It is an important material source broadening our knowledge about e.g. ancient metallurgical settlements in the Brzeg region. Iron “spoils” - semi-finished products for the manufacture of iron objects - were smelted from bog ore in ancient times at this site. The settlement was also inhabited during the early Middle Ages.

History of the structure

Surface research carried out by the German archaeologist E. Günther in the 1930s and by Polish researchers Z. Bagniewski in 1964 and M. Bednarek from the University of Wrocław in 1985 (using the Archaeological Picture of Poland system) make it possible to establish the chronology of the site to the Roman influence period and the early Middle Ages;

Description of the structure

Location of the monument: the site is located on the terraces of the Odra valley, on the eastern side of the road to Lipki, about 800 m north of the village church, about 1600 m west of the Odra riverbed. Perhaps in ancient and medieval times the above-mentioned road was a track leading along the edge of the valley, which led the trade route on the western side of the Odra river, from Opole, near the hillfort in Lipki, to Wrocław, through an area which was then covered by forest.

Description of the site: the settlement is located on arable fields and wastelands, on the eastern side of the road from Brzeg to Lipki, spreading on a slightly elevated sandy terrace of the Odra valley, on land plots no. 35/1-9. Relics of the prehistoric and early medieval settlement lie beneath the arable layer. Archaeological artifacts were discovered on the surface of the fields.

Progress and findings of archaeological research: the archaeological site, a settlement, has been surface surveyed several times. In the 1930s it was discovered by a German researcher, E. Günter. According to the archival information in the Museum of the Silesian Piasts in Brzeg, he found fragments of clay vessels dated to the Roman period (inv. no. III/38). In 1964 Z. Bagniewski, while penetrating the fields, found numerous fragments of pottery dated to the late Roman period. In 1964, the surveys were carried out by K. Macewicz from the Monument Protection Office in Opole. In the excavations he found numerous fragments of clay vessels, lumps of smokestack slag and a clay spindle whorl. As part of the Archaeological Picture of Poland, a surface penetration of the fields was conducted by Dr M. Bednarek and his students, and the research query was carried out by Prof. S. Pazda Dozens of fragment of clay vessels were found in the fields. On the basis of the artefacts discovered, Prof. Stanisław Pazda determined that the settlement was used by the people of the Przeworsk culture in the Roman period, phase B2 and phase D (3rd-4th centuries A.D.), as well as by people of the early medieval period (younger phase, 13th-14th centuries). Archaeological artifacts were discovered on the surface of the fields. The site is destroyed by deep ploughing. The site may have been disturbed by the construction of the aforementioned road and its southwestern part destroyed by farm buildings.

Visitor access. The site is located on private land. The area is open to the general public.

Author of the note: Compiled by Krzysztof Spychała, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Opole, 09-07-2019

Bibliography

• Macewicz K., Sprawozdanie z badań sondażowo-zwiadowczych na osadzie kultury przeworskiej w Brzezinie pow. Brzeg [in:] Terenowe badania archeologiczne na Opolszczyźnie. Rok 1964, Opole 1964, pp. 25-26;
• Bagniewski Z., Sprawozdanie z badań powierzchniowych i weryfikacyjnych na terenie zachodniej części powiatu brzeskiego, [in:] Terenowe badania archeologiczne na Opolszczyźnie. Rok 1964, Opole 1964, p. 40, item 1;
• Macewicz K., Konserwatorskie badania archeologiczne na terenie województwa opolskiego w latach 1961 – 1964, [in:] Opolski Rocznik Muzealny, vol. II, 1966, pp. 166-167, p. 168, item no. 1;
• Kaźmierczyk J., Macewicz K., Wuszkan S., Studia i materiały do osadnictwa Opolszczyzny wczesnośredniowiecznej, Opole 1977, pp. 73-74, item 44;
• Bednarek M., Obszar 85-32 [in:] Opolski Informator Konserwatorski, Opole 1987-88, pp. 80-81, item 5;
• Archives of the Museum of Opole Silesia in Opole, Department of Archaeology, Briesen file;  
• Archives of the Museum of the Silesian Piasts in Brzeg, Department of Archaeology, E. Günter’s notes and collection inv. no. III/38;
• Archives of the Voivodeship Heritage Protection Office in Opole: file no. A-29/65, and Record Sheet of the Brzezina Archaeological Site no. 1, AZP 5/85-32;
• Voivodeship State Archives in Wrocław, the Self-Government Department of the Silesian Province, file no. 666, Briesen file, p. 2;