Introduction

pp.：  11 – 14

List of Figures

pp.：  15 – 30

Chapter One Archaeology of Early Medieval Poland: beginnings of interest, birth and development

pp.：  31 – 58

1. The earliest beginnings

pp.：  31 – 31

2. The 19th century: in search of the roots of the Slavic identity

pp.：  32 – 35

3. Birth and slow growth: the first two decades of the 20th century

pp.：  36 – 38

4. The 1930s: Early Medieval archaeology on the offensive, continuation of debate on the Slavs and systematic excavations of Early Medieval sites

pp.：  39 – 40

5. Two post war decades: the coming Millennium and research on the origins of the Polish state

pp.：  41 – 43

6. The 1970s and 1980s: fruitful aftermath of the Millennium research

pp.：  44 – 47

7. The last decade of the 20th century: old questions and new possibilities

pp.：  48 – 51

8. Archaeology of Early Medieval Poland: an archaeology of regions or archaeology without borders?

pp.：  52 – 58

Chapter Two Sources and methods

pp.：  59 – 84

1. Early Medieval archaeological sites and their stratification: problems in exploration

pp.：  59 – 67

1.1. Stratification of early urban sites

pp.：  60 – 61

1.2. Stratification of rural settlements

pp.：  62 – 64

1.3. Stratification of sacral sites and pagan cult centers

pp.：  65 – 65

1.4. Stratification of multi-layer cemeteries

pp.：  66 – 67

2. Layers and their portable content: mass finds

pp.：  68 – 74

2.1. Pottery as a source of information about past societies

pp.：  69 – 71

2.2. Archaeozoological data

pp.：  72 – 74

3. Small finds

pp.：  75 – 76

4. Soil and its natural components

pp.：  77 – 77

5. Written sources

pp.：  78 – 80

6. Iconography

pp.：  81 – 84

Chapter Three How did the Slavs get to Polish lands?

pp.：  85 – 104

1. 'Autochthonists', 'Allochthonists' and others: the long history of the debate on the origins of the Slavs

pp.：  85 – 90

2. The Polish lands between Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: a gap or continuity?

pp.：  91 – 92

3. One or many models of the Slavs' material culture?

pp.：  93 – 98

4. The phenomenon of the Slavs: how to explain it?

pp.：  99 – 104

Chapter Four Mysteries of the pre-state period

pp.：  105 – 136

1. 'Tribal' geography and archaeology

pp.：  105 – 113

2. The first Early Medieval strongholds: when did they appear?

pp.：  114 – 128

3. One or many burial rites?

pp.：  129 – 133

4. Many questions and few answers

pp.：  134 – 136

Chapter Five Holy mountains

pp.：  137 – 162

1. Large cult centers of the pre-state period: Lysa Góra

pp.：  137 – 139

2. The mysteries of Mount Sleza

pp.：  140 – 146

3. Other mountains—supposed places of pagan cult

pp.：  147 – 155

4. The mysterious Zmigrody

pp.：  156 – 162

Chapter Six Pagan cemetery or holy grove?

pp.：  163 – 172

1. Open air shrines

pp.：  163 – 163

2. An old cemetery and new problems

pp.：  164 – 168

3. Forgotten or living tradition?

pp.：  169 – 172

Chapter Seven Monumental mounds in Little Poland

pp.：  173 – 196

1. Monumental mounds, admired throughout the ages

pp.：  173 – 173

2. Przemyslaw's (Tatars') Mound in Przemysl

pp.：  174 – 176

3. Supposed monumental mounds in the Przemysl region

pp.：  177 – 177

4. Salve Regina Hill in Sandomierz

pp.：  178 – 179

5. The Mounds of Krak and Wanda in Cracow

pp.：  180 – 183

6. Other monumental mounds in Little Poland

pp.：  184 – 186

7. The European context

pp.：  187 – 188

8. The Great Mounds of Little Poland: when and why were they raised?

pp.：  189 – 196

Chapter Eight The earliest Medieval script in Poland?

pp.：  197 – 204

1. A fascinating discovery

pp.：  197 – 198

2. What was found on the tablets from Podeblocie?

pp.：  199 – 199

3. The tablets in the light of the most recent analyses

pp.：  200 – 204

Chapter Nine How Poland came into being

pp.：  205 – 252

1. Between archaeology, dynastic tradition and legend

pp.：  205 – 207

2. Where Poland began: Great Poland just before the rise of the state

pp.：  208 – 212

3. Where did the Piasts come from?

pp.：  213 – 219

4. From Great Poland to Little Poland: the first step of expansion of the Piasts

pp.：  220 – 225

5. Towards the north: the Piasts on the Bay of Gdansk

pp.：  226 – 228

6. 'Forgotten' Mazovia or a strategic territorial reserve?

