The Royal Earthworks at Trzcinica

This is a walk through of the royal earthworks and reconstruction at Trzcinica in southern Poland.
For centuries this legendary place has been known as the Royal Earthworks. Situated on a steep promontory over the flat bottom of the Ropa Valley (latitude 49°44'00" longitude 21°25'53") and with a gradient of 20-40° on its precipitous slopes, the elevation and hillfort at its crest rise over 30 m above the lowland surrounding it on three sides. This is one of the principal archaeological sites in Poland and has been entered in the national register of historic monuments.
In the early 18h century 3 effigies of pagan gods were discovered here. By the 19th century the place had claimed the attention of scholars of antiquities, and in the 20th century numerous archaeological excavations were conducted here. The first fully professional research project was carried out in 1957, by the Carpathian Archaeological Expedition led by Andrzej Zaki. Further excavations were conducted in 1958 and 1962 by the archaeologist A. Kunysz, who confirmed the presence of an Early Mediaeval hillfort and discovered artefacts dated to other, prehistoric periods. Later M. Parczewski identified some of the ceramic finds as belonging to the Mierzanowice Culture. But it was not until the turn of the century that a series of sensational discoveries was made which brought Trzcinica its fame, in research accomplished in 1991 - 1998 and 2005 - 2009 under the leadership of Jan Gancarski, who confirmed the presence of artefacts belonging to the Otomani-Füzesabony Culture. Gancarski's interdisciplinary projects covered an area of over 20 acres.
This is a site of paramount importance historically and culturally. Its natural barriers to easy access protected it against destruction. The defensive settlements which Gancarski and his team discovered here are the oldest found hitherto in Poland, with the earliest signs of influence of the Anatolian-Balkan Civilisation. The site is also the location of one of the oldest and best preserved Slavonic hillforts (770- 1031 AD), stretching over an area of nearly 3.5 hectares. There are surviving defensive earthworks around it which still rise to an impressive height of up to 10 m.
In the course of the latest excavations at Trzcinica we discovered over 160 thousand archaeological ártefacts and examined the defences. We found numerous artefacts made of bone and horn, stone and flint, along with unique items in bronze and iron. We came across evidence that the settlement enjoyed contacts with very distant places. We discovered items connected with religious worship, prehistoric artworks, tools, weapons, and ornaments. We obtained invaluable information on the chronology of these settlements, their economies and natural environment. We found a rare Early Mediaeval treasure of silver, consisting of coins, a variety of ornaments, pieces of silver and a rare trimming from the scabbard of a sword. We have been able to show how diverse cultural influences met and mingled at this defensive site throughout the entire period of its operations. Our discoveries have brought a lot of new data for the Early Bronze Age in this part of Europe, and for Early Mediaeval Slavonic hillforts. The special historic and cultural significance of this place, along with its relations with Mediterranean cultures, make it worthy of the name of the Carpathian Troy.