Aleksander Pluskowski, The Archaeology of the Prussian Crusade: Holy War and Colonisation, Routledge, Abingdon 2013, xix + 428 pp. + illustrations and maps

Abstract

This work consists of eight thematic chapters and an extensive summary at the end. The introduction starts by explaining terminology, particularly the author's use of historic and modern placenames as well as names of selected medieval administrative units and ranks within the Teutonic Order. The second part of the introduction provides a survey of literature including relevant historical sources as well as archaeological data and interdisciplinary studies. It is worth noting that there are two mistakes in this section. First, contrary to the author's assertion, there is no Polish edition of the 'Chronicle' written by Simon Grunau (pp.-); the work by Sławomir Zonenberg to which the author refers as the Polish edition of this 'Chronicle' provides only an analysis of the text with discussion of the context in which it was written. The second mistake concerns the dating of the bog body from Drwęck (Ger. Dröbnitz). The body of a woman discovered there in dates most likely from the early Iron Age and not, as the author asserts, from the th century. This error most probably results from inaccurate reading of the article by Mirosław J. Hoffmann. After the introduction, the author focuses on the history and culture of pre-Christian Prussia. Drawing predominantly on archaeological data and making little use of historical sources, the discussion treats the tribal organisation of Prussia and describes a wide selection of archaeological sites, particularly strongholds and burial grounds. Some of the references, however, are inaccurate. For example, the fragment of an early medieval wooden chest (p.) was discovered at the stronghold at Lake Silm near Kamionka (Ger. Klein Steinersdorf) , not at the stronghold at Susz (Ger. Rosenberg). Another mistake is the assertion that the Arabic coin discovered in the stronghold on an island in Lake Slim dates from 1 S. Zonenberg, Kronika Szymona Gruanaua, Bydgoszcz 2009. 2 M. J. Hoffmann, Z historii badań archeologicznych w rejonie pól grunwaldzkich, in: Tradycje kulturowe i historyczne ziem pruskich. Krajobraz grunwaldzki w dziejach polsko-krzyżackich i polsko-niemieckich na przestrzeni wieków. Wokół mitów i rzeczywistości, ed.