pp.：  229 – 235

7. From the Baltic Sea to the Sudeten Mountains: Silesia and Western Pomerania

pp.：  236 – 236

8. Bohemian or Piast Silesia?

pp.：  237 – 240

9. Western Pomerania: 'urban republics' and old 'tribal' territories

pp.：  241 – 243

10. Cracow Land: the last stage of the state formation process

pp.：  244 – 245

11. Summing up

pp.：  246 – 252

Chapter Ten Towns still under investigation

pp.：  253 – 336

1. The capitals of the Gniezno state: contested priority

pp.：  256 – 257

2. From the legendary Lech to Mieszko I

pp.：  258 – 262

3. A strong contender for primacy

pp.：  263 – 270

4. Kalisz: The Stronghold on the Amber Route

pp.：  271 – 275

5. Wolin: The town with twelve gates

pp.：  276 – 279

6. Early state or pre-state Gdansk?

pp.：  280 – 285

7. The origins of Plock still unknown

pp.：  286 – 291

8. Sandomierz: First large investment of the Piasts in Little Poland?

pp.：  292 – 295

9. Zawichost: intriguing rival of Sandomierz

pp.：  296 – 301

10. Mysteries of the Cathedral Hill in Chelm

pp.：  302 – 308

11. Przemysl: The center at the periphery

pp.：  309 – 312

12. Wislica: in the shadow of a pagan prince

pp.：  313 – 323

13. Cracow, Wawel and archaeology

pp.：  324 – 329

14. Who built the earliest Wroclaw?

pp.：  330 – 336

Chapter Eleven Other central places

pp.：  337 – 362

1. Cherven and Volyn: central places in the eastern borderlands

pp.：  337 – 338

2. Ostrów Lednicki: residence of first Piast rulers or first Polish episcopium?

pp.：  339 – 346

3. Giecz: Unfinished large-scale investment

pp.：  347 – 351

4. Chelmno as a sedes regni principalis?

pp.：  352 – 353

5. Pultusk: The stronghold below the castle

pp.：  354 – 357

6. The stronghold and masonry tower in Stolpie

pp.：  358 – 362

Chapter Twelve Rural landscapes

pp.：  363 – 380

1. Off the beaten track

pp.：  363 – 364

2. How do we envisage Medieval rural settlements?

pp.：  365 – 372

3. Unexploited research potential: service settlements

pp.：  373 – 375

4. Mysterious villages

pp.：  376 – 380

Chapter Thirteen The earliest monastic complexes

pp.：  381 – 412

1. The earliest monasteries and archaeology

pp.：  381 – 381

2. At the threshold of Christianization: the first Benedictine abbeys

pp.：  382 – 384

3. In the shadow of Wawel Hill: the Benedictine Abbey at Tyniec near Cracow

pp.：  385 – 388

4. A church and a monastery in a stronghold

pp.：  389 – 392

5. A double foundation and the controversy over a princely burial

pp.：  393 – 398

6. Archaeology and the earliest Cistercian foundations

pp.：  399 – 400

7. The 'little monastery' at Lekno

pp.：  401 – 403

8. Wachock: a monastery on the ruins of a palatium?

pp.：  404 – 407

9. Monasteries still under investigation

pp.：  408 – 412

Chapter Fourteen The puzzle of the century: pottery marks

pp.：  413 – 424

1. The long history of research and ambiguous results

pp.：  413 – 416

2. Signs on the bases of vessels from Kalisz and Ostrów Lednicki: an abundance of qualitatively new archaeological sources

pp.：  417 – 417

3. Unusual signs

pp.：  418 – 421

4. Where did the custom come from and why were the vessels marked?

pp.：  422 – 424

Chapter Fifteen Locals and migrants

pp.：  425 – 460

1. From cremation to inhumation: burial grounds of the early state period

pp.：  426 – 429

2. Pomeranians and Veleti in Great Poland?

pp.：  430 – 433

3. The Graves of Vikings?

pp.：  434 – 437

4. A large warriors' necropolis

pp.：  438 – 440

5. Not only warriors

pp.：  441 – 443

6. Who was buried in the Mazovian graves with stone constructions?

pp.：  444 – 450

7. Strangers in the south

pp.：  451 – 454

8. Who were they and what did they have in common?

pp.：  455 – 460

Appendix One Some Notes on the Translation of Andrzej Buko's 'Archaeology of Early Medieval Poland' (Paul Barford)

pp.：  461 – 468

Appendix Two A brief guide to the pronunciation of Polish words (compiled by Paul Barford)

pp.：  469 – 470

Bibliography

pp.：  471 – 494

Index

pp.：  495 – 540