Peterski
08-28-2018, 12:05 PM
http://www.idziemy.pl/imgs_upload/zdjecia/201808/mid-18827074.jpg
In Barczewko, human remains have been covered, which are over 650 years old. The place of the find was named "Warmia Pompeii" because the ruins of the destroyed city were preserved intact.
As Dr Arkadiusz Koperkiewicz from the University of Gdańsk, who leads the research under Barczewek, said, the find is yet another confirmation of the unique character of this archaeological site, which is an invaluable source of knowledge about the beginnings of colonization of Warmia.
The skeleton of a man who died almost 700 years ago during the destruction of one of the oldest cities in Warmia was discovered in the basement of a building burnt in the 14th century. Conditions in the fireshed caused that the remains were preserved in very good condition.
For the fourth time, archaeologists have been working in a place where, during the colonization of the southern part of the Dominion Warmiński around 1330, Bishop Eberhard of Nysa attempted to build the city of Wartenburg. It was the first location of today's Barczewo.
Scientists called it "Warmian Pompeii" because the city at an early stage of development was completely destroyed in 1354 by a cataclysm, which was the invasion of the Lithuanian army of princes Kiejstut and Olgierd. The place has never been re-settled, and the ruins of the young city colony have survived the century in an unchanged form. According to archaeologists, it is a "time capsule" that has preserved a complete picture of the tragic events of the past.
During this year's research, more building elements were unveiled, which in the future will help, among others in determining the location of the church, which is the last missing element of the spatial arrangement of the city. At the same time, traces of the struggle from the time of the Lithuanian invasion were found, including a huge number of arrowheads and crossbow bolts, some of which were still in the charred remnants of wooden building constructions. Many other relics have also been found, including fragments of a medieval cross and numerous ornaments from silver and bronze.
Archaeologists also continued researching the cemetery, located in the north-eastern part of the settlement. In addition to items of clothing, decorations and other equipment of the graves, items related to the funeral ritual were discovered. The dead were buried in coffins with hands folded on their hips and their head laid out - according to the Christian custom - to the west.
Equipping one of the children's graves allows you to reconstruct the costume from that time and to trace the details of the funeral ritual of the first Christians in this area. In the tomb were found, among others miniature jug, a fraction of an earthen pot, items of clothing and coins.
As Dr Koperkiewicz told PAP, eschatological functions (connected with the Christian image of posthumous life) could be carried out by brakteaty - coins from the mid-fourteenth century, with the image of the cross. "The dead were also put into the graves fragments of beaten ceramic vessels. One can guess that this symbolically referred to the condition of the body and the fragility of human life," he added.
Archaeologists hope that many important information will be provided by anthropological research on the found remains of the first settlers in Warmia and the comparison of these results with the research of other cemeteries from that period, eg in Bezławki, where Christianized Prussian autochthons were buried. Isotopic research and analysis of the so-called ancient DNA will allow you to draw conclusions about migration or determine kinship.
The former town of Alt Wartenburg was located between Lake Wadąg and the river Orzechówka, about 5 kilometers from today's Barczewo. It was probably settled by settlers from Silesia. Thanks to historical sources, the names of some residents are known; parish priest of Henry or mayors - brothers of Jan and Piotr. Records about the founding of the city are in the chronicle of the Prussian lands of Piotr from Dusburg, and the circumstances of its destruction are confirmed by the chronicle of Wigand from Marburg, who described the struggles of the Teutonic Knights with Prussia and Lithuanians.
Archaeologists could find this place thanks to the analysis of aerial photographs and plant anomalies occurring in this place. For the fuller understanding of the spatial layout of the old city, geophysical and other so-called non-invasive techniques.
Excavations near Barczewko will be carried out until the end of August and continued in subsequent years. They are part of the Polish-German research project of archaeologists from the University of Gdańsk and the University of Greifswald represented by Dr. Feliks Biermann. This year, archeologists from Denmark and a group of Lithuanian PhD students from the University of Klaipeda also participated in the excavations.
According to archaeologists, the research of this place has a great cognitive value in the context of not only the beginnings of the mechanism of the creation of cities and the pioneer stage of colonization of Warmia, but also the process of urbanization in Central and Eastern Europe.
According to Dr. Koperkiewicz, about 10-15 per cent of the research was carried out over four seasons. the entire archaeological site. Some of the relics found in the "Warmia Pompeii" are to be displayed next year at exhibitions in Magdeburg, Prague and Malbork.
