THE OUTCOME OF AN ARCHITECTURAL INTERVENTION EXAMINATION OF THE LATE ROMANESQUE CHURCH OF ST. URSULA AND ELEVEN THOUSAND VIRGINS IN STRONSKO ON THE WARTA IN 2005-2006

In 2005 and 2006 the Institute of Archaeology at Lódz University and the Regional Centre for Monuments Study and Documentation in Lódz conducted architectural studies of the titular church in Stronsko (commune of a police), making it possible to identify a number of heretofore unknown elements of the original Romanesque solid of the church, the degree of its preservation, and the interior outfitting. The researchers also defined the chronology of particular phases in the development of the solid. The original Romanesque church was erected as a single-nave stone construction, with the outside face made of burnt brick possessing all the features of material tooled with stonework methods. The distinct elements of the solid composition included an apse, considerably reduced by the presbytery, a nave, and probably a two-tower western massif. The brick conch ceiling of the apse was closed from the side of the presbytery with a double archivolt. The presbytery featured a brick cradle ceiling, and from the nave was closed with a semicircular arcade of the rood beam. The pillars of the arch and the apse were straight and non-molded. The church was probably covered with an open roof truss. An examination of the western scope of the nave, based on archaeological methods, facilitated a recreation of the original plan of the church. The area of the towers was outfitted with a western gallery connected with a staircase in the north-western corner of the nave. The altar table was a brick mensa. The church was entered through a portal, featuring the extant original carved tympanum. The interior of the building was not plastered, and the presbytery was decorated with polychrome. Additional light was provided by six small window openings in the northern and southern walls. A single window was located along the axis of the apse

ARCHAEOLOGICAL-ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES IN THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL IN KRZYWORZEKA, COUNTY OF WIELUN

Research conducted in the church in Krzyworzeka was carried out by a team from the Institute of Archaeology at Lódz University and the Regional Centre for the Study and Documentation of Historical Monuments in Lódz. The purposes of the investigations were both cognitive and conservation-related. The outcome provided fundamental data concerning the monument in question. The original church was erected on a rather simple plan, with a nave on an orthogonal projection, 9,94x11,69 m, and a narrower, presbytery with the shape of a reverse rectangle, 5,86 x 6,70 m. To the north, the presbytery was adjoined by a sacristy with a length corresponding to the presbytery and a ground floor 2,86x5,54 m large. The thickness of the nave walls totals about 1,55 m, and that of the presbytery and sacristy – 1,30 m. The nave and the presbytery were covered with a wooden ceiling, and the sacristy - with a barrel roof. A freestanding brick bell tower, 5,93x6,15 m. was erected to the south of the church. The stones used for building the walls are easily available and different sized erratic boulders collected while clearing the fields after the locatio, as well as sandstone broken in the deposit, accessible in the nearby outcrops in the river valley of the Krzywa. Smaller stones stabilising the layers of the wall were placed between the larger erratic boulders. The tendency towards preserving the wall faces is conspicuous in the church and the bell tower. The stones were segregated by arranging them with the flat parts towards the face, while the visible parts feature traces of hewing the faces.The bell tower displays nests left begin by the scaffolding, spaced every 1,3 -1,4 m, horizontally and about 1,1-1,2 m. vertically. The archaeological dig registers traces of vertical wooden posts, probably the remnants of the scaffolding, standing 0,3 m from the face wall and 2,3 m from each other. There is no doubt about the connection of the examined monument and the reign of Duke Boleslaw the Pious, the ruler of the land of Ruda, while the direct overseer and constructor supervising the construction was scultetus Theodoric, who located the village. The origin of the church should, therefore, be situated within a current of colonization based on German law (second half of the thirteenth century), totally unexamined as regards its socio-ethnic aspects and insufficiently studied historically. Presumably the architectural spatial model of the church in Krzyworzeka was imported from the birthplace of Theodoric and the colonists brought over by him. There are no data relating to Theodoric's descent, but we are entitled to assume that he could have come to the ducal court and then the land of Ruda from Silesia. The time of the erection of the church and the bell tower can be described approximately, since the locatio act issued in 1264 mentions 15 years exempt of all obligations and services. Such a time span would have made it possible to gather a suitable amount of building material and to erect a church together with a freestanding bell tower. One may accept that the construction was completed about 1280

Long-term changes in the numbers of waterbirds at an important European wintering site

Waterbirds were regularly monitored in north-western Poland from 2002 to 2018. Counts took place in the most important areas where wintering waterbirds concentrate in this region, the most important wintering ground for this group of birds in Poland and one of the most important in Europe. In addition to the wintering function, this area also has a very important function as a stopover site for significant numbers of African-Eurasian Flyway migrants. The average number of all waterbirds covered by the study from 2002 to 2018 was 117,000. Numbers in recent years (2011–2018) have increased significantly (P < 0.001) compared to the first half of the study (2002–2010). The most important species found here during the non-breeding period were: Greater Scaup Aythya marila (mean number for 2002–2018: 20,600), Tufted Duck A. fuligula (26,700), Common Pochard A. ferina (1,500), Smew Mergellus albellus (1,400), Goosander Mergus merganser (7,700), Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus (840), Eurasian Coot Fulica atra (8,400), Mute Swan Cygnus olor (1,100), Whooper Swan C. cygnus (890), Taiga/Tundra Bean Goose Anser fabalis sensu lato (13,000) and White-fronted Goose A. albifrons (6,500). The importance of this region at the European scale for migratory and wintering waterbirds has increased, and this presents new challenges to the institutions responsible for protecting these areas.Od 2002 do 2018 roku prowadzono regularny monitoring ptaków wodnych w północno-zachodniej Polsce. Liczenie przeprowadzono w najważniejszych miejscach zimowania ptaków wodnych w tym regionie, będących jednocześnie ważnymi zimowiskami w Polsce i Europie. Poza funkcją zimowiska, miejsca te jednocześnie są ważnymi miejscami przystankowymi dla migrantów przelatujących z Euroazji do Afryki. Średnia liczba wszystkich ptaków wodnych w latach 2002–2018 na badanym obszarze wynosiła 117 000 osobników. W porównaniu z latami 2002–2010 w ostatnich ośmiu sezonach zimowych (lata 2011–2018) znacząco wzrosła liczba zimujących ptaków na Pomorzu Zachodnim. Najważniejszymi gatunkami obserwowanymi na badanym obszarze w okresie pozalęgowym były: ogorzałka Aythya marila (średnio 20 600 osobników), czernica A. fuligula (26 700), głowienka A. ferina (1500), bielaczek Mergellus albellus (1400), nurogęś Mergus merganser (7700), perkoz dwuczuby Podiceps cristatus (840), łyska Fulica atra (8400), łabędź niemy Cygnus olor (1100), łabędź krzykliwy C. cygnus (890), gęś zbożowa/tundrowa Anser fabalis sensu lato (13 000) i gęś białoczelna A. albifrons (6500). Znaczenie tego regionu dla ptaków migrujących i zimujących w skali Europy rośnie, co tworzy nowe wyzwania dla instytucji odpowiedzialnych za ochronę tych obszarów