Such burial mounds occur either in isolation or are grouped together. 

History

Archaeological excavations have shown that the burial mound should be associated with the Neolithic Corded Ware culture. It was subsequently reused for two burials connected with the Mierzanowice culture from the early Bronze Age.

Description

The kurgan is located at the north-west end of the village of Łubcze, near the border with Kolonia Gródek, about 50 m to the south in a straight line from the road connecting Wereszczyca with Kolonia Gródek, on the edge of the valley of an unnamed watercourse (the right tributary of the Huczwa River). It is situated in a field used for agricultural purposes. 

During the field survey in 1993, the height of the mound was about 1 m and its diameter was 20 m. As a result of intensive plowing along the elevated terrain, the mound was obliterated to a significant extent and its present-day height is less than 1 m and its diameter is about 50 m. The dark colour of the earthen mound of the barrow makes it stand out clearly against the lighter colour of the fields.

It was established that the site contains two mounds, both of which were clearly visible in the field until the 1980s. However, only one (no. 1) has been preserved to this day. It was entered in the register of monuments in 1993. Kurgan no. 2, located 30 m south-west from kurgan no. 1, was completely destroyed as a result of excavation activities there. 

At present, kurgan no. 1 appears to have been affected by intensive ploughing, which leads to progressive degradation of the site and puts its preservation at risk.

Progress and findings of archaeological

The preserved kurgan no. 1 is inscribed in the register of monuments, but it has never undergone any exploratory excavations. Archaeological research focused on kurgan no. 2 (no longer existing). Excavations were performed in 1991 by Jan Machnik and Wiesław Koman.

The situation and altitude plan of the site was drawn up by: Józef Niedźwiedź and Adam Medak in 1989 

Surface surveys as part of the AZP project (Archaeological Picture of Poland) were carried out in 1985 by Ewa Banasiewicz.

As a result of archaeological research on kurgan no. 2 (not entered in the register of monuments and no longer existing today), it was established that the kurgan, as preserved at the time of excavation, had a height of approx. 0.70 m and a diameter at the base of the earthen mound of approx. 18 m. Originally, the kurgan may have measured up to 2.5 - 3 m with a diameter of about 9 m. The kurgan should be associated with the Neolithic Corded Ware Culture, because a grave representing that culture was discovered in the central part of the earthen structure, at a depth of 0.60 m below the highest point of the mound. The grave contained skeletal remains of an older individual, laid to rest on the east-west axis in a slightly contracted position, on the right side with the head facing west and the face facing south.

The grave pit, with an oval-shaped outline and measuring 2.60 x 1.60 m, was found to contain not only the skeletal remains, but also grave gifts: next to the head, there were two clay vessels, behind the head of the deceased there was a flint arrow-head. There was also a bone chisel next to the hip bones and several bone tools next to the long bones of the legs. Two other graves were discovered on the outskirts of the mound. They had been dug out in the pre-existing barrow, or rather in the earth filling the pit adjacent to the burial mound, the so-called clay pit, when the original burial mound had already lost its structural integrity. These graves should be associated with the Mierzanowice culture from the early Bronze Age. The first of the graves contained the skeleton of probably a woman laid along the southwest-northeast axis, in a shrunken position on the left side, with her head facing south-west and with her face towards the north. Two copper willow-leaf-shaped earrings were discovered under her skull, and a fragment of a copper plate was found near the sternum. The second skeleton belonged to a man, who was laid to rest in a similar position, but with his knees tightly pulled up to his chest, without any grave goods of any kind. Within the earthen mound of the kurgan and directly underneath (up to a depth of 0.80 m from its highest point), there was a very large number of pottery fragments from several broken vessels representing the Corded Ware culture, probably broken during rituals accompanying the construction of the kurgan. In the upper layer of the earthen mound, in its central, culminating part, at a depth of about 0.30 m, traces of what is thought to be a hearth were discovered. They included lumps of pugging material and small pieces of charcoal.

The kurgan is accessible to the general public.

compiled by Ewa Prusicka, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch Office in Lublin, 11 April 2016

Bibliography

• Machnik J., Bagińska J., Koman W., Neolityczne kurhany na Grzędzie Sokalskiej w świetle badań archeologicznych w latach 1988-2006, Krakow 2009, pp. 36-42
• Koman W., Machnik J., Sprawozdanie z badań wykopaliskowych kurhanu nr II w Łubczu na stan. 1, gm. Jarczów, “Sprawozdania z badań terenowych w województwie zamojskim w 1991 roku”, Zamość 1991, pp. 8-12.
• Machnik J., Koman W., Łubcze stan. 1, gm. Jarczów, woj. zamojskie AZP 94-91/1, “Informator Archeologiczny. Badania rok 1991”, Warsaw 1997, pp. 20-22.