The archaeology of early medieval Poland : discoveries--hypotheses--interpretations / by Andrzej Buko.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Buko, Andrzej.

Series:

East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450 1872-8103 ; v. 1.

East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450, 1872-8103 ; v. 1

Standardized Title:

Archeologia Polski wczesnośredniowiecznej. English

Language:

English

Polish

Subjects (All):

Archaeology, Medieval.

Poland--Antiquities.

Poland.

Antiquities.

Poland--History.

History.

Archaeology, Medieval--Poland.

Excavations (Archaeology)--Poland.

Excavations (Archaeology).

Physical Description:

xxix, 475 pages, 31 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2008.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Archaeology of Early Medieval Poland: beginnings of interest, birth and development 1

1 The earliest beginnings 1

2 The 19th century: in search of the roots of the Slavic identity 2

3 Birth and slow growth: the first two decades of the 20th century 6

4 The 1930s: Early Medieval archaeology on the offensive, continuation of debate on the Slavs and systematic excavations of Early Medieval sites 9

5 Two post war decades: the coming Millennium and research on the origins of the Polish state 11

6 The 1970s and 1980s: fruitful aftermath of the Millennium research 14

7 The last decade of the 20th century: old questions and new possibilities 18

8 Archaeology of Early Medieval Poland: an archaeology of regions or archaeology without borders? 22

Chapter 2 Sources and methods 29

1 Early Medieval archaeological sites and their stratification: problems in exploration 29

1.1 Stratification of early urban sites 30

1.2 Stratification of rural settlements 32

1.3 Stratification of sacral sites and pagan cult centers 35

1.4 Stratification of multi-layer cemeteries 36

2 Layers and their portable content: mass finds 38

2.1 Pottery as a source of information about past societies 39

2.2 Archaeozoological data 42

3 Small finds 45

4 Soil and its natural components 47

5 Written sources 48

6 Iconography 51

Chapter 3 How did the Slavs gel to Polish lands? 55

1 'Autochthonists', 'Allochthonists' and others: the long history of the debate on the origins of the Slavs 55

2 The Polish lands between Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: a gap or continuity? 61

3 One or many models of the Slavs' material culture? 63

4 The phenomenon of the Slavs: how to explain it? 69

Chapter 4 Mysteries of the pre-state period 75

1 'Tribal' geography and archaeology 75

2 The first Early Medieval strongholds: when did they appear? 84

3 One or many burial rites? 99

4 Many questions and few answers 104

Chapter 5 Holy mountains 107

1 Large cult centers of the pre-state period: Lysa Gora 107

2 The mysteries of Mount Sleza 110

3 Other mountains-supposed places of pagan cult 117

4 The mysterious Zmigrody 126

Chapter 6 Pagan cemetery or holy grove? 133

1 Open air shrines 133

2 An old cemetery and new problems 134

3 Forgotten or living tradition? 139

Chapter 7 Monumental mounds in Little Poland 143

1 Monumental mounds, admired throughout the ages 143

2 Przemyslaw's (Tatars') Mound in Przemysl 144

3 Supposed monumental mounds in the Przemysl region 147

4 Salve Regina Hill in Sandomierz 148

5 The Mounds of Krak and Wanda in Cracow 150

6 Other monumental mounds in Little Poland 154

7 The European context 157

8 The Great Mounds of Little Poland: when and why were they raised? 159

Chapter 8 The earliest Medieval script in Poland? 167

1 A fascinating discovery 167

2 What was found on the tablets from Podeblocie? 169

3 The tablets in the light of the most recent analyses 170

Chapter 9 How Poland came into being 175

1 Between archaeology, dynastic tradition and legend 175

2 Where Poland began: Great Poland just before the rise of the state 178

3 Where did the Piasts come from? 183

4 From Great Poland to Little Poland: the first step of expansion of the Piasts 190

5 Towards the north: the Piasts on the Bay of Gdansk 196

6 'Forgotten' Mazovia or a strategic territorial reserve? 199

7 From the Baltic Sea to the Sudeten Mountains: Silesia and Western Pomerania 206

8 Bohemian or Piast Silesia? 207

9 Western Pomerania: 'urban republics' and old 'tribal' territories 211

10 Cracow Land: the last stage of the state formation process 214

Chapter 10 Towns still under investigation 223

1 The capitals of the Gniezno state: contested priority 226

2 From the legendary Lech to Mieszko I 228

3 A strong contender for primacy 233

4 Kalisz: The Stronghold on the Amber Route 241

5 Wolin: The town with twelve gates 246

6 Early state or pre-state Gdansk? 250

7 The origins of Plock still unknown 256

8 Sandomierz: First large investment of the Piasts in Little Poland? 262

9 Zawichost: intriguing rival of Sandomierz 266

10 Mysteries of the Cathedral Hill in Chelm 272

11 Przemysl: The center at the periphery 279

12 Wislica: in the shadow of a pagan prince 283

13 Cracow, Wawel and archaeology 294

14 Who built the earliest Wroclaw? 300

Chapter 11 Other central places 307

1 Cherven and Volyn: central places in the eastern borderlands 307

2 Ostrow Lednicki: residence of first Piast rulers or first Polish episcopium? 309

3 Giecz: Unfinished large-scale investment 317

4 Chelmno as a sedes regni principalis? 322

5 Pultusk: The stronghold below the castle 324

6 The stronghold and masonry tower in Stolpie 328

Chapter 12 Rural landscapes 333

1 Off the beaten track 333

2 How do we envisage Medieval rural settlements? 335

3 Unexploited research potential: service settlements 343

4 Mysterious villages 346

Chapter 13 The earliest monastic complexes 351

1 The earliest monasteries and archaeology 351

2 At the threshold of Christianization: the first Benedictine abbeys 352

3 In the shadow of Wawel Hill: the Benedictine Abbey at Tyniec near Cracow 355

4 A church and a monastery in a stronghold 359

5 A double foundation and the controversy over a princely burial 363

6 Archaeology and the earliest Cistercian foundations 369

7 The 'little monastery' at Lekno 371

8 Wachock: a monastery on the ruins of a palatium? 374

9 Monasteries still under investigation 378

Chapter 14 The puzzle of the century: pottery marks 383

1 The long history of research and ambiguous results 383

2 Signs on the bases of vessels from Kalisz and Ostrow Lednicki: an abundance of qualitatively new archaeological sources 387

3 Unusual signs 388

4 Where did the custom come from and why were the vessels marked? 392

Chapter 15 Locals and migrants 395

1 From cremation to inhumation: burial grounds of the early state period 396

2 Pomeranians and Veleti in Great Poland? 400

3 The Graves of Vikings? 404

4 A large warriors' necropolis 408

5 Not only warriors 411

6 Who was buried in the Mazovian graves with stone constructions? 414

7 Strangers in the south 421

8 Who were they and what did they have in common? 425

Appendix 1 Some Notes on the Translation of Andrzej Buko's 'Archaeology of Early Medieval Poland' / Paul Barford 431

Appendix 2 A brief guide to the pronunciation of Polish words / Paul Barford 439.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [441]-464) and index.

ISBN:

9789004162303

9004162305

OCLC:

175286425