The title quotations capture the spirit of the actions taken in that part of East Prussia which became part of post-war Poland in 1945. The emphasised links with Polishness perfectly complemented the pool of arguments, chief among which was the ‘redress of Poland's just pretensions’. At the same time, the cultural scenery of these lands did not readily allow for this ‘eminently Polish patina’ to be perceived, which was a challenge for the state and local administration, and confronted scholars with new tasks. Archaeology there was not as well equipped as in the western lands, where Slavic roots dating back to Early Middle Ages supported the ‘we did not come here, we came back here’ argument. In the case of the Prussian lands, the main difficulty was the Baltic character of the indigenous communities, which were more divided from the Piast domain than united with it. In spite of this, the activities undertaken laid the foundation for the so-called Polish school of archival archaeology.

The early medieval Old Prussian and Yatvingian communities, until the Teutonic conquest, remained a significant threat to their neighbours, which is confirmed by numerous historical sources. It means, contrary to the commonly held belief about their limited cultural potential, they possessed a substantial military force, supported by a system of rule allowing for its effective use in offensive actions. In this context, the standard of the early medieval weaponry of the Old Prussians and Yotvingians - becoming better known thanks to the results of archaeological research carried out in recent years - remains a key issue. Its most spectacular elements, i.e. swords (along with the related problems of diversity and function - also symbolic), will be the subject of the presentation announced in this abstract.