Settlements of this type (also called manors on mounds) were very characteristic and numerous in the river and cultural landscape of the Polish Middle Age period.

History

The hillfort was used in the late Middle Ages, at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. The founder and user of the hillfort is unknown. In the Middle Ages, Biskupice village was a private property and probably belonged to one of the nearby knightly families. 

Description of the structure 

Location of the historic structure. The hillfort is located on the northwestern outskirts of Biskupice village. It is located on low meadows, in the valley of Czarna Struga.

Description of the site. The site has the shape of a low, circular mound about 30 m in diameter and up to 1 m high. It is surrounded by a shallow (now poorly legible) ditch about 2 m wide. According to local information, the mound was partially levelled in the 19th century and was used as a “windmill hill”.

Progress and findings of archaeological research. In 1983, K. Gorczyca conducted excavations in the settlement. At that time, approximately 100 m2 of the hillfort was examined. At the top of the mound, the outline of a clay foundation of a four-sided wooden structure with the dimensions of 5 x 5 m and a thickness of approx. 60 cm was revealed. The recorded burnt layer allowed for the suggestion that the settlement was destroyed by a fire. A small number of movable artifacts (fragments of several clay vessels, 2 crossbow bolt-heads) indicate that the hillfort was used for a short period of time.

Visitor access. Private property – the site can only be viewed from the outside.                         

Author of the note: Barbara Iwanicka – Pinkosz, the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Poznań, Regional Branch in Trzebiny, 15.06.2018

Bibliography

• Gorczyca K., Biskupice, pow. Grodziec, woj. konińskie, “Informator Archeologiczny. Badania rok 1983”, Warsaw 1984, p. 187
• Marciniak-Kajzer A., Średniowieczny dwór rycerski w Polsce, Łódź 2011, pp. 325.