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

History

Archaeological excavations have shown that the mound should be associated with the Neolithic Corded Ware culture.

Description

The kurgan is located in the northern part of the village of Łubcze, approx. 450 m to the north of the continuously built-up area of the village and the road running through Łubcze, at its intersection with the road to Szlatyn. It is located at the top of a large hump in the terrain, on the northern edge of the Rzeczyca River valley, in an agricultural field and in the immediate vicinity of a dirt road.

The kurgan is well defined in the terrain. Currently, its height is approx. 1 m and its diameter is 80 m. During the surface surveys carried out in 1987 as part of the Archaeological Picture of Poland project, the height of the mound was estimated at 6 - 8 m, and its diameter was about 80 m. According to the estimates from 1990 (entry in the register of monuments), its height was about 2 m and its diameter was 35 m.  The kurgan contains a single burial or multiple burials associated with the Corded Ware Culture. 

The site was found to contain two mounds, both of which were clearly visible in the terrain until the 1980s. However, only one (no. 1) has been preserved to this day and was entered in the register of monuments in 1990. The kurgan no. 2, located 50 m south-east from the kurgan no. 1, was completely destroyed as a result of full-scale 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 1988 by Jolanta Bagińska.

On-site surface surveys as part of the Archaeological Picture of Poland were performed in 1987 by Ewa Banasiewicz.

During the research conducted as part of the ‘Archaeological Picture of Poland’ project, no historical material was found on the surface of kurgan no. 1, which is entered in the register of monuments.

Excavations covered kurgan no. 2, which has not been entered in the register of monuments and no longer exists today.  At the start of research, the earthen structure of the earthen structure of the mound had a diameter of about 10-12 m and was not well discernible on the surface, having been almost entirely obliterated by ploughing. The kurgan was examined thoroughly. In the centre of the mound there was a grave pit with dimensions of 1.1-2.2 x 3.1 m and a trapezoidal shape with rounded corners, with a longer axis in the east-west direction. The grave was 1.15 m deep. There were no preserved bones there. Grave goods were found in the eastern and southern parts of the grave. They included a clay amphora with two handles, a stone hatchet and flint artefacts: an ax, a heart-shaped arrow-head, a blade, a retouched blade and three small flakes. The ditch enclosing the burial mounds has not been preserved as it was probably obliterated by ploughing. The forms of the artefacts made it possible to classify the examined burial mound as representing the early phase of the Corded Ware Culture belonging to its Central European horizon. It was established that it dates back to around 2200 year before the birth of Christ.  

The burial mound is accessible to the general public upon prior arrangement with the owner of the field. The burial mound is easily visible from the unpaved road open to general public.

compiled by Ewa Prusicka, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch Office in Lublin, 13 April 2016

Bibliography

• Bagińska J., Łubcze st. 1, gm. Jarczów, woj. zamojskie, “Informator Archeologiczny. 
• Badania rok 1988”, Warsaw 1989, pp. 16-17.
• Bagińska J., Cmentarzysko kurhanowe kultury ceramiki sznurowej w Łubczu stan. 24,
• gm. Jarczów, woj. Zamość [in:] Sprawozdania z badań terenowych w województwie zamojskim w 1988 roku, Zamość 1988, pp. 5-6.
• Bagińska J., Koman W., Badania nad kurhanami kultury ceramiki sznurowej na Grzędzie
• Sokalskiej [in:] Schyłek neolitu i wczesna epoka brązu w Polsce środkowowschodniej, Lublin 1991, pp. 74-79.
• Bagińska J., Machnik J., Pasterze u schyłku neolitu i początku epoki brązu [in:] Pradzieje
• południowo-wschodniej Lubelszczyzny, Lublin 2007, pp. 61-83.
• Machnik J., Bagińska J., Koman W., Neolityczne kurhany na Grzędzie Sokalskiej w świetle badań archeologicznych w latach 1988-2006, Krakow 2009, pp. 54-58