the Early Bronze Age. The monument is probably the oldest preserved, field form object of defensive architecture in Poland. The dating and state of preservation make the site unique. In the close vicinity of the monument there are three other defensive settlements - medieval hillforts, this complex of the Jędrychowice-Włodzienin sites located on the Troja River is unique in the country.

History of the object

The prehistoric settlement in Jędrychowice dates back to the 20th-17th century B.C. (ca. 1935-1690 B.C.), this period falls into the Early Bronze Age (1st period). This dating is based on radiocarbon studies and historical sites analysis. The hillfort was built on the site of an unfortified open settlement (which occupied a larger area), and this settlement was inhabited by the people of the so-called Nowa Cerekwia group. This population was related to the inhabitants of Moravia, Lower Austria and western Slovakia (the Veterov and Madarovska cultures) and Czech (the Unetice culture). According to Wojciech Blajer and Jan Chochorowski, the end of the use of the hillfort may have been related to the migration, from the south-east, of the population of the so-called Tumulus Cultures (e.g. the Pre-Lusatian Culture) which took place in the 17th century B.C. It can be added that the site was already inhabited at the end of the Stone Age, i.e. between the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C., and after the Early Bronze Age settlers of the so-called Nowa Cerekwia group abandoned it in the 17th century B.C., it was probably no longer occupied.

Description of the structure

The hillfort in Jędrychowice (site 2) is located south-west of Włodzienin village (approx. 800 m from the church). The site is located on a high promontory in the fork of the Troja River and Glinik Creek, its right tributary. The preserved relics of the ramparts are overgrown with trees, while the rest of the site area is occupied by arable fields. The defensive settlement was designed on an oval plan. The hillfort has an area of about 2.2 ha (with ramparts and a moat) and dimensions of about 180-145 m. The settlement is surrounded by two ramparts, which are clearly visible in the area, with a moat between them. The fortifications are not visible from the east and south-east sides because they were levelled during ploughing.

Already in the interwar period the site was surveyed by Bolko von Richtofen and Georg Raschke, while in 1978-1985 extensive excavations were carried out under the direction of Marek Gedel. More than 400 archaeological sites were recorded and excavated during the 1970s and 1980s, of which more than 300 are linked to the Early Bronze Age settlement. Remains of residential and farm buildings (including traces of casting and bone and horn workshops) and numerous movable artefacts (fragments of pottery, bone, stone, horn and bronze products) were discovered. The prehistoric hillfort was built up with dugouts and half-dugouts, which were arranged irregularly, but formed residential and economic complexes - homesteads. Human graves were also discovered in the settlement; the population of the Nowa Cerekwia group used bi-ritual rites, with skeletal burials predominating. According to Wojciech Blajer and Jan Chochorowski, such settlements, as the hillfort in Jędrychowice, are characteristic of the Early Bronze Age cultural groups in the northern part of the Carpathian Basin.

Visitor access. The site is accessible all year round.

Author of the note: Michał Bugaj, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Katowice, 15-02-2018

Bibliography

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