The defensive function (from a military point of view) of such complexes in the late 17th century did not serve any real purpose, but rather a symbolic one – it added to the founder’s prestige.

Location and description

The site is located in the heart of the village, west of Voivodeship Road No. 266, which leads from Konin to Ciechocinek.

The remnants of the defensive and residential complex comprise a small trapezium-shaped earthen mound surrounded by water-filled ditches (moats) on all sides. In the middle of the eastern side, there is a causeway which can be used to enter the area of the mound. In the centre of the mound, there are remnants of a brick building in the form of rubble visible on the surface and most likely basements which have been filled with earth. Between the remnants of the building and the western moat, there is a modern sports field. The mound occupies an area of roughly 1.5 ha, with its northern, eastern, southern and western sides being more than 120 m, more than 140 m, roughly 155 m and more than 80 m in length, respectively. The width of the moat also varies. The northern section is the most impressive, with the width ranging from roughly 17 m to roughly 50 m. The eastern section of the moat measures roughly 12.5 m in width on average, the southern section from roughly 7.5 m to more than 13.5 m, and the western section more than 20 m. The causeway is roughly 9.5 m wide. The island is overgrown with old trees, including chestnuts, lindens and maples.

History

Construction of the defensive and residential likely began after 1674, perhaps in the second half of the 17th century or at the turn of the 18th century. The area, trapezoidal in shape and measures roughly 1.5 ha, was surrounded by ditches (moats) and slightly elevated with the use of the material from digging the ditches. The resulting mound was used as a site for the construction of a manor house with utility buildings. Around the mid-19th century, the original buildings were demolished and replaced by a brick palace-like manor house with a basement, which was set on fire by the Russians in January or February 1945. The building is present on historical maps in a 1:25000 scale (one printed by the Military Geographical Institute in 1931 but prepared by the Russians before Poland regained its independence and the other being a German map from 1944). In the central part of the plateau, a slight elevation and fine debris are still visible where the building once stood – its dimensions are estimated at roughly 20 m × 40 m. Since 1945, the manor house has not be restored to its former glory and the plateau has been used for sport and recreation – a sports field was built in the western section while the eastern section features a playground.

Condition and results of archaeological research

The archaeological surveys were carried out 1993, led by Leszek Kajzer from the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Lodz. These involved a single trial excavation 1 m × 2 m in size and 13 boreholes. The boreholes were made in a line on the east-west axis around the causeway, bypassing the remnants of the brick manor house. Near the causeway, a trial excavation was performed between the second and the third borehole.

The first boreholes made were the ones which yielded many traces of human activity, especially in the eastern section of the plateau – between the remnants of the brick manor house and the causeway. In the boreholes in the above-mentioned eastern section, the presence of two layers was quite visible: the top one being humus with richer cultural content and the bottom one being clayey humus with a smaller amount of cultural content. Signs of more intensive use of the eastern section of the complex resulted in a decision to conduct the trial excavation closer to the causeway. The excavation was roughly 1.5 m deep. In general, it confirmed the observations made in connection with the boreholes. The thickness of cultural layers was estimated at roughly 0.9 m and two distinct settlement levels were identified based on the collected data. The first level (deposited deeper) is associated with the construction of a small mound from the material obtained in the process of digging moats and lakes, the second level (deposited more shallowly) is associated with use of the plateau while the manor house was inhabited. A total of 110 moveable artefacts in the form of fragments of pottery, tiles, a wrought iron nail and remains of animal bones were collected during the surveys. The value of the moveable artefacts in the context of dating is negligible – only the pottery fragments can be vaguely dated at the period from the second half of the 17th century until the turn of the 20th century.

The site is accessible all year round.

Prepared by Leszek Kotlewski, National Heritage Board of Poland, Regional Branch in Toruń, 30-06-2017

Bibliography

• O. Krut-Horonziak, A. Marciniak-Kajzer, A. Horonziak, L. Kajzer, Archeologiczne badania weryfikacyjne reliktu po nowożytnym dworze obronnym w miejscowości Poczałkowo, gm. Aleksandrów Kujawski, woj. włocławskie, przeprowadzone w 1993 roku, Łódź 1993
• http://maps.mapywig.org/m/WIG_maps/series/025K/P37-S27-H_1931_LoC_G6520_s25_.P6.jpg
• http://maps.mapywig.org/m/German_maps/series/025K_TK25/3177_Grabe_1944.jpg