North-eastern Poland from the Roman Period to the Early Middle Ages 3101-DKPOL

North-eastern Poland is a very interesting archaeological area. During the Roman Period it was frontier zone between two culturally and ethnically distinct units: Wielbark culture Bogaczewo culture. Furthermore the area was penetrated by human groups connected to Przeworsk culture. In the late phase of the Migration Period in Masurian Lake District, one of the most striking cultural units of the late antiquity of Central and Eastern Europe - the Olsztyn group arised. Due to its syncretic material that culture was once called as Masurgermanische Kultur. After the collapse of the Olsztyn group, the settlement and social structures that led to the creation of the Prussians we know from the written sources (Aesti, Bruzzi) began to crystallize.

The main objective of the classes is the presentation of the cultural and settlement changes in the north-eastern Poland in the first millennium AD. Problems of settlement archaeology, funeral rites will be the most important issues to discuss. Archaeological remains connected to the following archaeological cultures will be presented: Przeworsk culture, Wielbark culture, Bogaczewska culture, Olsztyn group and the early medieval horizon.
History of the archaeological research in the area of the north-eastern Poland and detailed analysis of the most significant archaeological sites will be another topic of the course. That include: Olsztyn Kortowo, Nerwik, Knopin, Dorotowo, Wyszembork, Muntowo, Pasym, Tumiany, Kielce, Cerkiewnik, Czarny Las and Jeziorko.
At the turn on May and June a bicycle tour around the Masurian lake District will be organized (it is not obligatory). We will visit some of the outstanding archaeological sites: Wyszembork, Tumiany, Pasym, Cerkiewnik, Jeziorko, Porębek. During the tour we will visit the Archaeological Department of the Museum of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, where we will have the opportunity to see some archaeological objects.