Location and description

The hill fort is located about 100 m north-west of the northern road leading out of the village, on a high edge of a raised area of land, at the fork of two streams of the Kamienica river and its tributary. Below the site, there is a road to Głuchołazy.

The conical hill fort has a shape similar to an oval. Part of the cone is surrounded by a deep moat. The site measures about 80 m by 100 m. The base of the cone measures approx. 40 by 50 m and approx. 3-4 m in height. The moat is about 10 to 20 m wide and about 3-5 m deep. In the centre of the inner yard, there is a concrete foundation of the building.

History

The exploratory surveys of the hill fort revealed no movable archaeological finds. The dating of the structure to the 13th century is connected with the first mention concerning Stary Las.

Condition and results of archaeological research

Inventory surveys in the 1930s was conducted by M. Hellmich and G. Raschke, and in 1971 by W. Romiński, E. Romińska and S. Wuszkan. Exploratory surveys were made by Z. Bagniewski and W. Romiński. They have found no movable archaeological finds and have revealed no cultural layer. A contour plan of the hill fort was drawn up in 2005.

The hill fort in Stary Las was most probably a local mediaeval guard facility in the area of the Silesian Cutting (Polish: Przesieka Śląska). As part of inclusion of the site in the tourist trail, it is planned to properly adapt the hill fort for tourism purposes.

The hill fort is located on land owned by the Głuchołazy Commune. The relevant information board can be found on the structure located at the northern edge of the village, at the road to Głuchołazy.

compiled by Krzysztof Spychała, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 11-12-2014.

Bibliography

• Hellmich M., Schlesische Wehranlagen, [in:] Altschlesien, vol. 3, 1930, p. 47;
• Kozłowska W., Wczesnośredniowieczne grody woj. opolskiego na tle warunków fizjograficzno - gospodarczych, [in:] Kwartalnik Opolski, 1956, vol. 1, item 91;
• Kaźmierczyk J., Macewicz K., Wuszkan S., Studia i materiały do osadnictwa Opolszczyzny wczesnośredniowiecznej, 1977, pp. 470-471;
• Krawczyk M., Grody i zamki na Ziemi Nyskiej, [in:] Nyskie Szkice Muzealne, 2010, pp. 27-28;
• Archives of the Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Opole, file no. A-363/73, and Record Sheet of the Stary Las Archaeological Site no. 2, AZP 95-32/7;