Archaeology and changes in the castle organisation of Piast monarchy in the 10th-12th centuries. Possibilities and limits of research on the example of Central Poland.
Research on the remains of early medieval fortresses in central Poland, which has been going on for almost a century, has recently been intensified after years of stagnation at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. It has provided a wealth of new data on the dynamics of the emergence, development, transformation and decline of fortresses in the area between the Warta, Bzura and Pilica rivers. The paper will focus on the attempt to answer the question to what extent the archaeological research of the central Polish strongholds, despite all the gaps and imperfections, constitutes useful material for the reconstruction of the system of territorial governance of the Piast monarchy. Can archaeology, and if so to what extent, provide data that would allow for the verification or supplementation of the theses developed by historians dealing with this issue?
