Such settlements were located in places which were defensive by nature. In the case of the hillfort in Grodno, the surrounding Lake Grodzieńskie served as natural protection against any potential invaders. The inside of the settlement was accessible by a wooden bridge from the land.

Location and description

The hillfort is situated on an oval peninsula of Lake Grodzieńskie, roughly 500 m south of the village buildings and roughly 500 m east of the road from Mirakowo to Grodno.

The hillfort is a single-component feature in the shape of an oval. The peninsula on which it is located has a surface area of roughly 1 ha and rises 4 to 5 metres above the surface of Lake Grodzieńskie. The peninsula is much narrower at the base, where the current causeway is situated. On both sides if the causeway, there is a vast marshy area overgrown with trees and shrubs which thrive in wet habitats. The slopes and the shore area of the peninsula are sandy/rocky and marshy in nature. They are covered with relatively thick vegetation in the form of trees and shrubs. Currently, in the central part of the site there is an arable field. Agricultural activity within the area and natural post-depositional processes have contributed towards the progressive degradation of the terrain.

History

The hillfort was built and used in the later Bronze Age (circa the mid-8th century BC) by the Lusatian culture. It is estimated that the community inhabited the settlement for no more than 70-80 years. It was only a single-phase settlement used by several generations of people. Traces of the next settlement phase date back to the early Middle Ages (10th/11th century). It was then that an open settlement was established in the place of a former fortified settlement. Most likely from the 13th century onwards, it functioned as a manor farm established by the Teutonic Order. In 1551, Grodno became the property of members of the nobility – the Konopacki family. The settlement most likely served as a manor farm until the late 18th century.

Condition and results of archaeological research

The site was discovered by Zbigniew Bagniewski during the surface surveys carried out in the vicinity of Chełmża. Further surface surveys were conducted by Stanisław Kukawka as part of the Archaeological Picture of Poland project in the late 1980s.

The pottery fragments obtained as part of the Archaeological Picture of Poland project were classified by Jan Dąbrowski as artefacts of the Bronze Age Lusatian culture. In April 1988, the first trial surveys were carried out in combination with another surface prospection. They were part of an early medieval site verification programme. The works were headed by Wojciech Chudziak and Jacek Gackowski from the Institute of Archaeology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University.

In the years 1997-2001, excavation surveys of the peninsula were carried out under the supervision of Jacek Gackowski. Exploration of the north-eastern part helped to identify the spatial layout of the residential and utility buildings by the slope. In the western part, the area where the earthen structure of the contemporary causeway meets the flattened part of the slope of the peninsula. In addition, underwater archaeological works carried out in the years 1997-1998 by the north-eastern slope of the peninsula.

Remnants of residential and utility buildings were discovered within the hillfort. The houses were quadrangular with walls made of wooden logs. They were built using the post-and-beam technique, as evidenced, inter alia, by the discovered lumps of pugging with preserved imprints of the pugged beams. Other findings included various hearths with stone surrounds as well as storage pits.

The pits with a small diameter and depth show traces of dome-shaped roofs made of cane attached to a wooden log framework. This is likely how food was protected against the elements. Items found within such features included primarily animal bones, mollusc shells and pottery fragments, as well as products made of antlers, bones, clay and stone, objects made of bronze and individual human bones.

The hillfort was surrounded by a relatively regular oak log palisade.

Remnants of these elements were found in the north-eastern and western zones of the site. The year 2001 marked the beginning of excavation works aimed at locating a bridge.

A fragment of the presumed bridgehead was dug up. The surveys led to the discovery of remnants of loosely located wooden (oak and pine) elements, burnt material, pottery fragments, animal and human bones and other items related to the Lusatian culture.

The pottery fragments are attributed to representatives of the Lusatian culture of Chełmno from the Hallstatt period. There are also numerous animal bones and antler fragments. Some of them show traces of consumption.

The ones used to make tools bear traces of cutting, drilling and scraping. Other materials used to make everyday items included flint and stone.

Bones and antlers were also used to make ornaments: hairpins, bracelets and discs.

A bead from dark blue glass was also found within the site near the bridgehead.

Artefacts in the form of fragments of clay casting moulds, spindle whorls, loom weights or a single float made of bark show what economic activities were pursued by the hillfort inhabitants. Within the site, there were also metal artefacts, such as a pin with its head rolled to form a little ear or bronze pendants.

Notable finds include a lump of amber, the leg of a zoomorphic vessel and fragments of an anthropomorphic figurine.

The hillfort is accessible all year round.

Prepared by Paweł Baraszkiewicz, National Heritage Board of Poland, Regional Branch in Toruń, 27-10-2016

Bibliography

• Gackowski J., Badania archeologiczne osiedla obronnego ludności kultury łużyckiej w Grodnie koło Chełmży w latach 1997-2001, [in:] “Archaeologia Historica Polona”, Vol. 12, Toruń 2002, pp. 196-200.
• Gackowski J., Grodno. Osada obronna z początku epoki żelaza [online], 2010, Available
• online: http://www.home.umk.pl/~jacgac/ostanowisku.html [accessed 27 October 2010].