Location and description

The hill fort is surrounded by fields at the north end of the village of Kaleń Drugi, between roads running from the centre of the village to the north.

The hill fort was built on a rectangular floor plan which measures approx. 55 m by 50 m. It is surrounded by a single line of ramparts, preserved to a height of 4-5 m. Two gaps on their perimeter on the north-eastern and south-western side are probably the original entrance gates. The hill fort is surrounded by a moat which is up to 10 m wide and partially filled with water. A small raised area of land is visible in the middle of the maidan, which is the inner part of the hill fort. The area of the hill fort is now a wasteland. The ramparts, and partly also the maidan, are overgrown with trees and shrubs.

History

Due to the fact that no archaeological investigations of the site have been carried out, it can only be estimated that the origins of the site date back to the Late Middle Ages, i.e., the 13th-15th century.

Condition and results of archaeological research

Inventory research and verifications of the site were carried out in 1959. The site has not been subject to excavations. While compiling a site inventory, the investigation of the surface of the raised area of land in the middle of the maidan revealed numerous stones, fragments of medieval hand-made bricks, pottery and tiles.

Specificity of archaeological finds and in situ conservation

The hill fort in Kaleń has not been subject to excavations so far. Although is not know what particular function it served (fortified manor, small fortified guard settlement) and when it was used, it was nevertheless entered in the register of monuments as being valuable to an extent sufficient to protect it under law. This situation accurately reflects the specificity of the archaeological heritage, where ‘ what is most important is invisible to the eye’. Archeological sites are hidden under the ground or under water; thus, we are uncertain what we protect. To gain a complete knowledge of the sites, it is required to carry out extensive archaeological investigations, which means irreversible damage to the historic substance. Today, the so-called in situ conservation, which means the preservation of relics in their original place of occurrence in a state that has remained unchanged to the greatest extent possible, is set against the procedure for gaining scientific information about the site in a manner that causes irreparable damage thereto. The principle of in situ conservation is used as a basis of the current doctrine of conservation. It stems from the provisions of the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage, also known as the Malta Convention, ratified by Poland and the ICOMOS Charter for the Protection and Management of the Archaeological Heritage, the so-called Charter of Lausanne. We also adhere to the principle of sustainable development by maintaining the hill fort in Kaleń Drugi in its present form for future generations.

The hill fort is situated on private land, between two roads running through the village of Kaleń Drugi, from north to south, at a distance of up to 100 m from each of them.

Compiled by Agnieszka Oniszczuk, National Heritage Board of Poland, 07.10.2014 r.

Bibliography

• European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revised), La Valetta 1992, Dziennik Ustaw [Journal of Laws]of 1996, No. 120, item 564.
• Charter for the Protection and Management of the Archaeological Heritage, ICOMOS, Lausanne 1990,

  http://www.nid.pl/pl/Dla_specjalistow/Standardy/Dokumenty_doktrynalne/ (access: 07-10-2014).

• Pyrgała. J., Kaleń, gmina Sobolew (d. pow. Garwolin), woj. siedleckie, [in:] Grodziska Mazowsza i Podlasia ( w granicach dawnego województwa warszawskiego), collective work, Wrocław -Warszawa -Kraków -Gdańsk 1976, p. 66.