Production and distribution of rotary
quernstones from quarries in southwestern
Poland in the early Middle Ages
EWA LISOWSKA, PIOTR GUNIA & MICHAŁ BOROWSKI
Lisowska, E., Gunia, P. & Borowski, M. 2014. Production and distribution of rotary quernstones from quarries in southwestern
Poland in the early Middle Ages. AmS-Skrifter 24, 167–180, Stavanger. ISSN 0800-0816, ISBN 978-82-7760-158-8
The paper is focused on general overview of quernstone quarrying and distribution in the Sudety mountains in southwestern
Poland during the early Middle Ages (the 6th to the 13th century). The historical and geographical the region is called Lower Silesia.
The rocks are dominated by various types of granites, gneisses, mica schists and amphibolites formed during the Caledonian and
the Variscian orogenies. The results are based on petrographic analysis of previously excavated material. During the early Middle
Ages, Slavs formed the economic basis of this region. One of the economic branches was the exploitation and trade of stone
material with e.g. quernstone production. Most of the quernstones are from archaeological sites excavated before the Second
World War and in the 1960s and 1990s. They are made from granite and a minor amount from garnet-mica schist. The granitic
querns originate from quarries located on the northern slopes of the Ślęża Massif, which was exploited from the Roman Period
until the 15th century. Relicts of ancient and Middle Age extraction sites and large amounts of unfinished quernstones have been
discovered. Quernstones made from these quarries and from erratic blocks are widely distributed in Lower Silesia. A few quarries
of garnet-mica schist display production of quernstones. One such quarry that was excavated is situated in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki,
close to a Slavic settlement from the 9th to the 10th century. A small number of quernstones and unfinished products were found.
Studies employing an electron microprobe were conducted on quernstones and other artefacts, as well as local occurrences of
garnet-mica schist.
Ewa Lisowska, University of Wrocław, Institute of Archaeology, ul. Szewska 48, 50–139 Wrocław, Poland. Phone: (+48) 6683 78279.
E-mail: [email protected]
Piotr Gunia, University of Wrocław, Institute of Geological Sciences, Mineralogical Museum, ul. Cybulskiego 30, 50–205 Wrocław,
Poland. Phone: (+48) 71375 9290. E-mail: [email protected]
Michał Borowski, University of Wrocław, Institute of Geological Sciences, ul. Cybulskiego 30, 50–205 Wrocław, Poland.
Phone: (+48) 71375 9290. E-mail: [email protected]
Keywords: quarries, quernstone petrography, Middle Ages, southwestern Poland, Sleza Massif
Introduction
Lower Silesia is a region situated in southwestern
Poland and for thousands of years it provided a variety
of rock materials for different local populations (from
Palaeolithic until now), due to its proximity to the
Sudety mountains. This mountain range, with peaks
of up to 1602 m.a.s.l. borders Lower Silesia to the
south. Only the area of slightly undulating hills located
between 200–500 m.a.s.l. was exploited by inhabitants
during prehistoric times and the early Middle Ages.
The older quarry, dating back to the Neolithic,
was exploited to supply populations with serpentine
rocks, used in production of adzes (Wojciechowski
1982, 1983). Until the first centuries AD, only surface
bedrocks were exploited by the local people. The
emergence and development of the Przeworsk culture
in the Central European Barbaricum brought about
intensification of stone quarrying, which was strongly
tied to the need for quernstone and whetstone production. People of the Przeworsk culture in the 2nd–3rd
century AD initiated a new stage in the rock exploitation of the Sudeten Mountains with granite quarrying
in the Ślęża Massif and used to produce quernstones
and quarzites quarrying in Strzelińskie Foothills for
making whetstones (Pazda & Sachanbiński 1991,
Domański 2002:93–99). Quernstones and whetstones made from these local rocks were rapidly
spread throughout the entire area of Silesia. After the
Migration Period (Volkswanderung), when Silesia was
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Ewa Lisowska, Piotr Gunia & Michał Borowski
Fig. 1. Location of early medieval millstone quarries and
workshops in Lower Silesia. 1) Ślęża Massiv, 2) Kamieniec
Ząbkowicki, 3) Gilów, Niemczańskie Foothills. Drawing: Ewa
Lisowska.
abandoned by the German tribes of the Przeworsk
culture, the first Slavic settlers from the eastern lands
appeared at the turn of the 6th and 7th century AD and
they probably found mostly uninhabited land (see the
discussion about ethnogeny of the Slavs in: Dworaczyk
et al. 2006). In the 7th century AD, the Slavs started
exploitation of the same outcrops as their predecessors in the Roman Period 150 years earlier (Domański
1980).
This paper is focused on quarrying and quernstone production and their distribution in the early
Middle Ages in southwestern Poland, as it relates to
the economy of the Slavic tribes (6 th/7th–10th century
AD) and the subsequent emergence and development
of feudalism (10th–half 13th century AD). All data
presented are based on excavated material, as there
are no written records describing quarrying activities or quernstone production and usage in the area
under study. Three quarries are discussed below: Ślęża
Massif, Kamieniec Ząbkowicki and Gilów (Fig. 1–2).
History of archaeological research
By 2008, investigation concerning the archaeological
and petrographic description of quernstones was
limited only to the identification of several units,
summarised by K. Jaworski (2008). Thus the overall
research, which had taken place in 2008–2011, included
the identification of the type of rock material used to
make millstones and a short description of examined
artefacts. Almost 100 quernstones from 30 different
archaeological sites were examined and it is preliminary the results of this work that are presented below.
Quernstone quarries and workshops from the
early Middle Ages are dealt with through archaeological observation. The largest density of quarries was
observed on the northern slopes of the Ślęża Massif.
