Archaeological research in Płock, Radom and Czersk was connected with a project carried out to honour the Millennium of the Polish State. This paper presents the results of the millennial studies as well as recent verification research that allowed to correct the dating of the beginnings of the settlement complexes. It also verified the vision of vast „early urban settlements” adjacent to strongholds that appeared as a result of the millennial studies. Settlement complexes in Płock, Radom and Czersk can be defined as typical mid-level early Piast centres of power that were developing from the early 11th century and were replaced in 14th century by castles and incorporated towns.
Tumuli in Montenegro are regarded as Bronze and Early Iron Age structures, but the majority of those sites have not been explored. The archaeological record indicates significant differences in their construction. The tumuli on Planinica — the first investigated stone burial mounds in Montenegro — regarding their construction, have analogies with the Early Bronze Age site of Rječani near Nikšić only, they do not compare with sites with a later chronology. Giving the state of research on the topic however, it should be pointed out that this is only hinted at. The Brillenspirale found in the sarcophagus of Tumulus II, based on finds from the comprehensively published site Velika Gruda near Tivat, indicates a much later date — to the Late Bronze Age. The minimum number of 7 individuals (probably males) buried in Tumulus II — fitting the ancestral pattern — encourages the interpretation of a long-term burial.
Pelagonia — a large valley in the southern part of Macedonia — is one of the most important settlement centers in this part of the Balkans with a concentration of approximately 80 Neolithic tells, so far very poorly recognized. In 2013 the archaeological reconnaissance, the magnetic and topographic prospection have been carried out, with focus on the Central Pelagonia — the Mogila, Trn, Karamani and Dobromiri villages. Survey aimed at mapping, documenting and magnetic prospection of the sites selected by the following criteria: accessibility for surveying, visible land form suitable for Digital Elevation Modeling and state of archaeological research. The magnetic prospection gave a quick insight into the tells` organizational patterns. Together with precise positioning within RTK mode and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) it made a framework for the future presentation and processing of research results. The 2013 survey revealed the first images of the Neolithic tells in Macedonia. The enclosures surrounding the settlement e.g. in Dobromiri, although already known for the Balkans, have not been noted so far at the Neolithic or Chalcolithic sites in Macedonia.
Planinica — a hill situated on the edge of a vast mountain range delimited to the south-east by the Zeta Plain. It is a part of historical region known as Malesija inhabited mainly by the Albanians. During the field research on Planinica in 2012–2013 a group of stone structures was documented. It consists of circular stone tower surrounded by quadrilateral wall, several small enclosures of trapezoid or pentagonal plan and a network of roads leading to the top of the hill. The arrangement of the buildings indicates that the most likely function was military. They can be described as an observatory tower surrounded by small auxiliary forts. The complex of stone structures on Planinica was most probably built by the Turks after 1878 as a part of system of fortifications guarding newly established Turkish-Montenegrin border. The border survived until the Balkan War in 1912. After that Planinica was no longer been a point of military interest and the forts on its top have undergone progressive destruction. The stone structures on Planinica are not mentioned either in archaeological or historical publications in Montenegro, except the watchtower, which is interpreted as a prehistoric burial mound destroyed by the Turks. The buildings on Planinica hill remain “in the shadow” of the prehistoric stone tumuli, which represent a positively valorised, very distant past.
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