The
archaeological open air museumAn archaeological open air museum is a non-profit permanent institution with outdoor true to scale architectural reconstructions primarily based on archaeological sources...
Biskupin is an
archaeologicalArchaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
site and a life-size model of an
Iron AgeThe Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
fortified settlement in north-central (Wielkopolska)
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship-Transportation:Transportation infrastructure is of critical importance to the voivodeship's economy. Kuyavia-Pomerania is a major node point in the Polish transportation system. Railway lines from the South and East pass through Bydgoszcz in order to reach the major ports on the Baltic Sea...
). When first discovered it was thought to be early evidence of Slavic settlement but archaeologists later confirmed it belonged to the Biskupin group of the
Lusatian cultureThe Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age in most of today's Poland, parts of Czech Republic and Slovakia, parts of eastern Germany and parts of Ukraine...
. The excavation and the reconstruction of the prehistoric settlement has played an instrumental part in Polish historical consciousness.
The Museum is situated on a marshy peninsula in Lake Biskupin, ca. 90 km northeast of
PoznańPoznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, 8 km south of the small town of
ŻninŻnin is a small town in Poland with a population of 14,558 . It is in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the capital of Żnin County. The town is situated in the historic land of Pałuki and the Gniezno Lake Area on the river Gąsawka.-Etymology:The name originates from the Polish word...
. It is a division of the
National Museum of ArchaeologyPaństwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne w Warszawie is a museum in Warsaw, Poland. It was established in 1923....
in
WarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
History of the excavations
In 1933 Polish archaeologists discovered remains of a Bronze Age fort/settlement in Wielkopolska (Greater Poland), the discovery became famous overnight. The site was excavated from 1934 onwards by the team from
Poznań UniversityAdam Mickiewicz University is one of the major Polish universities, located in the city of Poznań in western Poland. It opened on May 7, 1919, and since 1955 has carried the name of the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz.-History:...
, led by archaeologists
Józef KostrzewskiJózef Kostrzewski was a Polish archaeologist.Kostrzewski was born in Węglewo . He studied first in Kraków, then from 1910 onwards with Gustaf Kossinna at Berlin and graduated in 1914...
(1885–1969) and Zdzisław Rajewski (1907–1974). The first report was published in 1936. By the beginning of 1939, ca. 2500 m² (2,989.98 sq yd) had been excavated. Biskupin soon became famous, attracting numerous distinguished guests, including officials of the Piłsudski government, members of the military, and high churchmen such as the primate of Poland. The site soon became part of Polish national consciousness, the symbol of achievements of the Slavonic forebears in prehistoric times. It was called the "Polish
PompeiiThe city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
" or "Polish
HerculaneumHerculaneum was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in AD 79, located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano, in the Italian region of Campania in the shadow of Mt...
". The existence of a prehistoric fortress, 70 km from the German border, was used to show that the prehistoric "Poles" had held their own against foreign invaders and plunderers as early as the Iron Age. Biskupin came to feature in paintings and popular novels.
When the Germans occupied parts of Poland in the autumn of 1939, Biskupin became part of the Warthegau, an area that German Nationalists claimed to have been "Germanic" since at least the Iron Age (
Gustaf KossinnaGustaf Kossinna was a linguist and professor of German archaeology at the University of Berlin...
,
Das Weichselland, ein uralter Heimatboden der Germanen, Leipzig, Kabitzsch 1919). Biskupin was renamed "Urstädt". In 1940, excavations were resumed under the patronage of
Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
by the SS-
AhnenerbeThe Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History." Founded on July 1, 1935, by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré, the Ahnenerbe's goal was to research the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan...
under the supervision of
HauptsturmführerHauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
Hans Schleiff, a classical archaeologist who was to excavate in
OlympiaOlympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
as well. Schleiff published only two short popular accounts that describe how Germanic tribes overran the 'small Lusatian settlement'. The excavations were continued till 1942. When the Germans retreated, the site was flooded, which ironically led to the good preservation of the ancient timbers. Excavations were resumed by Polish archaeologists after the war and continued until 1974.
The site
There are two settlement periods at Biskupin, which was located in the middle of a lake but is now situated on a peninsula, that follow each other without hiatus. Both settlements were laid out on a rectangular grid with eleven streets that are three meters wide. The older settlement from early Iron Age was established on a slightly wet island of over 2 hectares and consisted of ca. 100 oak and pine log-houses that are of similar layout and measure ca. 8 x 10 m each.They consisted of two chambers and an open entrance-area.These houses were designed to accommodate 10 to 12 persons. An open hearth was located in the centre of the biggest room. There are no larger houses that could indicate social stratification. Because of the damp, boggy ground the streets were covered with wooden planks.
The settlement was surrounded by a tall wooden wall, or palisade, set on a rampart made up of both wood and earth. The rampart was constructed of oak trunks that form boxes filled with earth. The rampart is more than 450 m long and accompanied by a wooden breakwater in the lake. 6000–8000 m³ of wood have been used in the construction of the rampart.
Dating
The settlement at Biskupin belongs to the
HallstattThe Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
C and D periods (early Iron Age, 800-650 BC and 650-475 BC). There are four Radiocarbon dates from Biskupin (all B.C.):
- first settlement: 720±150 (Gif 494)
- later settlement: 560±150 (Gif 495)
- rampart: 620 ±150 (Gif 492)
- A2 4C, VII: 620±150 (Gif 493)
The model
In 1936, the first life-size model (
open air museumAn open-air museum is a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections out-of-doors. The first open-air museums were established in Scandinavia towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the concept soon spread throughout Europe and North America. Open-air museums are variously known as...
) was built on the peninsula, inspired by the
UnteruhldingenPfahlbaumuseum Unteruhldingen is an archaeological open air museum on Lake Constance in Unteruhldingen, Germany, consisting of reconstructions of stilt houses or lake dwellings from the Neolithic Stone Age and Bronze Age.-Museum:The museum consists of a number of exhibits displaying...
-pile dwellings in Germany. After the war, the ramparts and one street with houses on both sides were added.
In the 2000s, a film prop "medieval" timber castle has been constructed on a part of the original site.
See also
- Archeology
- Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
- Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship
- Lusatian culture
The Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age in most of today's Poland, parts of Czech Republic and Slovakia, parts of eastern Germany and parts of Ukraine...
- Pałuki
- Wenecja
Wenecja is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Żnin, within Żnin County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland...
- Żnin
Żnin is a small town in Poland with a population of 14,558 . It is in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the capital of Żnin County. The town is situated in the historic land of Pałuki and the Gniezno Lake Area on the river Gąsawka.-Etymology:The name originates from the Polish word...
External links