The value of the site is the well-preserved inner yard and an earthen rampart enclosing the settlement.

Location and description

The hillfort is located about 600 m to the north-east from the village of Grodziec.

This small elevation in the heart of farmland, overgrown with a deciduous coppice is owned by the Dąbrowa Forest Inspectorate. It is bisected by a road into a north and south section. Among the trees, the mild contours of the ramparts are visible.

This low-land hillfort is oval in shape. The inner yard of the diameter of approx. 90 m is generally undisturbed. The entire site is encircled by a low embankment, lower in two sections due to the dirt road mentioned earlier. The width of the rampart at the base is about 6 m in the north and up to 17 m in the south part; its height ranges from 0.5 to 2.5 m. Around the settlement, some remains of the moat are discernible, preserved in a better shape from the west and partly from the north (its width in the north part reaches 3 m). The total area of the fort is about 7,200 m2.

History

According to various researchers, the fort operated from the 7th to 10th century, from the 9th to 10th century or the the turn of the 10th century, of which the first timespan seems too early. The settlement was probably abandoned at the end of the 11th century and was never re-settled.

The earliest mention of the fort was recorded in 1679. The locals called it “Polkoberge”. According to some oral accounts, the hill had accommodated a castle. In the literature, the site is allocated to the village of Prądy, Dąbrowa Commune.

Condition and results of archaeological research

The examination conducted so far (in the pre-war period and in 1960) were surface studies, yet they determined the history and function of the settlement based on the exposed archaeological material, including some pottery pieces. Only excavations helped determine the history of the site. Within about 100 m from the hillfort, crematory graves were discovered during a surface examination in the pre-war period.

The historic monument is open to visitors. The area of the hillfort is owned by the State Forests; it borders on private land. A nearby dirt road leads from a poultry farm east of the village towards the north and ends among the fields.

Compiled by dr Magdalena Przysiężna-Pizarska and Ewa Kalbarczyk-Klak, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 12-11-2014.

Bibliography

• Kaźmierczyk J., Macewicz K., Wuszkan S., Studia i materiały do osadnictwa Opolszczyzny…, Opole-Katowice 1977, s. 154-159.
• W. Gorgolewski, E. Tomczak, Grodziska Górnego Śląska i Zagłębia Dąbrowskiego z lotu ptaka, Katowice 1996, s. 37.