The hillfort and the settlement located at its foot, along with other hillforts in Polesie: in Busówno and Tarnów, served as an important point on the early medieval travel and trade route leading from the Chodelska Valley through Lublin to the Pripyat basin and further to Kiev.

History

Based on the results of archaeological research, it can be assumed that the hillfort and the settlement date to the early Middle Ages and were used from the 9th to the 11th century. As evidenced by the layers of the wood-and-earth rampart, the occupancy of the hillfort can be divided into two phases. 

Description

A settlement complex, consisting of a hillfort known locally as “Okop” and an open settlement, is located between the villages of Kulczyn and Kulczyn Kolonia, approximately 3 km in a straight line to the north of the buildings of the village of Kulczyn Kolonia and the road from Kulczyn to Hańsk.  It is situated on a small chalk elevation among wet meadows called Krowie Bagno - a part of the vast swampy areas of Western Polesie. 

The hillfort, together with the settlement around it, covers an area of several hectares. The hillfort itself, with a single rampart and a moat, covers about 20 ares, 12 of which are contained within the rampart enclosure. The northern and western parts of the rampart are well defined. As preserved, it has a height of about 3 m and a width of about 10 m.  In the south-eastern and eastern sections, the rampart was partially destroyed by soil excavation and drainage works carried out in the last century. The shallow moat surrounding the settlement is about 10 m wide. At present, the area of the settlement is a grassy wasteland, while the area of the settlement is covered by a meadow and is used for agricultural purposes.

The site was discovered in 1986 by Halina Wróbel during surface surveys carried out as part of the 'Archaeological Picture of Poland' project. Because of its local name, it was classified then as an earthen structure (trench) from war times. At that time, only the hillside settlement was identified correctly and dated on the basis of retrieved pottery fragments from the early Middle Ages. Anthropogenic deposits were also found to contain flint products from the Stone or Bronze Age. It was presumed that the “Trench” had been a hillfort, but this was unverified until archaeological research was completed in 2005. As a result of illegal soil excavation, the hillfort rampart on the south-eastern side was partly destroyed. The affected part of the rampart was approximately 36 m long and 2-5 m wide. The eastern side the rampart, approximately 20 m in length and 10 m in width, was completely leveled during drainage works carried out in the 1970s.

Progress and findings of archaeological fieldwork activities 

The hillfort was investigated archaeologically by Wojciech Mazurek in 2005. Verification and reconnaissance excavations were then made, covering a total area of 3 ares. One excavation was located along the damaged, southern part of the rampart, the second one cut through the inner yard, moat, rampart and the early medieval settlement.

Surface surveys as part of the 'Archaeological Picture of Poland' project were performed in 1986 by Halina Wróbel. 

As revealed by archaeological research, the earthen structure surrounding the hillfort was made of wood and earth and it probably had a box-like structure. The inner yard did not contain any material of archaeological interest – hence the conclusion that the hillfort served as a fortified refuge, or had an economic or religious function. The layers of the wood-and-earth rampart profile indicate that the occupancy of the hillfort can be divided into two phases. 

16 artefacts were retrieved from the area of the settlement: fragments of two half-dugouts, a pole-like object and storage pits. 

Numerous movable artefacts were unearthed: about 4,000 pieces of pottery, glass beads, fragments of knives, horn frames, deer antler bones, a chalk spindle whorl, an iron hook, pendants made from cowrie shells and numerous bones of wild and farm animals. There were also traces left by the processing of glass, iron, bones and horn. 

The heritage site is accessible to the general public.

compiled by Ewa Prusicka, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch Office in Lublin, 5 April 2016

Bibliography

• Banasiewicz-Szykuła E., Gołub I., Koman W., Stachyra A., Wetoszka B., Sprawozdanie z działalności w zakresie zabytków archeologicznych na terenie woj. lubelskiego w 2005 roku, “Wiadomości Konserwatorskie Województwa Lubelskiego”, Lublin 2006, vol. 8, p. 17.
• Dzieńkowski T., Plemienne i wczesnopaństwowe grody międzyrzecza Wieprza i Bugu. Zarys problematyki [in:] Pogranicze polsko-ruskie we wczesnym średniowieczu na Lubelszczyźnie, multi-author compilation edited by Ewy Banasiewicz-Szykuły, Lublin 2009, pp. 35-52.