Stratygrafia kulturowa

Abstract

The results of the first excavations at Pasym were presented in summary form. No site documentation survives, and the exact location of the excavated trenches cannot be determined. Plans, records and site logbooks from the 1960s excavations are held at the Museum of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. Analysis of these materials has enabled us to trace the course of this work and to ascertain the stratigraphy of the area examined. Most of the data we have comes from excavations carried out in 2016–18 and 2021. To date a total area of 2290 m2 has been excavated (Figs. 4.1, 4.2). In 1961 the archaeological heritage protection authorities in Olsztyn launched an excavation at the site on Okrągła Góra. Initially, a 5×15 m trench was marked out on the east slope of the stronghold. The remains of three ditches were recorded. This trench was subsequently extended a further 20 m east. There a group of pits and postholes was uncovered. The excavated area was also extended westwards. Excavation was resumed in 1962, and work on the east slope was completed. Another ditch was discovered (the one nearest the top of the stronghold), as were the remains of a palisade. Excavations also took place on the plateau, where a number of refuse pits and numerous postholes were found. In 1963 work continued at the east end of the stronghold’s central space. As had been the case on its west side, most of the features found there were small refuse pits and postholes. The discovery of an inhumation burial on the south side was of particular interest. Radiocarbon analysis dated this burial to 5921–5732 BC. In 1964 efforts were focused on examining the north and south slopes. A ditch discovered on the north slope was part of the main ditch encircling the stronghold. The remains of ditches unearthed on the south slope were analogous to those found on the east side of Okrągła Góra. A dozen or so pits recorded at the south end of the trench were attributable to the settlement. In 2016 work was carried out at the edge of the central space (trench 1/16), on the east slope (trench 2/16), and on the plateau to the north-east of the stronghold (trench 3/16). Several features came to light in trench 1/16: two dwellings that had been partially excavated in the 1960s (features 3 and 5), and refuse pits and postholes. Elements of the stronghold’s defences were discovered in trench 2/16 (a rampart and four ditches). At the east end of this trench storage pits and a series of postholes were found spread out across an area of 200 m2. No manmade features were discovered in the final trench (3/16). In 2017 a further three trenches were opened: trench 1/17 at the edge of the stronghold; trench 2/17 on the east slope; and trench 3/17 at the foot of the stronghold, on its south-east side. On the periphery of the stronghold’s central space, some small refuse pits, two dwellings (features 7 and 9) and the remains of a palisade were uncovered. The continuation of ditch 1 and a platform with a cobbled surface were discovered in trench 2/17 at the edge of the plateau. Thick deposits associated with early Iron Age and early medieval settlement were uncovered in trench 3/17. Excavations in 2018 concentrated on examining further stretches of the western edge of the plateau (trenches 1 and 2/18), and the foot of the stronghold overlooking the lake (trench 3/18). Trenches 1 and 2/18 revealed the remains of another two dwellings (features 4 and 13), in addition to some small refuse pits, posthole patterns and the remnants of a palisade. A thin runoff deposit was identified in trench 3/18. The 2021 excavations on the east slope aimed to uncover the fill of ditches 1 and 2 in order to carry out geomorphological and geochemical analyses. Further sections of ditches 1 and 2 were recorded in the excavated area.