Joanna Rennwanz

Kettle-hole depressions are common features of the Pomeranian Lakeland. Nevertheless, palaeoecological research in northern Poland has primarily focused on large lakes, while small kettle-hole palaeolakes remain comparatively understudied. The main aim of this study was to reconstruct the evolution of a small kettle-hole lake and its catchment from the Late Weichselian to the Late Holocene. A multi-proxy analysis of a sediment core from palaeolake was conducted, including palaeobotanical (palynological, plant macrofossil and microbiomorphic), palaeozoological (Cladocera and Chironomidae), geochemical and radiocarbon analyses. The sedimentary record documents environmental changes from the Allerød to the Subatlantic, with a prolonged hiatus following the Atlantic period. The multi-proxy data indicates several distinct stages in the development of the lake: (1) a peatland phase formed on a melting dead-ice block; (2) the development of a carbonate-rich lake with water-level fluctuations in the Younger Dryas; (3) the transition to a eutrophic lake, followed by a break in sediment accumulation at the onset of the Preboreal; (4) progressive lake overgrowth and water-table lowering throughout the Boreal; (5) final terrestrialisation towards the Atlantic; and (6) refilling of the basin and the development of peatland during the Subatlantic. In addition to natural environmental changes, driven predominantly by climatic fluctuations, evidence of human impact on the ecosystem was identified. The specific characteristics of the lake, including its location on a moraine plateau, shallow basin, and impermeable bedrock, made it highly sensitive to water level fluctuations and lake desiccation. Despite their small size and hydrological instability, kettle-hole lakes can provide valuable records of environmental changes within their catchments. Their sediments may therefore offer important insights into both natural and anthropogenic transformations of local landscapes and aquatic ecosystems.

W trakcie badań przeprowadzonych w 2021 roku na terenie osady przygrodowej w Dąbrówce, gm. Dopiewo, odkryto 12 obiektów, z których szczególne znaczenie dla określenia ich metryki, ale również całego kompleksu osadniczego w Dąbrówce, ma rozpoznanie pozostałości studni cembrowanej drewnem dębowym oraz sąsiadującej z nią jamy. Cembrowina składała się z 9-10 wieńców łączonych na zrąb. Dno wyłożone było dranicami. W studni znajdował się m.in. innymi zachowany w całości ceber drewniany. W rezultacie przeprowadzonych badań archeobotanicznych w wypełnisku obu obiektów zarejestrowano pozostałości: lnu, konopi oraz pokrzywy, a ponadto potwierdzono też uprawę prosa. Daty bezwzględne uzyskane dla 10 prób wykazały, że cembrowinę wykonano z dranic pochodzących z drzew ściętych w latach 50. i 60. IX w. Zestaw pozyskanych źródeł ruchomych obejmuje ceramikę, kości zwierzęce, kilkadziesiąt przedmiotów metalowych, w tym ozdobną tarczkę – okucie pasa wywodzące się ze środowiska awaro-słowiańskiego, a ponadto fragment czekana – bradaticy związanej z kręgiem wielkomorawskim oraz brązowy grocik strzały typu scytyjskiego.

The article reports the results of research focused on Barrow 3 in Ivanivtsi-Antonivka, Vinnitsia oblast, Ukraine, which was carried out by a Polish-Ukrainian team in 2019. This small and badly damaged barrow contained just seven features, including only two graves. The results of the multifaceted analyses indicated that despite the small number of sites, the history of the barrow can be divided into three phases – all resulting from the activity of communities associated with the Chornolis culture. Two phases were related to the placement of graves and the enlargement of the mound: Phase 2 (820–770 BC) and Phase 3 (750–685 BC). In contrast, the earliest Phase 1 (960–930 BC) probably covers the demarcation of the ceremonial/ritual space through the placement of a central post, the digging of a ditch, the rising of a mound (?) and the holding of a ceremonial feast. Remarkably, this stage did not end at all with the placement of a grave in the designated space or at least no traces of this have been found. The two excavated graves were intended for women. In both cases, the deceased were accompanied by a similar set of artefacts: a clay cup and a clay spindle whorl probably representing a spindle. It seems that this recurrent set was meant to stress one of the major tasks of women namely the manufacture of textiles. At present, the barrow discussed here does not find any full analogies, as sites concealing modest female burials associated with the Chornolis culture have not been studied in much detail.

The first months of World War II in Gdańsk Pomerania saw the mass murder of local intellectual elites, of people with mental disorders or disabilities and of representatives of the small Jewish community. The Germans usually hid the victims’ bodies in mass graves. About 30 places of execution from this “bloody autumn of 1939” were destroyed in the second half of 1944, as part of Aktion 1005, an operation to conceal evidence of the crimes. In this paper, we present the historical context for the characteristics of the necrosol from one mass grave in the Szpęgawsk Forest, which was destroyed/desecrated by the Germans at the end of 1944. The research proves that even the destruction of mass graves by exhuming the bodies and burning them leaves material traces that allow for the reconstruction of the organisation of the crime and the methods of covering it up.

In 2021, research was carried out which, despite its small scope, yielded a number of interesting discoveries related to Dąbrówka stronghold settlement. The most significant was the discovery of a well with preserved oak casing, built no earlier than in 870 and no later than in the mid-870s. This sequence of dates, however, covers a long period from 855 (-0/+8) to 878 (-7/+8) and indicates the use of raw material for developments of much greater scope. The only project that involved the use of such masses of wood at the time was the construction of a stronghold. From within the casing comes a wooden bucket with hoops, the ends of which are decorated with representations of animal heads. The research has also revealed a piece of an axe, related to a bradatica-type double-edged weapon, and an appliqué in the form of a rosette with numerous parallels among products of the Avar culture and assemblages of mixed Avaro-Slavic nature.

This article presents the results of analyses of the chemical composition of organic matter and the occurrence of characteristic geochemical and biochemical markers in 17 samples collected from the Second World War mass graves excavated in the Szpęgawski Forest and Death Valley, Poland. The results show that attempts to cover up mass crimes by burning the bodies of the victims have left their own traces—that each attempt to cover up the crime is associated with the creation of further evidence of the crimes committed.

Shell middens are common finds recorded at Polish archaeological sites dating from the Neolithic to Iron Age; however, very little is known about the acquisition and exploitation of mussels by prehistoric communities. An archaeological feature discovered recently at Kiekrz (western Poland) has provided us with a rare opportunity to conduct complex research on a representative and large sample. Our study aimed to recognise the function of the pit, the character of the shell deposit, its chronology, the season of shell collection and environmental conditions that prevailed in the settlement's time. The investigations included multi-faceted analyses of archaeological finds (pottery, animal bones, and mollusc shells) and charcoal remains, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O shell composition, and C14 dating. The results of the research indicate that the molluscs of Unio were deliberately collected for food c. 1500 cal. BC. They were probably harvested during late summer from the nearby lake. Then the molluscs were steamed in a kind of earth oven. Pine and oak wood from the immediate vicinity was used as firewood during the molluscs processing. After the meal, shells were probably stored in the pit for further use.