Migration of the Moravian population to the north in the late 9th and in the 10th centuries and the cultural consequences thereof

Migrations are an intangible phenomenon in archaeological research. However, relocations of larger groups of people may be of key significance to the development of older communities. The article is an attempt to indicate the elements of material culture that may be related to the relocation of people from various parts of Great Moravia to Bohemia, Poland and perhaps also Rus’. Possible similarities and differences will be indicated between the specific regions, accompanied by considerations of the way in which these migrations could have changed the cultural picture of the area in the 10th century

O pewnych wspólnych cechach IX-wiecznej ceramiki z obszaru północnej i południowej części obecnego Dolnego Śląska

This article presents the results of comparative research into 9th century vessels discovered in numerous archaeological sites in Lower Silesia. The research was underpinned with petrographic analyses of ceramics representing a progressive trend in pottery. The reason why this issue is discussed is the occurrence of vessels with similar technological and stylistic attributes in both the south and the north of the region under scrutiny. The research leads to a conclusion that the common features shared by the ceramics artefacts may result from foreign influences in the north and the south of the region alike. However, numerous similarities in the final touches of the vessels indicate that in the first half of the 9th century (if not later), Silesian potters shared their experiences while the populations of the north and the south of the region and exchanged various artefacts including vessels. This exchange of experience in pottery production bore fruit in the form of stylistically and formally diverse vessels

Masonry architecture versus wooden and earthen architecture: Examination of mutual relations on the example of the Castle and Gord on Ostrów Tumski in Wrocław in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries

Artykuł stanowi studium zależności pomiędzy lokalizacją drewniano-ziemnych wałów i pierwszych budowli murowanych na zamku i podgrodziu wrocławskiego Ostrowa Tumskiego. Na podstawie konkretnych przypadków prześledzono relację tych dwóch rodzajów budownictwa. Pod uwagę wzięto drugą połowę XII wieku i XIII stulecie, czyli specyficzny czas, w którym w grodach nizinnych stopniowo zaczynają zanikać tradycyjne wały, a pojawia się architektura murowana. W tekście podjęto próbę odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy (i w jaki sposób) te dwa nurty budownictwa wspólnie koegzystowały i czy obecność dawnych fortyfikacji była przeszkodą, czy wręcz przeciwnie: czynnikiem stymulującym rozwój zamków, murów i kościołów. W toku dociekań niejako przy okazji wyłoniła się inna, niż dotychczas przypuszczano, rekonstrukcja przebiegu wałów okalających gród główny w XII wieku, czego skutkiem jest również rewizja poglądów na temat wielkości tego grodu, a następnie zamku.This article is a study of the relationship between the location of wooden-earthen ramparts and the first brick buildings of the castle and suburbium of Wrocław’s Ostrów Tumski. On the basis of specific cases, the relationship between these two types of architecture is traced. The second half of the twelfth century and the thirteenth century, i.e., a specific period when traditional ramparts gradually disappeared and brick architecture appeared in lowland towns, are taken into consideration. In the text, an attempt is made to answer the question of whether (and in what way) these two types of architecture co-existed and whether the presence of the old fortifications was an obstacle or, on the contrary, a stimulating factor for the development of castles, walls and churches. In the course of the investigation, a different reconstruction of the course of the ramparts surrounding the main castle in the twelfth century emerged, which also resulted in a revision of views on the size of the gord and later the castle

Archaeological excavation and GPR prospection in delineating defensive embankments on Ostrow Tumski (Cathedral Island) in Wrocław (Lower Silesia, Poland)

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Dogs in the Wroclaw Stronghold, 2nd Half of the 10th–1st Half of the 13th Century (Lower Silesia, Poland)—An Zooarchaeological Overview

This article pertains to the issue of early medieval dogs (10th–mid-13th century) from the territory of Poland and Central Europe. The study is based on dog remains from the Wroclaw Cathedral Island (Ostrów Tumski), one of the most important administrative centres of early medieval Poland, the capital of a secular principality and the seat of diocese authorities. The main morphological and functional types of dogs living in Wroclaw and other parts of Poland were characterized on that basis. It has been concluded that the roles and perceptions of dogs were very ambiguous. On the one hand, they were hunting companionship for the elite and were considered a symbol of devotion and loyalty. On the other hand, dogs symbolised disgrace. In everyday life, these animals were sometimes abused, their skin was sometimes tanned and their bones modified into tools, and in exceptional cases, dogs were even eaten