Remains of the Early Iron Age settlement in Gostkowo-Folsung, site 17, Toruń district

Abstract

Site no. 17 is located approximately 13 km northeast of Toruń and 4 km from Gostkowo, in the area of the former hamlet of Folsung (Fig. 1). The remains of prehistoric settlements in this region have been known since 1932, thanks to research conducted by researchers from Toruń. Numerous settlement and burial objects of the Lusatian culture population and burials of the Wielbark culture have been recorded over there. As a result of construction works undertaken by the owner of the property in 2008, further remains of prehistoric settlement were found around the buildings. During the two stages of archaeological works carried out at the site, 140 m2 of surface area was researched (Fig. 2). In addition to objects related to Neolithic settlement and burials from the Roman Period (which have already been the subject of separate studies), 20 household pits have been recorded related to the settlement of the Lusatian culture (Figs. 3–5). From site surface, the cultural layer and features, 3639 fragments of ceramic vessels (Figs. 6–15), a fragment of a bronze sickle (Fig. 8: 20), 2 twists of the salta leone type (Fig. 9: 10), 20 stone and flint tools, a few nuggets of flint raw material and 8 lumps of clay were recovered. This collection is complemented by 54 fragments of animal bones from cattle, pigs, sheep/goats, horses, dogs, hares and cyprinid fish (Table 1).
The presented source material mostly corresponds to the “Hallstatt” inventories of the Lusatian culture from the Chełmno and Kuyavian Lands, which allows us to date the remains of the settlement in Gostkowo-Folsung (site no. 17) from the end of the V period of the Bronze Age to the end of the younger Hallstatt period. Single fragments of vessels with edges pinched witch fingers – coming from the ceiling of the cultural layer (Figs. 7: 1, 17) – are the trace of the Pomeranian (cist grave) culture in this part of the site. At the adjacent site from the north, three such forms served as cloches covering the burials of the Pomeranian culture. Since during many years of research in this area, the boundaries of settlements and necropolises of the “Lusatian” and “Pomeranian” communities have not been captured, it can be assumed that both sites in Gostkowo Folsung, no. 3 and no. 17, constitute one settlement complex crossed by a local road leading to Turzno. The period of settlement of this area can therefore be dated to the classic (II) and late (III) phases of the development of local urn communities of the Chełmno Land.
The presented results of the research are another contribution to the knowledge about the settlement of the Gostkowo microregion (Fig. 17). Unfortunately, the survey method of conducting research at sites no. 3 and no. 17 does not allow determining the extent of the local settlement, neither the size of the necropolises nor their mutual relations. There is also a lack of natural research that would allow for the reconstruction of the natural environment in which the local communities of the urn fields culture lived in the past.