Source: http://www.idziemy.pl/spoleczenstwo/odnaleziono-szczatki-czlowieka-ktory-zginal-w-1354r-
In Barczewko, human remains have been covered, which are over 650 years old. The place of the find was named "Warmia Pompeii" because the ruins of the destroyed city were preserved intact.
As Dr Arkadiusz Koperkiewicz from the University of Gdańsk, who leads the research under Barczewek, said, the find is yet another confirmation of the unique character of this archaeological site, which is an invaluable source of knowledge about the beginnings of colonization of Warmia.
The skeleton of a man who died almost 700 years ago during the destruction of one of the oldest cities in Warmia was discovered in the basement of a building burnt in the 14th century. Conditions in the fireshed caused that the remains were preserved in very good condition.
For the fourth time, archaeologists have been working in a place where, during the colonization of the southern part of the Dominion Warmiński around 1330, Bishop Eberhard of Nysa attempted to build the city of Wartenburg. It was the first location of today's Barczewo.
Scientists called it "Warmian Pompeii" because the city at an early stage of development was completely destroyed in 1354 by a cataclysm, which was the invasion of the Lithuanian army of princes Kiejstut and Olgierd. The place has never been re-settled, and the ruins of the young city colony have survived the century in an unchanged form. According to archaeologists, it is a "time capsule" that has preserved a complete picture of the tragic events of the past.
During this year's research, more building elements were unveiled, which in the future will help, among others in determining the location of the church, which is the last missing element of the spatial arrangement of the city. At the same time, traces of the struggle from the time of the Lithuanian invasion were found, including a huge number of arrowheads and crossbow bolts, some of which were still in the charred remnants of wooden building constructions. Many other relics have also been found, including fragments of a medieval cross and numerous ornaments from silver and bronze.
Archaeologists also continued researching the cemetery, located in the north-eastern part of the settlement. In addition to items of clothing, decorations and other equipment of the graves, items related to the funeral ritual were discovered. The dead were buried in coffins with hands folded on their hips and their head laid out - according to the Christian custom - to the west.
Equipping one of the children's graves allows you to reconstruct the costume from that time and to trace the details of the funeral ritual of the first Christians in this area. In the tomb were found, among others miniature jug, a fraction of an earthen pot, items of clothing and coins.
As Dr Koperkiewicz told PAP, eschatological functions (connected with the Christian image of posthumous life) could be carried out by brakteaty - coins from the mid-fourteenth century, with the image of the cross. "The dead were also put into the graves fragments of beaten ceramic vessels. One can guess that this symbolically referred to the condition of the body and the fragility of human life," he added.
Archaeologists hope that many important information will be provided by anthropological research on the found remains of the first settlers in Warmia and the comparison of these results with the research of other cemeteries from that period, eg in Bezławki, where Christianized Prussian autochthons were buried. Isotopic research and analysis of the so-called ancient DNA will allow you to draw conclusions about migration or determine kinship.
The former town of Alt Wartenburg was located between Lake Wadąg and the river Orzechówka, about 5 kilometers from today's Barczewo. It was probably settled by settlers from Silesia. Thanks to historical sources, the names of some residents are known; parish priest of Henry or mayors - brothers of Jan and Piotr. Records about the founding of the city are in the chronicle of the Prussian lands of Piotr from Dusburg, and the circumstances of its destruction are confirmed by the chronicle of Wigand from Marburg, who described the struggles of the Teutonic Knights with Prussia and Lithuanians.
Archaeologists could find this place thanks to the analysis of aerial photographs and plant anomalies occurring in this place. For the fuller understanding of the spatial layout of the old city, geophysical and other so-called non-invasive techniques.
Excavations near Barczewko will be carried out until the end of August and continued in subsequent years. They are part of the Polish-German research project of archaeologists from the University of Gdańsk and the University of Greifswald represented by Dr. Feliks Biermann. This year, archeologists from Denmark and a group of Lithuanian PhD students from the University of Klaipeda also participated in the excavations.
According to archaeologists, the research of this place has a great cognitive value in the context of not only the beginnings of the mechanism of the creation of cities and the pioneer stage of colonization of Warmia, but also the process of urbanization in Central and Eastern Europe.
According to Dr. Koperkiewicz, about 10-15 per cent of the research was carried out over four seasons. the entire archaeological site. Some of the relics found in the "Warmia Pompeii" are to be displayed next year at exhibitions in Magdeburg, Prague and Malbork.
Source: http://www.idziemy.pl/spoleczenstwo/odnaleziono-szczatki-czlowieka-ktory-zginal-w-1354r-