Barrow burials and flat graves have been discovered here, single and common, and skeletal and burnt burials. The graves were of various type. Also traces of the rites connected with the world of the dead were examined.

Location and description

Dacharzów is located in the north-eastern part of the Sandomierska Upland. The mound is situated on a small local elevation at the verge of the valley of Opatówka, raising ca. 50 m above the bottom of the valley. The site comprises a burial mound and eight skeletal flat burials arranged to the east and south from the mound and marked with stones or covered with cobbles.  The earthen structure of the mound had approx. 20-22 m in diameter and ca. 1 m in height.  Under the mound, two adjoining, stone and wood, rectangular grave chambers were discovered, built in the form of a tent, and covered with a hip roof — the so-called house of the dead (ancestors), which means that it is a family tomb to which consecutive deceased were added successively, by transferring or moving aside the bones of the older ancestors. In the larger chamber, there were skeletons of four women and two children, and the smaller chamber contained a burnt burial of a man. Near the mound, traces of rites related to the world of the dead were found — traces of fire, broken vessels and a large pillar, possibly a totem or a sacrificial altar.  From the south-west, the mound was surrounded by a crescent-shaped trench in which traces of fire were also discovered. Some of the graves in Dacharzów contained ample equipment in the form of vessels, bronze and copper jewellery, inter alia earrings formed as spiral shields and a large, ornamented bronze pine to fix hair or clothing, as well as a small blue bead originating from 1250-1200 B.C., imported from the terrains of the Mycenaean culture in Greece. It is one of the oldest glass items from the Polish land.

History

The burial mound and all graves should be attributed to the population of Trzciniec culture (1700-1100 B.C.). The large chamber of the barrow grave was created first. The oldest burial originates from ca. 1650 B.C. When it was used, a smaller chamber was adjoined to it and then both were used together. The post - totem/altar also originates from that period. The last burial in the tomb was carried out in the larger chamber. Then, the mound was made, and a trench shaped as crescent in projection was dug out. Flat burials, surrounding the mound, are younger. There are dated to 1450-950 B.C, whereas the chronology of the youngest graves raises doubts among scientists dealing with this era, who are of the opinion that the site was used no later than ca. 1100 B.C. If we assume that the chronology put forward by researches working on Dacharzów is correct, it would change the way in which we view the way and duration of use of graveyards and the pace and nature of settlement and cultural changes in western Lesser Poland.

Condition and results of archaeological research

Examinations of the burial mound were carried out in years 1994-1995 by Marek Florek from the National Agency for the Historic Monument Protection, branch in Tarnobrzeg, Józef Ścibior from the District Museum in Sandomierz, and Halina Taras from the Institute of  Archeology at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin.

The site is accessible to visitors.

Compiled by Nina Glińska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland Kielce, 21.05.2015.

Bibliography

• Czopek S., Walanus A., Uwagi o chronologii i interpretacji cmentarzyska w Dacharzowie,  „Przegląd Archeologiczny”, vol. 51, 2003, pp. 185-190.
• Florek M., Recepcja „mogiłowych” wzorców kulturowych w obrządku pogrzebowym ludności kultury trzcinieckiej na przykładzie zespołu sepulkralnego w Dacharzowie i innych wybranych stanowisk z terenu Małopolski [in:] A. Kosko, J. Czebreszuk (ed.) „Trzciniec” - system kulturowy czy interkulturowy proces?”, Poznań 1998, pp. 135-144.
• Florek M., Ścibior J., Kurhan z epoki brązu w Dacharzowie pod Sandomierzem, „Zeszyty Sandomierskie“, no 1, 1994, pp. 30-31.
• Florek M., Taras H., Sprawozdanie z badań zespołu grobowego kultury trzcinieckiej na stanowisku 1 w Dacharzowie, gm. Wilczyce, woj. tarnobrzeskie, „Archeologia Polski Środkowowschodniej”, vol. 1, 1996, pp. 63-68.
• Florek M., Taras H., Möglichkeiten der Interpretation von Bestattungsbräuchen und gesellschaftlichen Fragen in der Trzciniec-Kultur. Am Beispiel des Hügelgrabs in Dacharzów, [in:] W. Blajer (ed.) „Beiträge zur Deutung der bronzezeitlichen Hort- und Grabfunde in Mitteleuropa”, Kraków 1997, pp. 65-89.
• Florek M., Taras H., Dacharzów. Cmentarzysko kultury trzcinieckiej, Lublin 2003.
• Taras H., Kovalukh N., Skripkin V., Dating of the Grave Complex in Dacharzów, Małopolska, „Geochronometria”, vol. 21, 2001, pp. 157-162.