Defensive settlement (kraal) - Zabytek.pl
Address
Maradki
Location
woj. warmińsko-mazurskie, pow. mrągowski, gm. Sorkwity
Location and descrtiption
The structure is located on the souther bank of the lake Sorkwickie. It was created on a moraine hill called "Zamek" [Castle] or "Wiatraczna Góra" [Windmill Hill], which can be found in the northern part of the village Maradki. The kraal has an irregular, oval shape extended along the east-west axis, its size: 56x25 m. It is a ring-shaped structure surrounded by an earthen rampart with internal stone cladding. It was built on a moraine hill which hand been partly levelled before the rampart was built.
History
As a defensive settlement the site functioned in the Early Iron Age and it should be associated with population of the West Baltic Barrow culture. Research has shown that the structure was not heavily used. The settlement was partially destroyed in the 18th century as a result of creation of a cemetery of cholera victims on it, and in ca. 1800, a windmill was erected on the hill peak. During the World War II, Germans dug out a 1m deep riflemen trench along the ridge of the peak. As an archeological site, the settlement was known already in 1926.
Condition and results of archaeological research
First documented research consisting in surface surveys were carried out in 1952. It was directed by J. Antoniewicz as part of the excavation expedition of the site in Jeziorko. In 1970, as part of surveying activities covering hill forts of the then Olsztyńskie voivodeship, archeological surves were conducted on the settlement in Maradki under direction of J. Okulicz. The trial excavations dug on that time confirmed damages on the site as a result of its later use as a cemetery and location for a windmill. Even though, ceramic material obtained during the excavations and the structure of the settlement itself suggest that it was used by a single (the oldest) stage of the Western Baltic Borrows culture.
The structure is fenced, but it is perfectly visible because of its elevation and location within the village.
Compiled by Hanna Mackiewicz, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board in Olsztyn, 2.09.2014
Bibliography
- Gąssowska E., Okulicz Ł., Badania sondażowe osiedla obronnego w miejscowości Maradki, pow. Mragowo, Światowit 1975, t. XXXIV, s. 319-326.
- Mrągowo, z dziejów miasta i powiatu, Olsztyn 1975, s. 52
Category: settlement
Protection: Register of monuments, Monuments records
Inspire id: PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_A_28_AR.39459, PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_E_28_AR.850694