It is nicknamed the 'Warmia Pomeya' because it is a time capsule that has remained intact since the Middle Ages. The city of Wartberg, located in Olsztyn County (Poland), was not destroyed by a volcano. It was the human hand (those of the Lithuanian army, to be exact) that razed it completely in 1354.
Since the invasion led by princes Kęstutis and Algirdas (or Olgierd), the site has never been rebuilt or repopulated, so the ruins have remained intact for centuries. Until archaeologists from the University of Gdańsk started working on the site a decade ago.
In their latest campaign of excavations, Polish researchers have uncovered a cache of around 150 bracteates (coins struck on one side from a thin silver plate) from the 14th century, as well as a medieval sword pommel and other military items.
"The hoard is valuable because it probably contains all kinds of small coins that were in circulation in Warmia in the first half of the 14th century," said Dr. Arkadiusz Koperkiewicz, who is in charge of the investigations, in a statement.
The experts point out that once the conservation works of the findings have been carried out, they will be able to study if there are any interesting or unknown coins. They also hope that the analysis will reveal whether, in addition to the Teutonic coins from the Toruń and Elbląg mints, there are others that may indicate the existence of an episcopal mint.
This year's finds also include valuable military items. In one of the basements, the investigators discovered a sword pommel, the end of the hilt and which acts as a counterweight to the blade. They also found a cutlass, a type of long knife used as a weapon, as well as crossbow parts, javelin heads, and, as always, numerous crossbow bolt heads.
During the work, parts of the old buildings were also discovered, preserved in the ground as charred remains of wooden structures. These findings, say the archaeologists, make it possible to recreate all the essential elements of the spatial arrangement of the medieval city.
"The research near Barczewko is important not only to understand the pioneer stage of the colonization of Warmia, but also the urbanization process of Central and Eastern Europe and the beginnings of the phenomenon of the appearance of cities in the Middle Ages," they point out.
The work in the Barczewko cemetery is pioneering, since it is a small town, probably made up of Silesian settlers and the Christianized Prussian local population. The names of some inhabitants are known thanks to historical sources: Henryk, the parish priest; the administrators of the town, the brothers Jan and Piotr; and the miller Wawrzyniec.
The excavations are carried out at the place where, during the colonization of the southern part of the Warmian Domain in 1325, at the initiative of Bishop Eberhard of Nysa, an attempt was made to build the castle and the town of Wartberg. It was located between Lake Wadąg and the Orzechówka River, about five kilometers from present-day Barczewo.
Algirdas was prince of Kreva and Vitebsk before becoming grand duke of Lithuania with the help of his brother Kęstutis, prince of Samogitia. After unifying the Lithuanian territory, they began to expand their kingdom until it became one of the most vast in medieval Europe.
