A third medieval bridge on Lake Lednica, Greater Poland

Abstract

Lake Lednica, Greater Poland, is one of Poland’s most important and longest-studied underwater archaeological sites. The residential centre established on an island was one of the central points in the state of the first Piasts. Previous research located two bridges to the island and discovered the largest collection of early medieval military objects in Central Europe in the lake. In the 2017 season, a third bridge was discovered on Lake Lednica leading to the small island called Ledniczka on which the layers of an early medieval settlement and clear remnants of a motte-type medieval structure are found. Three seasons of research on relics of the crossing suggest that it may have functioned in two periods: in the tenth century and at the turn of the fourteenth century. During the research, a number of military items, pottery, objects made of organic materials and fishing tools were found.

Keywords

• bridge
• Middle Ages
• Lake Lednica
• underwater archaeology