent with the general BKC dating model (Czerniak et al. 2016) and the dating of the settlement in Osłonki (Budd et al. 2020).
A clay rattle, made using the technology of the Funnel Beaker culture, was discovered during research conductedin 2024 on the settlement of this culture in Vynnyky-Lysivka. It was found in Feature 3/2024, which contained pottery with the style of its eastern and southeastern groups, as well as fragments of tableware with characteristics of the Brînzeni group of the Trypillia culture. Clay rattles are very rarely recorded in the Funnel Beaker culture, but are more commonly found in the Trypillia culture. A distant analogy for this rattle from Vynnyky-Lysivka is found in the graves of children from the Vykhvatintsy cemetery. The settlement of the Funnel Beaker culture from Vynnyky-Lysivka dates, which are similar to those of Brînzeni and Vykhvatintsy. The presence ofpottery imports from the Brînzeni group’s environment suggests that the clay rattle is associated with the Funnel Beaker culture. It is probably the result of contacts with the Trypillia Culture groups.
The article discusses the results of the latest interdisciplinary studies on Site 2, ‘Zameczek’, a stronghold complex in Czermno (historical Cherven’). The fieldwork completed in 2022-2023 focused on Site 2 and included noninvasive investigations (GPR and LiDAR prospection), sondage excavation, laboratory analysis and conservation of archaeological finds, absolute dating, and desktop studies. The research objectives and questions formulated when embarking on the investigation of the suburb settlement addressed key issues related to its chronology and function. Another key task was recognising and recording the site’s stratigraphy. The two seasons of sondage excavations yielded thirty-eight functionally distinct features interpreted as utility pits, remains of upright timbers,remnants of wooden communication structures, fragments of a rampart (?) and an eco-feature. The excavation of archaeological deposits and features belonging to Phases I and II yielded an assemblage of more than 37,000 objects, most of them pottery.
This text discusses the remains of a late medieval cart with a partial cargo recovered on Granary Island during the 2024 excavation, along with their historical context. The wooden components found have been technically described and compared to the limited archaeological database. They are furthermore considered in the context of the construction details of other medieval carts. The discovery is dated to the beginning of the 15th century, based on artefacts found in layers containing the cart fragments and supported by 14C analysis. The construction of the cart has been analysed with the aid of historical depictions from the period and undertaken in the spatial and functional context of the Granary Island. Although the formal constraints on the investigation limit the interpretation, the discovery is considered unique in Europe.
In the second half of the 6th millennium BC, two cultural circles developed on both sides of the Carpathians – the Linear Pottery Culture and the Eastern-Linear Culture. Contacts between these two units were based mainly on the long-distance exchange of richly decorated ceramics and stone raw materials. Very strong connections are visible primarily between the area of the upper Vistula river basin and eastern Slovakia. A very good example of these contacts are imported objects from the LBK settlement in Brzezie Site 17. As the analyses carried out have shown, they come from the territories of eastern Slovakia – the Šariš Basin and East Slovak Plain. As the LBK developed, the exchange of goods gradually flourished. The intensification of contacts with the south is legible at most of the settlements in south-eastern Poland, mostly starting from the decline of the LBK II phase. These contacts ceased suddenly as the Linear Pottery Culture and the Bükk Culture diminished.
This study focuses on a newly-discovered, perforated pendant from the Žabalj-Nove Zemlje site in Vojvodina, Serbia. The main settlement structure of this multiperiod site is primarily associated with the Late Neolithic Tisza and Vinča cultures (5400-4500/4450 BCE), where two burned houses were excavated from a total of 204 rectangular building anomalies detected archaeomagnetically. A unique, triangular-shaped and perforated pendant appeared on the top of the daub layer of one of the burned houses. The layer was disturbed in several parts by later pits; thus, the pendant cannot be directly linked to a closed Late Neolithic context. Material analysis, including Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and Fourier-Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), confirmed the material to be amber, while excluding other likely options such as beeswax or citrine. The Žabalj amber pendant is contextualised within the local scale and in the broader framework of the Carpathian Basin to gain insight into prehistoric amber use, which was predominant during the Bronze Age. However, this pendant does not typologically fit with Bronze Age amber beads; thus, the possibility exists that it dates to the Neolithic.
Archaeological investigations conducted in 2023 at Orły, Site 4, in the Subcarpathian loess region, revealed a niche grave associated with the Corded Ware culture. Inside, the remains of two adult men were found, accompanied by a rich assemblage of grave goods, including ceramic vessels, lithic tools, and a bone awl. This article presents the results of the analysis of the grave’s construction, osteological material, and grave goods, relating them to the cultural and chronological issues of the Final Eneolithic communities in the 3rd millennium BC.
