Their form speaks of the high standing of the persons buried there, who were likely the elite among the agricultural community inhabiting the nearby land at the time.

Location and description

The tombs are situated in a forest roughly 2 km north of Sarnowo.

Within the cemetery, there are nine megalithic tombs. The tombs marked with the numbers from 1 to 6 form two groups, which are 20 m away from each other. The structure marked with the number 7 is located on the highest elevation, south of the other ones. Tombs no. 1 to 7 are separated from one another by gentle land depressions.

At the moment when surveys began, their height did not exceed one metre.

However, in the past they might have stood up to 4 m high. The tomb surrounds consisted of large boulders. The structures being described were erected on an elongated trapezium-shaped plan. Their length ranges from 30 to 83 m. The width of the front section ranges from 10 to 12 m.

The contents of the structures stand in stark contrast to their size, as they are mostly simple, with some of them featuring no gifts whatsoever.

History

The tombs were created in the 4th millennium BC. They were constructed by representatives of the Funnel Beaker culture. Since the 19th century, the tombs have been studied by various explorers. During World War I, the stones serving as tomb surrounds were used to build a 14-kilometre paved road from Lubraniec to Izbica Kujawska. Following archaeological works in the 1950s and 1960s, the tombs were reconstructed.

Condition and results of archaeological research

The first excavation surveys were carried out in 1950 on behalf of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography in Łódź and the Department of Archaeology of the University of Lodz. Six tombs were examined and reconstructed at the time. The works were led by Waldemar Chmielewski.

The year 1966 marked the beginning of the archaeological works performed by Lidia Gabałówna. Their aim was to identify further traces of Funnel Beaker culture settlement and create a complete profile of the whole cemetery. The surveys were carried out over the course of 10 seasons.

Remnants of five burials surrounded by stone circles were discovered in tomb no. 7. In the side wall, the outline of a pit containing between 5 to 9 persons was found. The contents included scarce pieces of clay vessels and flint tools.

Out of all tombs, tomb no. 8 is the most interesting one. Within the tomb, there were traces of a pit prepared for burial purposes but with no dead person inside. Remains of the dead were found before the front section ob the tomb. They were placed in a chamber erected after the construction of the tomb. The remains belonged to a man and a woman. The graves were covered with a layer of marshy soil with snail and clam shells, as well as fragments of the carapace of a European pond turtle. Furthermore, they included several hundred vessel fragments, pieces of flint, lumps of pugging and a shield-shaped shell bead. Between the central chamber and the annex, there was likely a wooden structure where the funeral rites took place. The oldest traces of tillage in Poland were discovered beneath the structure. These consisted of transverse and longitudinal furrows which were 10 cm wide. In order to plough land, the farmers inhabiting this area 5,500 years ago used ards pulled by oxen. In tomb no. 9, a skeleton of a woman aged between 50 and 70 was discovered. Her body was positioned perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the tomb. This discovery is deemed exceptional as the megalithic tombs found in Kuyavia were mainly made for men. As a result, it is hypothesised that the buried woman might have occupied a high position in the society. Next to the dead woman, there were items such as a horn blade, a clay spoon and several vessel fragments. Inside the earthen structure of the tomb, several hundred pottery fragments were found which helped to reconstruct some of the vessels. Apart from the pottery fragments, there were also items made of bone as well as flint tools. In the side wall of the earthen structure, traces of a wooden structure were discovered. In the front section, a layer of river mud was discovered with a large number of snail shells.

The cemetery is accessible all year round.

Prepared by Paweł Baraszkiewicz, National Heritage Board of Poland, Regional Branch in Toruń, 08-12-2016

Bibliography

• Cetnarowski M., Polskie piramidy [online], 2010, Available online: http://odkrywcy.pl/kat,116794,page,1,title,Polskiepiramidy,wid,12964515,wiadomosc.html [accessed 8 December 2016].
• Gabałówna L., Badania nad kulturą pucharów lejkowatych w Sarnowie, pow. Włocławek i w jego najbliższej okolicy, Sprawozdania Archeologiczne, Vol. XX, 1969, pp. 43-53.
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