Greater Poland/ A unique depiction of a face discovered on an element of the Lednica stronghold ramparts was presented

Archaeologists on Thursday presented a structural element of defensive ramparts recovered from Lake Lednica (Gniezno County, Greater Poland Voivodeship), containing a carved image of a face. The researchers emphasize that the artifact is unique due to its nature.

Ostrów Lednicki was once home to one of the most important strongholds of the Piast dynasty. The site today contains, among other things, the remains of massive defensive ramparts and a princely palace with a chapel, where baptismal pools were discovered.

During Thursday's conference, scientists announced that the find was recovered from the lake last year. Before its presentation, the artifact had to be examined and undergone time-consuming and still unfinished conservation. The find is an oak beam, 1.34 meters long and several centimeters in diameter. The object bears the image of a human face, combining features of a bas-relief and a full-body sculpture. The forehead is accentuated from above by a precisely crafted, arched groove, giving the image an oval shape measuring approximately 13.5 by 10 cm.

Director of the Nicolaus Copernicus University Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Toruń, Dr. hab., prof. Andrzej Pydyn, noted that the work carried out for over 40 years in the area of ​​the Piast stronghold in Ostrów Lednicki is the longest archaeological work of this type in our country.

Speaking about the latest research, he pointed out that four years ago, during an exceptionally dry summer and, consequently, low water levels in the lake, scientists noticed wooden elements in the shoreline. The researchers decided to investigate them.

"It exceeded our expectations. The project took over four years. We managed to discover the remains of fortifications and defensive ramparts that had collapsed due to complex geological processes," he said.

He explained that upon completing their exploration of the site, researchers discovered a wooden element that turned out to be a hook, a part that held the ramparts together and prevented the walls from sliding apart under the pressure of the filling material. Similar elements had previously been found in other Piast strongholds, such as those in Poznań and Gniezno.

"What surprised us was the face. A face that likely relates to the symbolic, spiritual sphere of the builders, and above all, the inhabitants of this stronghold," the scientist noted.

Researchers are convinced that the discovered decorative element is not the result of the carpenter's freehand activity. They emphasize that very few such large-scale depictions of humans or human-like artifacts from the early Middle Ages have been discovered in Slavic lands. According to dendrochronological studies, the tree used to create the artifact was felled in 967, perhaps seven or eight years earlier.

Konrad Lewek from the Center for Underwater Archaeology, emphasizing the uniqueness of the find, noted that researchers assumed the face most likely represented a figure from the spiritual world. He added that this type of art may have been more popular among the Slavic people of the time than the limited archaeological discoveries to date indicate.

According to the researchers, the discovered facial image is stylistically reminiscent of small wooden figurines with anthropomorphic representations. The lake element may resemble artifacts discovered in Wolin, including the four-faced image. The researchers do not rule out that the Lednica find may allude to beliefs that lakes were inhabited by various creatures. The discovered face was turned outside the stronghold, towards the water.

In an interview with journalists, Konrad Lewek emphasized that this is the first find of this type dating back to the early Middle Ages discovered in our part of Europe.

He added that the wooden elements of the rampart found so far were so damaged that if they had any carved elements, they were invisible. He also pointed out that since 2000, archaeologists have discovered a total of four hooks in Lednica, but only one had a depiction of a face.

Dr. Andrzej Kowalczyk, director of the Museum of the First Piast Dynasty in Lednica, estimated that after proper conservation of the discovered item, it will be presented to visitors in the second half of next year. First, however, the item must be properly moistened to prevent the wood from cracking.

At the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, researchers located relics of the western bridge connecting Ostrów Lednicki with the mainland in Lake Lednica. Medieval weapons, among other things, were also discovered at the time. Since 1982, scientists from the Nicolaus Copernicus University's Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Toruń have been exploring the lakebed near the former Piast stronghold. (PAP)

Science in Poland

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