Studia Lednickie, tom XIII (2014)

The article deals with the issue of early medieval hoards found in the area of Greater Poland. The content of the finds presents various set of coins and ornaments which show long-distance contacts. The finds are located within the area of Greater Poland, which reveals a distinct concentration of the most important centres in the hinterland of the developing Piast state. These elements may indicate that the elites of the Piast state, just being formed, took part in interregional trade. The role of money and bullion in the then economy as well as reasons for depositing hoards in the ground have also been considered in the paper.

The article relates to the jewellery made and worn in the area of the western Slavonic territory in the early Middle Ages. The issue of production in the court jeweller’s workshops has been taken up and first of all the stock of the forms of ornament has been characterised, part of which is of a common range, while another is regional. The jewellery worn in the area of Central and Eastern Europe performed various functions—aesthetic, social and symbolic.

At least 110 sites with finds of early medieval coins have been recorded so far in Silesia. These include 62 hoards, 29 graves, 22 settlements and 14 stray and undefined finds. Finds from Greater Poland were much more numerous, as in 2010 their number amounted to as many as 237, including about 160 hoards. The oldest Silesian and Greater Polish finds occur as early as in the first half of the 10th c.

In the Early Middle Ages, around 970–1070, ornaments (almost ex-clusively silver) were hidden in hoards around the Baltic Sea basin. The hoards containing these ornaments appeared, already much less numerous, after a hundred-year-long interval. There is a lack of a typological bond between the oldest artefacts and those of the second half of the 12th c. The late medieval ornaments do not make up separate deposits. The overwhelming majority of decorative artifacts were made of silver, often gilded from the 13th c. (However, hoards containing gold items are known from the Rhineland and from the heart of the continent). The largest silver hoards are known from the towns of the Wendic Hansa. The silverware from the 14th and 15th c. known from the Lower Odra Region and Lower Elbeland were sometimes ornamented with semi-precious stones, a glass mass, enamel, and sporadically, pearls. Amber does not occur in the discussed territory; on the other hand, it is known from other parts of Europe. Contrary to coins, the jewellery and all kinds of ornaments were disseminated uninhibitedly. The typological universalism of these ornaments pertained to the whole of Europe.

The article discusses documents of the department of coins and medals in the German museum in Poznań. The department existed in the years 1894–1918. From 1903 it was known as the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Posen. The heads of the museum: Dr Franz Schwartz (1864–1901), and from 1903 Prof. Dr Ludwig Kaemmerer (1862–1938), were particularly interested in the acquisition of numismatic specimens, including finds. They created an effective procedure, which included searching for information on finds in the press, with the help of the offices and agencies of the Prussian state and from among the population of the province. The cooperation of the museum’s heads with activists of the German Numismatic Society, with special reference to Heinrich Grüder, Hans Balszus and Dr Hugo Moritz, included the verification of press reports, travels to find the places of deposits, the identification of the contents of deposits and the publication of hoards’ characteristics. Documents allow for claiming that the managers of the museum were interested in creating an assemblage of coins and medals related to the Province of Poznań, that is, first of all Polish coins and coins related to Poland. Thanks to the pieces of information preserved in these documents, it is possible to restore knowledge on presently scattered deposits to scholarship and to specify the knowledge on known finds.

The article presents a synthetic history of the discovery of a silver hoard from the 10th /11th c. The trove was found within the early medieval settlement complex in Łekno — administratively in Tarnowo Pałuckie (Wągrowiec Commune). The first part of the treasure was discovered by accident in 1861; 153 coins were obtained at that time. The “rediscovery” on the basis of thorough historic research occurred between 2007 and 2014 and was connected with excavations of the Archaeological Expedition “Łekno” of the Institute of History of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Most probably this hoard should also be related to the finds explored by the so-called “treasure hunters” in 2005. The most inter - esting of the latter hoard is the hitherto unknown hybrid of a denar of Bolesław the Brave. Assuming that all the discovered elements originate in one hoard, the discussed trove would consist of more than 841 items (coins, ornaments, silver clumps). Thus it would belong among the biggest finds from the Pałuki region. The significance of the Łekno settlement complex in the administrative structure of the first Piasts’ state is underlined by this find.

The present paper discusses the results of excavations carried out within the framework of the so-called “Millennium research” (1961–1962) at Ostrów Lednicki. They were connected with determining the stratigraphy and chronology of exploitation of the abutment of the western (Poznań) bridge. They allowed to define the time of the construction of the bridge as the beginning of the second half of the 10th c. Its repairs were in turn established to have been carried out every 12–14 years (between 981 and 1033). Apart from the potsherds, a sword, a spur, knives, nails, an iron fitting, bone runner and handle, a spindle whorl as well as whetstones were also discovered in the course of excavations of the abutment.

The paper makes use of the possibilities of aerial photography as well as field surveys of the sites in Mietlica and Borkowo. The surveys have resulted in broadening our knowledge on the discussed strongholds. The data concern mostly the course of destructed parts of the ramparts or the existence of the sur -rounding suburbia. They valuably complement the knowledge on the strongholds in Mietlica and Borkowo. In future these pieces of information could also prove valuable during the accomplishment of possible excavations on the discussed sites of the Cuiavia region.

In the area of the former Roman Empire the remains of glass melting furnaces are sometimes found but they are indeed fragmentary. Knowledge on their possible appearance, however, can be gained from excavations and iconographic finds. An attempt at the (re)construction of a furnace on the basis of available knowledge has been described in the article. The results of the performed (re)construction allow for further potential experiments. This should lead to a better understanding of the technology mastered by ancient artisans.

The thread brought up in this article concerns the way how the local people see the settlers displaced from the Eastern Borderland after World War II.The focus of the authoress is on the process of adaptation to a new social, cultural, economic environment—how “the locals” saw new settlers. Her deliberations are based on the field research carried out in a few Greater Polish villages (Broniszewice, Józefów, Nowa Kaźmierka, Walkowice, Biała, Radolin, Drachowo, Potrzymowo) between 2009–2012. The analysis of the community from a given village is aimed at depicting the way these communities see one another. The influence on the following coexistence and changes has been taken into consideration as well. Has the neighbourhood of more than half a century evened out, if ever, perceiving the origins of the interviewed people and others?

The article takes up the issue of the occurrence of invertebrates in the area of the Wielkopolska Ethnographic Park. The research conducted in 2012 revealed 111 species of spiders (Araneae), seven species of harvestmen (Opiliones) and 68 spieces of ground beetles (Carabidae), which points out the abundance of invertebrate fauna. The significant diversity of species and presence of species important as far as fauna is concerned confirms the high attractiveness of this area. They indicate also that the natural environment of the Lednica Landscape Park is well preserved.