The hillfort and the adjoining settlement provide a valuable insight into early medieval defensive architecture in the Lublin region.

Historia

Based on the results of archaeological research, it can be assumed that the hillfort and the adjoining settlement date back to the early Middle Ages (13th century). The hillfort was constructed at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries, while the adjoining settlement originated in the 8th-9th century.

Description

The hillfort in Dobryń Kolonia, locally called “Horodyszcze” and the adjoining settlement are located in the northern part of the village, approximately 600 m to the southeast in a straight line from the buildings of the village of Nowosiółki and approximately 500 m in the same direction from the bed of the Krzna River. They are situated in meadows, on the left bank of the vast Krzna River valley, beyond its alluvial terrace. The adjoining settlement stretches north of the hillfort, in its immediate vicinity. 

The hillfort with the adjoining settlement covers an area of approximately 5.70 ha. The hillfort is an example of a two-part, ring-shaped defensive complex, about 60 m in diameter. The height of its ramparts is about 0.5 m. The inner hillfort is located in the eastern part of the site and has a diameter of approximately 25 m.  It is separated from other parts of the fortified earthworks by a 0.5 m high rampart and a moat. The moat is up to 0.5 m deep and 2.20 m wide. The hillfort occupies a wasteland which is now overgrown by trees, whereas its destroyed northern part is now used as arable land. The area of the settlement is used as a meadow and arable land.

In historical records from 1599 (chamberlain's decree), Dobryń is referred to as “Horodyszcze”. S. Górny quotes a document from 1507, which contains a reference to a fortified castle in Dobryń.

The sites were discovered by Sławomir Żółkowski during surface surveys carried out in 1984 as part of the ‘Archaeological Picture of Poland’ project. 

In the last century, the area of the hillfort was used as a sand extraction site. As a result, approximately 1/3 of its area has been obliterated. The adjoining settlement was heavily destroyed by ploughing. 

Progress and findings of archaeological fieldwork activities 

In 1984, the sites were examined by Sławomir Żółkowski during surface surveys carried out as part of the ‘Archaeological Picture of Poland’ project. 

Archaeological research on the site was conducted in 1987 by Barbara Hensel-Moszczyńska. Four exploratory excavations were dug out there: three on the yard of the inner hillfort and one covering the eastern part of the inner hillfort, the highest section of the rampart, the moat and the pre-rampart area.

Archaeological research 

The research showed that the rampart of the internal hillfort had been constructed with earth and clay and had replaced a pre-existing wooden fence, destroyed in a fire.  The moat was situated 5 m from the base of the ramparts. It had a trough-shaped cross-section and a width of up to 2.20 m. The moat was limited by the pre-rampart area - a low earthen structure built of earth and clay, 0.50 m high and about 0.90 m wide at the base. Originally, it probably had a wooden top. In anthropogenic layer in the inner part of the hillfort is relatively thin, which shows that the hillfort had not been occupied for a very long time. During the research, more than a hundred fragments of clay vessels, pugging material and one iron object were retrieved. On this basis, it was established that the hillfort had been used from the end of the 10th century to the beginning of the 11th century. The settlement is tentatively dated (based on the surface finds) to the 8th-11th centuries.

The heritage site is accessible to the general public.

compiled by Ewa Prusicka, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch Office in Lublin, 23 March 2016

Bibliography 

• Górny B., Monografia powiatu bialskiego województwa lubelskiego. Biała Podlaska 1939, p. 77
• Żółkowski S., Materiały do badań nad osadnictwem pradziejowym i wczesnośredniowiecznym na obszarze dzisiejszego województwa bialskopodlaskiego. Biała Podlaska 1988, pp. 36-37.
• Bienia M., Grodziska wczesnośredniowieczne istniejące i domniemane na terenie dzisiejszego województwa bialskopodlaskiego, Biała Podlaska 1998, pp. 8-10
• Wetoszka B., W średniowieczu i nowożytności [in:] Północna Lubelszczyzna. Od pradziejów po okres nowożytny, multi-author compilation ed. by E. Banasiewicz-Szykuły, Lublin 2003, pp. 90-91.