Badania wielkich grodów zachodniomałopolskich przeprowadzone przez małopolskich archeologów Instytutu Historii Kultury Materialnej PAN: próba podsumowania oraz obecne perspektywy

Abstract

In this paper, the authors present and discuss three early medieval hillforts: Stradów, Demblin and Szczaworyż, excavated by the former Zakład Archeologii Małopolski IHKM in the 1950’s and 1960’s in Lesser Poland. This research was conducted in order to identify and interpret their role in the formation of the Polish state, but was not a part of the Polish Millennium Project. Demblin and Stradów, as well as Szczaworyż, are often considered so-called “Great Hillforts” or “Vistulan Hillforts”, after the tribe of the same name. Stradów is the most representative and according to new data, it is one of Poland’s greatest fortified sites, covering approximately 50 ha. This paper briefly presents the history of the archaeological research, the main publications of the past and present, and future research directions on this topic. The authors conclude that the Great Hillforts from the western part of the Małopolska Upland are very important for understanding the complicated historical situation of Early Medieval Lesser Poland. Finally, a new archaeological research program is also discussed.

Keywords

• Early Middle Ages
• Great Hillforts
• Lesser Poland
• state of research