Zyndram’s Hill ( pol. Góra Zyndrama) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

located in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, in Maszkowice village, Łącko commune. It was a prehistoric defensive settlement occupied in the

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

(1750-1550 BC), in the

Late Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Early Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progr ...

(950-400 BC) and in the

La Tène Period LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

(200-50 BC). The hill itself is a part of the Beskid Wyspowy range, which belongs to the

Northern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...

area. The site is located 410 meters above the sea level and its plateau is rising significantly (several dozen meters) above the Łącko Basin and the

Dunajec The Dunajec (; Goral dialects: ''Dónajec''; ) is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at ...

river valley. In the 60's and 70's it was excavated by Maria Cabalska from the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Marcin S. Przybyła (also from JU in

) has undertaken new research project since 2010. The new excavations and studies brought a spectacular bunch of informations. Analysis of the artifacts proves that at first (1750-1550 BC) the settlement was inhabited most probably by a population of the

Ottomány culture The Ottomány culture, also known as Otomani culture in Romania or Otomani-Füzesabony culture in Hungary, was an early Bronze Age culture (–1400 BC) in Central Europe named after the eponymous site near the village of Ottomány (), today part ...

. In this period (ca. 1750 BC) a monumental stone wall construction was built around the hillfort's plateau (the local sources of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

was used). This example of stone architecture is one of the oldest in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

(excluding the Mediterranean Area and the British Isles) and it is the oldest in

. The stone wall of the Zyndram's Hill in terms of technical solutions has connections with

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

constructions. That suggests that some of the founders of the settlement were from the southern parts of Europe.

Archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

s discovered also the remains of dwellings from this period. The plateau was inhabited afresh in the Late Bronze Age after a 500-year-long hiatus. The settlement of the second phase (950-400 BC) was most probably much bigger. According to the

stratigraphic Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

observations the remains of the earliest stone construction was reused. The wooden and earthen fortifications were also built. The population of this phase was most probably related to more local societies of the

Carpathian The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at ...

area (i.e. the

Gava culture Gava may refer to: Places * Gavà, a town in Catalonia, Spain * Gávavencsellő, also known as Gava, a town in Hungary ; Iran * Bala Gava Sara, a village in Chini Jan Rural District, Gilan Province * Pain Gava Sara, a village in Chini Jan Rura ...

) and the tradition of the so-called

Urnfield culture The Urnfield culture () was a late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremation, cremating the dead and placin ...

. The last settlement episode may be connected with the

(200-50 BC). Zyndram's Hill was inhabited by the population of the Puchov culture. It is assumed that the occupied area shrunk significantly in this period. Local tradition and legends wanted to relate Zyndram's Hill with the castle of Zyndram of Maszkowice (a Polish medieval knight and royal official). This assumption was denied by the archaeologists who proved the prehistorical origin of the hillfort and its fortifications.

Gallery

File:Burgwall Maszkowice aus der Zeit von 1750 bis 1690 v. Chr. (Grundriss).jpg, Zyndram's Hill topography File:Maszkowice strefa badan w 2018.jpg, Excavation and partial reconstruction of the stone wall File:Góra Zyndrama. Prace na stanowisku archeologicznym.jpg, Excavation of the site File:020230816 151236 Zyndram's Hill photographs taken on 2023-08-16.jpg, Wall remains at Zyndram's Hill

References

{{coord, 49.5548, 20.4651, type:landmark_region:PL, display=title 16th century BC Prehistoric sites in Poland Hills of Poland