A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the rampart construction of the medieval ring-fort in Rozprza, Central Poland

Abstract

During archaeological excavations of a medieval stronghold in Rozprza, a buried thick deposit of deep black (Dark Earth type) soil was discovered. A multianalytical (sedimentological, geochemical and archaeobotanical) study was carried out in order to identify traits the Rozprza Dark Earth. The analyses demonstrated that the soil was formed as an effect of surface accumulation of organic deposits from swampy areas and waste materials with rich admixtures of organic materials. The organic carbon content of the soil of the Rozprza Dark Earth was twice as high, and the total concentration of P was many times higher as compared with the adjacent soil outside the stronghold. Plant macroremains which were recorded within the buried soil and a cultural layer are evidence for human activity, mainly wood gathering and agriculture. In the Early Middle Ages, summer crops could be cultivated there with the use of tilling methods characteristic for root crops or gardens. The accumulation of the Rozprza Dark Earth commenced in the second half of the tenth century AD. In the period between the eleventh and thirteenth century, a ring-fort was established there. The deep black soil is partly covered by the ring-fort's rampart. The rampart was built with the use of re-deposited earlier cultural layers and sand of the subsoil. It was then clad with sod bricks. Such a construction of a medieval rampart has been recorded for the first time in the territory of Poland. A new interpretation of archaeological structures and cultural layers offers a basis for new conclusions concerning the chronology and the development stages of the medieval settlement and ring-fort in Rozprza.

Geoarchaeological studies in the early medieval Santok stronghold (north‐western Poland)

“…Functioning from the second half of the 8th to the late 9th century AD, the open settlement was set on a small (about 1 m high) elevation built of fine‐ and medium‐grained sand, situated on the floodplain 0.0–1.0 m above the river level between the Warta and Noteć riverbeds, in the immediate vicinity of the morainic plateau (Figures 4 and 13). Contrary to the sites in Tum (Forysiak et al, 2015), Czermno (Dobrowolski et al, 2018), Rozprza (Sikora et al, 2019) and Drezdenko (Studencki, 1997, 2002) located on the terrace remnant, which is surrounded by a floodplain, the settlement in Santok was founded around 800 AD on a floodplain elevated 1 m above the surrounding area. The study site was an area elevated from 19.45 to 20.50 masl.…”

“…The preservation and protection of the ramparts reduced the intensity and effects of deluvial processes (debris flows and mass movements), which prevented damage to the fortifications (Sikora et al, 2019). The research carried out in Santok presents various forms of securing the fortifications against destruction.…”

The spatial and temporal reconstruction of a medieval moat ecosystem

“…This fieldwork was conducted in 2015–2016, with the use of archaeological trenches, geological outcrops and a wide range of palaeoecological studies. They aimed to reconstruct the environmental conditions and settlement history of the mediaeval stronghold at Rozprza 5 , 16 , 55 .…”

Subfossil Chironomidae and other palaeoecological proxies in the reconstruction of the Late Vistulian environmental history in central Poland: case study of oxbow fill in Luci a River valley

“…Our study at Rozprza (51˚18'07'' N; 19˚40'04'' E; 183 m a.s.l.) was conducted as a part of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental investigations of the Medieval ringfort remnants (Kittel et al, 2018a,b;Sikora et al, 2019). The site is located in Central Poland, in the Luciąża River valley floor (the 3rdorder river in the Vistula River Basin).…”