It provides valuable information about early medieval hillfort construction in the Lublin region.

History

Based on the results of archaeological research, it can be assumed that the hillfort dates to the early Middle Ages and was in use from the 11th century to the 13th century. 

Description

The hillfort in Turów, known locally as “Uroczysko” (“Wilderness”) or “Grodzisko” (“Hillfort”), is located to the south-east of the central part of the village, on the edge of a deciduous forest, in the northern part of a small promontory jutting out into the valley of the Krzna River, surrounded from the north-west, north and north-east by wet meadows.

The hillfort is approximately oval in shape, with a (total) diameter of 50 m along the east-west axis and 37 m along the north-south axis. The inner yard of the hillfort, approximately 43 x 30 m in size, is enclosed by a circumferential rampart, which is partially leveled on the northern side. As preserved, the visible fragments of the rampart have a height of 0.4 m and a width of 7.0 m, while the moat is approximately 2 m wide and 0.25-0.50 m deep. At present, the area of the hillfort is thickly overgrown by forest vegetation. 

The hillfort was discovered by priest Adolf Pleszczyński before 1900 and he is the author of the first literature reports about the hillfort, published in 1911. The hillfort was rediscovered in 1986 by priest Z. Szczepańczuk, who reported his discovery to the Voivodeship Heritage Protection Officer in Biała Podlaska. During the First World War, the eastern part of the hillfort was completely destroyed when, for fear of the approaching front line, ten refuge pits, approximately 1 m deep, were dug out in the area of the inner yard and the rampart (they have never been filled). In the second half of the 20th century, large parts of the rampart were destroyed due to sand extraction by local residents.  

Progress and findings of archaeological

The hillfort was examined archaeologicallly by Barbara Hensel-Moszczyńska in 1987. Five sondage trenches were dug out then. They covered the rampart, patches of land adjoining the rampart, the moat and the middle part of the inner yard.

Surface surveys of the site within the framework of the ‘Archaeological Picture of Poland’ project were carried by Sławomir Żółkowski in 1992.

Based on archaeological reconnaissance surveys, it was established that the univallate rampart surrounding the hillfort had been made with the sand removed when building the moat. Originally, the diameter of the rampart at its base had been 2.4 m. There were no additional fortifications of any kind in the pre-rampart area or in the outer part of the ramparts. From the side of the inner yard to the sandy rampart, the adjoining wooden beams formed a starling-like structure. The only buildings within the inner yard were identified next to the rampart.

The finds included 123 pieces of clay pots, 134 pieces of grain roasting vessels, fragments of pugging materials and a tip of a crossbow bolt. Based on the ceramic material, the site can be classified as a border hillfort functioning in the young phases of the early Middle Ages (from the 11th to the 13th century). As evidenced by research, the hillfort was pre-dated by a large, open settlement of the Zarubintsy culture from the pre-Roman/Roman period. This is confirmed by two storage pits (one with a paved bottom), containing 329 pottery fragments and 2 fragments of a loom weight. The settlement was partly destroyed during the construction of the hillfort ramparts. 

The heritage site is accessible to the general public.

compiled by Ewa Prusicka, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch Office in Lublin, 14 February 2016

Bibliography

• Pleszczyński A., Opis statystyczno-historyczny parafii międzyrzeckiej, Warsaw 1911, p. 137
• Żaki A., Archeologia Małopolski wczesnośredniowiecznej, Wrocław 1974, p. 515
• Nosek S., Materiały do badań nad historią starożytną i wczesnośredniowieczną międzyrzecza Wisły i Bugu, “Annales UMCS” 1951, vol. VI, sec. F, 1951(1957), pp. 358, 430.
• Wetoszka B., W średniowieczu i nowożytności [in:] Północna Lubelszczyzna. Od pradziejów po okres nowożytny, collective work, Ewa Banasiewicz-Szykuła (ed.), Lublin 2003, pp. 119-134.
• Bienia M., Grodziska wczesnośredniowieczne istniejące i domniemane na terenie dzisiejszego województwa bialskopodlaskiego, Biała Podlaska 1998, pp. 30-32