Leibniz-Institut für Geschichte und Kultur des östlichen Europa (GWZO), Leipzig
VIII KONGRES MEDIEWISTÓW POLSKICH - GNIEZNO 2025
List of papers
In the shadow of the “Millennial research project”. Archaeological early medieval studies in Poland after World War II
Archaeological studies of early Piast Poland (in the reign of Mieszko and Bolesław the Brave) started in earnest only a. 1945, in a country greatly altered after WW 2 in terms of its territory, ethnic make-up and political regime. This would have a significant impact on the study both of the so-called Recovered Territories and of Polish-Rus’ borderlands. Contrary to the early declarations made by the Committee for the Research in the Origins of Poland the primary focus of research proved to be on the region of Poland to the west of the river Vistula. The medieval archaeology of eastern Poland was - and continues to be - less well recognized than in Silesia, G. Poland and Pomerania. Similarly poorly understood is the organization of this research in eastern Poland - the extent to which it was organized by state authorities or was the result of grassroots initiatives. In the paper we focus on the history of archaeological research completed at Drohiczyn, Cherven’ Towns, and Przemyśl.
The early medieval settlement complex Czermno-Cherven’. The research status and perspectives
Located in a marshy area at the confluence of the Sieniocha with the Huczwa (tributary of the Western Bug), the early medieval settlement complex in Czermno included a stronghold and several settlements and cemeteries in its catchment, connected by a network of timber trackways.
A major new development in the study of Czermno following many seasons of excavation (1940, 1952, 1974-1976, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1997) was brought by an international project implemented in 2011/2013 joined by several institutions enabled by government funding (Poland - NPRH, NCN, MKiDN; Germany - GWZO, Lepizig). The last decade has seen a comprehensive publication of findings from all past fieldwork in Czermno, and new excavation of some of the ramparts and suburb settlements.
Given its likely identification with the stronghold of Cherven’ and its situation amidst marshy meadows (a setting highly promising for a range environmental), Czermno ought to become the key early medieval site in eastern Poland.
Eastern Poland: Between the social memory of Bolesław the Brave, Volodimer the Great, Daniel of Galicia and the mundane of life. From the interwar period until the present day
Archaeological research is expensive, its extent decided primarily by state authorities capable of financing its implementation. A good example is the Polish Millennial research which – regardless of the motivation of the academic community – was a project intended to lend legitimacy to communist rule in Poland, helping confirm Silesia’s/Pomerania’s “immemorial” affiliation to Poland and project the image of the authorities of People’s Poland as legitimate heirs of Bolesław the Brave. A peculiar situation prevailed in the eastern outlying region of People’s Poland which can hardly be regarded as a part of Early Piast Poland. Here the narrative strategy was hamstrung by the political domination of the Soviet Union, the memory of Polish-Ukrainian conflicts. After 1989, we have been witnessing a major upsurge of archaeological fieldwork in this part of Poland (Chełm/Czermno), but the issue of whether the region was the domain of the Piast or of the Rurikids has lost none of its relevance
