Mesolithic Communities of the Chełmno-Dobrzyń Lakeland

At the end of June 2022, we started another excavation season at the Paliwodzizna 29 site. Over the next two months, we will explore further layers of this unique site. In the last 3 weeks, we opened 4 new trenches. We have found lots of artefacts 🙂

On June 28, 2021, excavations began at the Paliwodzizna 29 site, commune Golub-Dobrzyn and will be conducted throughout July. The 2021 season looks very promising! The first days of excavations provided many interesting finds, including a rich collection of Mesolithic flint products, interesting stone products (including an extensive collection of grinders), and a quarry stone most likely with organic residues! And this is just the beginning of research 🙂

All interested are invited to read the article on the new research on the Mesolithic communities of the Chełmno-Dobrzyń Lakeland, which was published in the Mesolithic Miscellany journal.

Osipowicz G., Badura M., Bosiak M., Jankowski M., Noryśkiewicz A., Makowiecki D., Orłowska J., Sykuła M., Weckwerth P. 2020. Continental Unity and Local Diversity. Mesolithic communities of the Chełmno-Dobrzyń Lakeland (Central Poland). Mesolithic Miscellany vol. 28: number 1.

We just started a cooperation with Erlebnis Archäologie – one of the leading Austrian societies enabling to passionates of archaeology to participate in different archaeological excavations around Europe.
We look forward to fruitful cooperation 🙂
More information about the Erlebnis Archäologie can be found at
www.archaeologie-erlebnis.eu

Macroscopic remains of plants from the palynological profile from site 29 in Paliwodzizna during analysis 🙂

On December 7, 2019, in the Museum of the Earth, Polish Academy of Sciences, during the Scientific Session of the Paleobotanical Section of the Polish Botanical Society was presented a short oral presentation entitled “GATHERING OF PLANTS AT THE MESOLITHIC SITE IN PALIWODZIZNA (DOBRZYŃ LAKELAND, N POLAND”; authors Monika Badura, Agnieszka M. Noryśkiewicz, Lucy Kubiak-Martens and Grzegorz Osipowicz). During the speech were presented, among others first SEM results of selected macrofossils discovered at the Paliwodzizna site. The presentation was the result of fruitful cooperation with Lucy Kubiak-Martens from the BIAX Consult Biological Archaeology & Environmental Reconstruction, in the Netherlands.

We are used to strange and exceptional Mesolithic structures at the site Paliwodzizna 29, but this time we are really surprised! After four months of excavation (that should be finished after two…), it appeared that the last of the Mesolithic pits that we have is something different than we thought. On the deepness of 1,70 cm (what is really huge deepness for Mesolithic sandy sites in Poland) the feature breaks through the moraine pavement, which was removed. Then as it seems, only the biggest stones (without the gravel) were put back into the pit with admixture of some strange (probably not local?) loamy soil, that includes a lot of humus (please see the pictures attached, sorry for the quality – they are from the mobile phone, and sorry for the mess on the trench, it is already a kind of rescue excavation in its final stage). The structure is surrounded by the series of very deep postholes. There are also a few hearths with stone constructions around, including really huge ones (for example with a diameter of 2,5 meter) and some almost for sure ritual pits (like the one that included about 2000 of intentionally crushed flints). We have no idea what is under the level of stones because we had to finish the excavation for this year and we will come back to this feature next summer. However, before we do it we would like to be prepared for the different possibilities. So, we would like to ask what the people, particularly experts in Mesolithic think about it? Of course, if anybody has any ideas… For now, we think that it can be a kind of ritual pit/structure, in a type of ritual well? Perhaps a kind of strange grave? We can’t find any explanation for this type of economic activities. The only things that we know for sure (almost) now that this is not a natural structure (the level of stones saw also the geomorphologist) and it is Mesolithic. I would be very grateful for any opinions.

Thank You in advance.

With my best regards

Grzegorz

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From 4 to 7 of September 2019 in Bern (Switzerland), the 25th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists took place. Members of the project prepared for this meeting one oral presentation: ”FISH AND TOOLS OF MESOLITHIC SOCIETIES IN POLAND” (authors Grzegorz Osipowicz, Daniel Makowiecki, Justyna Orłowska and Mirosława Zabilska-Kunek) and one poster: “RESULT OF CARRYING OR PUTTING INTO A SHEATH? NEW DATA CONCERNING TRACES RESULTING FROM TRANSPORTATION, HAFTING AND SECURING OF FLINTS” (authors Grzegorz Osipowicz and Justyna Orłowska).

We would like to thank really very much to our foreign volunteers that participated in our excavations and experimental archaeology program that we have realized this year in Paliwodzizna. You were able to create such a wonderful atmosphere and participate in our works with such great interest that we can easily consider you as the best volunteer group for years! We hope to see all of you participating in the experimental archaeology camp that we are going to organize in spring or summer 2020. Of course, please feel welcome also in our next year excavations :-)! We would also like to thank Harry Robson and Mesolithic Miscellany for support and information about our excavations! It is also thanks to You we had such great volunteers! On behalf of our entire excavation team! Grzegorz

This year’s excavations are slowly coming to an end. Despite many organizational problems, thanks to the great team, and in particular to numerous volunteers from all over Europe, they can certainly be considered successful, although of course, unfortunately, we have not managed to do everything (but we still have time 😊). The attached photos explore the Mesolithic stone structure used at least partly as a hearth. The feature is part of the hearths complex and is huge for our conditions because it is over 2.5m in diameter! Unfortunately, it was partly destroyed by a prehistoric fallen tree ☹ The hearth probably has a ritual origin, because as it seems it is associated with the ritual pit discovered next to it, containing more than 2,000 intentionally crushed flint, numerous bones and elements of the wooden construction. Interestingly, this pit was filled up intentionally very quickly and another hearth was built on it, under which (as a kind of deposit) we have discovered a collection of the selected big Late Palaeolithic flints (this practice was also observed for other objects of this type). The same 14C datings were obtained from the bottom of the pit (depth about 130 cm) and the hearth built on it, which confirms the homogeneity of the structure. Great discovery and we want more! 🙂