At Site 50 in Srebrzyszcze, a unique complex of sepulchral features of the Globular Amphora Culture was discovered, consisting of a single human grave accompanied by two deposits of animal remains. The uniqueness of this discovery lies in the fact that the person to whom this expanded ritual complex was dedicated was a child, and also in the construction of the complex itself, which represents a type of structure with stone surrounds, very rarely encountered in the East Lublin group of the Globular Amphora Culture. Therefore, the results of research conducted at Site 50 enrich the picture of the Globular Amphora Culture from the Lublin Upland territory, as thesepulchral complex under scrutiny represents the easternmost construction of the Nałęczów type. A radiocarbon date was obtained for the human burial, which may contribute to further considerations upon the chronological position of graves without stone surrounds within the GAC.
This paper presents a detailed documentation of 12 kaptorgas with ‘horses’ from the Kraków part of the Dzierznica II treasure. These artefacts are currently housed in the National Museum in Kraków. Until now, these pendants have not been fully published, thoroughly described, or subjected to any archaeometric, technological, or contextual analyses. As part of the ongoing research project, meticulous macroscopic photographs were taken of each artefact. A micrometric magnifying glass was then used to examine details and construction techniques. Finally, preliminary instrumental chemical analyses were conducted using XRF. The material proved extensive and multifaceted, making it both possible and necessary to provide an initial summary of the findings at this stage of the research. This article focuses on descriptive aspects, offering preliminary suggestions regarding the composition and type of raw materials used, as well as initial observations on their stylistic features and manufacturing techniques. Based on these results, further research stages and procedures will be presented in forthcoming publications.
This study analyses medieval glazed ceramics from Site 88 in Kraków-Nowa Huta-Zesławice, focusing on their formal and technological aspects. The research examines macroscopic features, chemical composition, and production techniques, comparing them with finds from other sites in Lesser Poland. Results indicate a local glazing tradition in Lesser Poland linked to metallurgical activities, with continuity from the 11th to the 14th century. The study expands knowledge of the distribution and production of glazed pottery in medieval Poland.
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the contents of cremation pit graves, urns and pyre sites from the cemetery of the Przeworsk Culture in Raczkowice from an osteological perspective, which is related to the issue of the small number of burnt skeletal remains. The collection was analysed in terms of weight, state of preservation, anatomical differentiation and frequency of different skeletal parts, addressing the question of whether the skeletal remains were selected from the cremation pyre and what proportion of them was deposited in the grave. The results obtained for Raczkowice are presented against the background of the Przeworsk Culture’s funerary customs in the declining phases of the Roman Period.
This article examines the type of Celtic coins known as Kryspinów type staters, represented by five known specimens. It provides an archaeological context, highlighting a complex cultural landscape of communities coexisting in the milieu of the La Tène tradition. The Kryspinów type is identified as a local issue, attributed to the Tyniec Group, yet primarily circulating among the population associated with the Przeworsk culture. The paper also presents the results of XRF analysis conducted on two specimens. The iconography of the type, which combines motifs borrowed from shell staters of the Boii and Republican denarii, is discussed, with three classes distinguished based on variations in the reverse design.
Once characteristic of the Southeastern and, to a lesser extent, Central European Neolithic lifestyle, the use ofclay figurines, figurative vessels and applications took a turn at the start of the Middle Neolithic (5000 BCE). While thousands were still found in Southeastern Europe, their number dropped significantly in large parts of Central Europe. This article focuses on the Stroked Pottery culture, the Samborzec-Malice culture, and the Southeastern Bavarian Middle Neolithic group as an area of transition between a figurative Southeastern Europe and a non-figurative Northwestern Europe. Observing notable changes in both the shapes and contexts of the finds as early as when farmers settled in Central Europe, I argue that the disappearance of the Southeastern claytradition was tied to changes within communal practices, as well as a transformation of figuration through a common, stylised motif.
Across Europe, in the late 19th century, deep-flint mines dating to the Neolithic period were discovered. Since their discovery, it has been noted that the mines, located many kilometres apart, share common traits. Despite these connections, little research has compared the pan-European mining phenomenon. It is beyond this paper to review the numerous European mines, rather, two sites will be detailed: Krzemionki, southeast Poland, and Grime’s Grave, eastern England. The comparison of these two prehistoric mines, located c. 1500km apart, expands knowledge of a mining methodology likely to have started in the mid-5th millennium BCE and spreadacross Europe, becoming associated with large and enduring complexes.
