Biskupin is an archaeological site and a life-size model of a late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

fortified settlement in north-central

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

that also serves as an

archaeological open-air museum An archaeological open-air museum is a non-profit permanent institution with outdoor true-to-scale architectural reconstructions primarily based on archaeological sources. It holds collections of intangible heritage resources and provides an int ...

. When first discovered it was thought to be early evidence of a West Slavic settlement, but archaeologists later confirmed it belonged to the Biskupin group of the

Lusatian culture The Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age (1700 BC – 500 BC) in most of what is now Poland and parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern Germany and western Ukraine. It covers the Periods Montelius III (earl ...

from the 8th century BC. The excavation and the reconstruction of the prehistoric settlement has played an instrumental part in Polish historical consciousness. The Museum is situated on a marshy peninsula in , ca. northeast of

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

and south of the small town of

Żnin Żnin (german: Znin, 1941-45: Dietfurt) is a town in north-central Poland with a population of 14,181 (June 2014). It is in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (previously Bydgoszcz Voivodeship) and is the capital of Żnin County. The historical ...

. It is a division of the National Museum of Archaeology in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. The site is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (''

Pomnik historii Historic Monument ( pl, pomnik historii) is one of several categories of objects of cultural heritage (in the singular, '' zabytek'') in Poland. To be recognized as a Polish historic monument, an object must be declared such by the President ...

''), as designated September 16, 1994, and tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

History of the excavations

In 1933 Polish archaeologists discovered remains of a Bronze Age fort/settlement in Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) and the discovery became famous overnight. The site was excavated from 1934 onwards by the team from Poznań University, led by archaeologists

Józef Kostrzewski Józef Kostrzewski (25 February 1885 - 19 October 1969) was a Polish archaeologist. Kostrzewski was born in Węglewo (now in Poznań County). He studied first in Kraków, then from 1910 onwards with Gustaf Kossinna at Berlin and graduated in 19 ...

(1885–1969) and Zdzisław Rajewski (1907–1974). The first report was published in 1936. By the beginning of 1939, ca. had been excavated. Biskupin soon became famous, attracting numerous distinguished guests, including officials of the Marshal Piłsudski government, members of the military, and high churchmen such as the

primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Pompeii" or "Polish Herculaneum". The existence of a prehistoric fortress, from the German border, was used to show that the prehistoric "Poles" had held their own against foreign invaders and plunderers as early as the late Bronze Age. Biskupin came to feature in paintings and popular novels. When the Germans occupied Poland in the autumn of 1939, Biskupin was renamed "Urstädt". In 1940, excavations were resumed by the SS-

Ahnenerbe The Ahnenerbe (, ''ancestral heritage'') operated as a think tank in Nazi Germany between 1935 and 1945. Heinrich Himmler, the ''Reichsführer-SS'' from 1929 onwards, established it in July 1935 as an SS appendage devoted to the task of promot ...

until 1942. When the Germans were forced to retreat they flooded the site hoping to destroy it, but—ironically—it led to very good preservation of the ancient timbers. Excavations were resumed by Polish archaeologists after the war and continued until 1974.

The site

There are two settlement periods at Biskupin, which was located in the middle of a lake but is now situated on a peninsula, that follow each other without a break. Both settlements were laid out on a rectangular grid with eleven streets that are wide. The older settlement from the late Bronze Age was established on a slightly wet island of over and consisted of ca. 100 oak and pine log-houses that were of similar layout, measuring ca. each. They consisted of two chambers and an open entrance-area. These houses were designed to accommodate 10–12 persons. An open hearth was located in the centre of the biggest room. There are no larger houses that could indicate social stratification. Because of the damp, boggy ground the streets were covered with wooden planks. The settlement was surrounded by a tall wooden wall, or palisade, set on a rampart made up of both wood and earth. The rampart was constructed of oak trunks that form boxes filled with earth. The rampart is more than long and accompanied by a wooden breakwater in the lake. of wood was used in the construction of the rampart.

Dating

The settlement at Biskupin belongs to the

Hallstatt Hallstatt ( , , ) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut ...

C and D periods (late Bronze Age/early Iron Age, 800–650 BC and 650–475 BC). There are four

radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and c ...

dates from Biskupin (all B.C.): * First settlement: 720±150 (Gif 494) * Later settlement: 560±150 (Gif 495) * Rampart: 620 ±150 (Gif 492) * A2 4C, VII: 620±150 (Gif 493) However, dendrochronological analysis provided more accurate dating. It proved that oak wood used in the construction of the settlement was cut down between 747–722 B.C. Over half of the wood used was cut during the winter of 748/747 B.C.

The model

In 1936 the first life-size model (

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

) was built on the peninsula, but it was intentionally destroyed by retreating Germans near the end of World War II. After the war it was rebuilt, and the ramparts and one full street with houses on both sides were also added. In the 2000s, a film prop "medieval" timber castle was constructed on a part of the original site. File:Biskupin 39.JPG, Reconstructed entrance gate File:Biskupin 29.JPG, View inside the settlement File:Biskupin 27.JPG, Reconstructed walls

Bibliography

* Danuta Piotrowska, Biskupin 1933–1996: archaeology, politics and nationalism. '' Archaeologia Polona'' 35–36, 1997/98, 255–285, ISSN 0066-5924 * Józef Kostrzewski "Osada bagienna w Biskupinie w pow. żnińskim", Poznań 1936 * "Gród prasłowiański w Biskupinie", Poznań 1938, * Z. Rajewski "Biskupin – osiedle obronne sprzed 2500 lat", Arkady, Warszawa 1970, * Z. Rajewski "Osadnictwo ludności z kulturą łużycką we wczesnym okresie epoki żelaznej w Biskupinie i okolicy" Archeologia Polski, t. II 1958, * Z. Rajewski "10 000 lat Biskupina i jego okolic", Warszawa 1965,

References

External links

The official website of the Biskupin Archaeological MuseumBiskupin archeological site on Google Maps

Hypothetical reconstruction of a Lusatian culture settlement, raised using only bronze age tools – Wola Radziszowska (near Cracow)- Poland

Biskupin
{{Authority control Prehistoric sites in Poland Archaeological sites in Poland Archaeology of Poland Prehistoric Poland Landmarks in Poland Open-air museums in Poland Former populated places in Poland Żnin County Museums in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship