Location and description

The tomb is situated across from the seat of the Koło Forest Administration in Gaj Stolarski, approximately 250 m west of the shore of Lake Długie.

The tomb consists of an earthen structure surrounded by erratics. It was constructed on a floor plan resembling an elongated triangle. The preserved earthen structure with stone surrounds is roughly 55 m long, its original length being approximately 126 m. The front part of the tomb is roughly 10.5 m wide. The reconstructed height of the earthen structure in the front part exceeds 2 m. The stone surrounds consist of large erratics in the corners and smaller ones in other parts of the tomb.

History

The graves found in the tomb have been dated at 3600–3400 BC. The dates are in line with the thesis that the tomb was constructed during the Wiórek phase of the Funnelbeaker culture.

Condition and results of archaeological research

The information on the two Kuyavian tombs in Gaj Stolarski dates back to 1936 – the height of one of the preserved tombs was approx. 2 m, with the second tomb levelled to a great extent and lacking stone surrounds. This condition was confirmed in 1949 by Waldemar Chmielewski, who prepared the site plans for the tombs. Archaeological surveys of the tomb (marked as Tomb 1) were performed by Maria and Waldemar Chrostowski in 1950. The surveys covered part of the tomb, i.e. the existing earthen structure with stone surrounds, which is roughly 55 m long.

The surveys found that the earthen structure of the tomb was made of clay resistant to the effects of various natural factors and to the pseudo-surveys of the tomb carried out in the 19th and the early 20th centuries. Remnants of two burials were found – one in the front part of the tomb and the other in the central part. Inside the first grave, there was the skeleton of a man in a supine position with the limbs extended, covered with a white limestone mixture. The blade of a dagger made of Volhynian flint was placed in the man’s grave. Inside the other grave, which also belonged to a man, no additional objects were found. It is also worth noting that remnants of a building which most likely served religious purposes were found in the front part of the tomb. It was a wooden structure, likely covered with a gable roof and built on a trapezium-shaped floor plan. The building was located within the earthen structure directly behind the stone surrounds of the tomb. It is assumed that the building could be entered from the outside, which is why there is a gap in the stone surrounds of the front part of the tomb.

The tomb is accessible all year round.

Prepared by Leszek Kotlewski, National Heritage Board of Poland, Regional Branch in Toruń, 17-04-2018

Bibliography

• Chmielewski W., Zagadnienie grobowców kujawskich w świetle ostatnich badań, Łódź 1952
• Papiernik P., Płaza D. K., O grobowcach kujawskich i Parku Kulturowym Wietrzychowice, [in:] Park Kulturowy Wietrzychowice. Na europejskim szlaku megalitów, Łódź 2017, pp. 11-156