ŚREDNIOWIECZNE DOMY NA GARNKACH W ŚWIETLE BADAŃ ARCHEOLOGICZNYCH W NIDZICY

The expectations associated with the archaeological supervision initiated in September 1999 in the eastern row of houses in the Old Town of Nidzica concerned relics connected with old settlements and town development. Already the exploration of the first metres unearthed strata dating from the Hallstatt D/La Tene A period, associated with the settlement of the western Balt barrow culture and the Przeworsk culture. The significance of this discovery made it possible to change the very nature of the excavation from supervision to archaeological research. The five basic stratigraphic layers distinguished in the course of the investigations include: I level – contemporary and nineteenth-century surfaces, II level – late mediaeval and modern layers, III level – late mediaeval traces of half-timber buildings in the southern row of houses in the market square, IV level – mediaeval strata containing relics of pottery, V level – ancient. The most interesting element registered in the course of the excavations was the longitudinal insulation of the mediaeval buildings made of pots fashioned on a potter’s wheel. A stone pavement on a sand bed, certainly comprising the cellar floor, was found at a depth not exceeding 2 metres. A layer of vessels was discovered after the removal of the pavement. Compactly arranged and turned upside down, the empty pots, covered with clay, provided excellent insulation against dampness and, at the same time, created a stable sleeper for the whole building, as evidenced by the remnants of partition walls built directly on the “pot” insulation. The excavations registered more than 200 whole “insulation” vessels and almost the same number of their fragments. The dendrochronological examination of the wooden construction on the pavement above the insulation was performed by M. Krąpiec, who established the time span of the construction as 1372-1407. In view of the fact that the town’s locatio took place in 1381, we may narrow down the origin of the construction to the post-1381 and pre-1408 period. The described insulation remains unique on a Polish and European scale. The exposition of the findings posed a different problem. Thanks to an agreement between the Voivodeship Conservator of Historical Monuments for Varmia and Mazuria and the museum at Nidzica Castle as well as the assistance of the staff of the Voivodeship Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments in Olsztyn it was possible to recreate a small fragment of this example of mediaeval technology.