It is a dominant feature in a relatively insignificantly transformed landscape. The hill fort together with the settlement immediately adjacent to it found during the surface survey is also an early medieval settlement complex.

Location of the monument

The hill fort which is referred to by the local inhabitants as the ‘Trench’ is located about 3.5 km to the west of the centre of the village of Bogurzyn, right next to the unpaved road to Zawady. It is sited on the north-western edge of a small high plain, projecting into the adjacent waterlogged valley of the Mławka river. The open settlement is located on the northern and north-eastern side of the hill fort.

The hill fort has an oval shape with dimensions of approx. 50 x 55 m. The rampart is 3 m in height, measured from the outside. The dimensions of the maidan, that is the internal functional part of the hill fort, are about 30 x 35 m. The about 45-metre-long rifleman’s embankment runs along the ridge of the rampart in the north-western part of the site. The north edge of the rampart has been cut through by a road.    The hill fort is now a wasteland overgrown with grass; the area of the settlement is used as arable fields.

History

The hill fort dates back to the 11th century.

Condition and results of archaeological research

The hill fort in Bogurzyn has been known since the 1920s. At that time the structure was examined. An inventory of the hill fort was drawn up in 1957. Surveys under the supervision of Łucja Okulicz were carried out in 1966. In 1984, the hill fort and the sites adjacent to it were registered during the surface surveys carried out within the framework of the “Archaeological Picture of Poland” project.

In 1966, two trail excavations were opened in the section of the maidan near the rampart. The remains of compact residential buildings were revealed along the rampart.   The buildings were destroyed in a fire. It has been concluded from the preserved layout of the remains of the burnt beams that log wooden houses were built of improperly peeled logs and the gaps between them were filled with clay. The floors made of laths were laid on transverse joists.  The remains of an older cultural layer were found below the relics of the buildings. This was a soil layer resulting from the use of the land before the settlement was built. There was probably an open settlement on that site. Archeological research has also revealed that the centre of the maidan was free from buildings.

compiled by Agnieszka Oniszczuk, National Heritage Board of Poland, 15-10-2014

Bibliography

Malinowska-Sypek A., Sypek R., Sukniewicz D., Brzeziński W. (wprowadzenie), Przewodnik archeologiczny po Polsce, Warsaw 2010, p. 336.

Okulicz J., Okulcz Ł., Pradzieje Ziemi Zawkrzeńskiej, [w:] Studia i materiały do dziejów Ziemi Zawkrzeńskiej, t. 1, Antoniewicz J. (ed.), Warsaw 1971, pp. 31-32.

Okulicz Ł., Bogurzyn, gmina Wiśniewo (d. pow. Mława), woj. ciechanowskie, [in:] Grodziska Mazowsza i Podlasia ( w granicach dawnego województwa warszawskiego), collective work, Wrocław -Warszawa -Kraków -Gdańsk, 1976, pp. 24-27.