In 1736, H. Burghardt gave a short presentation of the
quernstone industry in the Ślęża region, illustrated
by a drawing of a view of the Ślęża Massif and discus
lapidus (Fig. 3), which is regarded by historians and
archaeologists as an example of a quernstone from the
Middle Ages (Burghardt 1736:Fig. 2). Regular excavation of these quernstone quarries started towards the
end of the 19th and continued into the beginning of
the 20th century (Sadebeck 1855, Lustig 1904). Many
unfinished products, which have never been published,
were uncovered close to quarries. According to facts
revealed by F. Geschwendt and M. Jahn, quernstone
quarries located on the northern slopes of Mt. Ślęża
are still considered to have been used during the late
Roman Period and the Middle Ages (Geschwendt
1922, 1926, 1928, Jahn 1929). The 1925 discovery of a
Middle Age settlement with a quernstone workshop in
Chwałków was a breakthrough in the archaeological
knowledge of quernstone production (Jahn 1929).
It was demonstrated that some of these stones were
finished in the workshop located no more than 5 km
from the nearest quernstone quarries. It was the first
archaeologically recorded millstone workshop in the
region of Silesia. Further investigations in the region
of Mt. Ślęża uncovered more Early Middle Age settlements with quernstone workshops.
Pioneer excavation of the quernstone quarries
carried out by Polish archaeologists in the early 1960s
made it possible to clarify the chronology of particular
quarries (Wojciechowski 1962, Domański 1963, 1965a,
1965b). It was also discovered that some pits (quarry
relicts) were used in the late Middle Ages, as well as
in the Roman Period and the early Middle Ages. Most
likely, unworked stone material, and possibly unfinished quernstones, might have been exploited for
use as building material. In the 1990s, archaeologists
from Wrocław made a detailed mapping of all quarries (Kamiński & Kaźmierczyk 1994). Furthermore,
A. Wójcik examined these outcrops from a geological
perspective and made a comprehensive petrographic
analysis of granite from Mt. Ślęża, in addition to referring to some particular quernstones and specific architecture from the Middle Ages (Wójcik 2002).
Knowledge of millstone quarrying in other parts of
Silesia is scarce. Some evidence of production of quernstones was recorded in the Gilów stronghold situated
in the Niemczańskie Foothills and dated back to the
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AmS-Skrifter 24 Production and distribution of rotary quernstones from quarries in southwestern Poland in the early Middle Ages
Fig. 2. Simplified geological
sketch map of the Góry Sowie
Block (modified after Mazur &
Puziewicz 1999 and KądziałkoHofmokl et al. 2006) and
location of quernstone quarries.
Abbreviations of geological units
mentioned in the text: GSB – Góry
Sowie Block, NKMC – NiemczaKamieniec Metamorphic Complex
(N – northern part, S – southern
part), NSZ – Niemcza Shear Zone,
SSGI – Strzegom-Sobótka Granite
Intrusion. Drawing: Michał
Borowski.
Fig. 3. Picture of Mt. Ślęża from year 1733 with the quernstone
quarry in the upper left corner. Drawing: F.F. Heinze from the
book Iter Sabothicum (Burghardt 1736:Fig. 1).
end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century
(Jaworski 2005:77–78). There, quernstones were made
using low quality local gneiss cataclasites (Jaworski &
Wójcik 1997:136–137). Finally, a quarry was supposed
to be located in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki, as K. Jaworski
recently suggested (2008). Based on unpublished materials from the excavation carried out in the 1980s, K.
Jaworski assumed that it would be possible to find
the quernstone quarries from the Early Middle Ages.
Considering the fact that more than 10 mica schist
millstones and unfinished pieces were recorded in
the settlement at Kamieniec Ząbkowicki, there should
be exploitation sites of mica schist outcrops within
close proximity. Recently, the quarry in Kamieniec
Ząbkowicki was also excavated (Lisowska 2011).
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Ewa Lisowska, Piotr Gunia & Michał Borowski
Granite rotary quernstones of the
Ślęża Massif
Petrography
The main source of stone material for quernstone
production was the quarry area located on the northern
slopes of the Ślęża Massif. From a geological point
of view, it represents the granitoids from the eastern
part of the Strzegom-Sobótka granite intrusion (dating
from ca. 292–309 Ma). The most widespread granitic
stone materials in this region are biotite granodiorites
and biotite-muscovite granodiorites, locally hydrothermally altered. Both are known by the local name
“Chwalkow granite” (Fig. 4).
Biotite-bearing granodiorites are light grey in colour,
with unoriented and massive structure. The main
mineral constituents are irregular quartz, oligoclase
(often with oscillatory zoning), microcline and biotite.
Spheroidal and oval enclaves of tonalites are most
widespread, while occurrences of pegmatite and aplite
veins are rare.
The most common variety of quernstone source
material from this area is grey two-mica granodiorite
with porphyritic structure. It consists of large individuals of alkali feldspar (microcline) surrounded by
a fine-grained mass composed of quartz, plagioclase
(with zoning), biotite (often with parallel oriented
platelets), muscovite and accessory zircon, apatite and
garnet (Fig. 5). Most typical for this type of granodiorite is the occurrence of small, round, dark-coloured
enclaves of diorites (Majerowicz 1963, Puziewicz 1990).
The millstone quarries and manufacturing
technology
More than 150 quernstone quarries were exploited
from the 3rd–4th century until the 15th century on
the northern slopes of Mt. Ślęża; almost all of them
represent pit quarries (Fig. 6). Nowadays, common
quarries in this area are no more than 6 m deep with a
diameter ranging between 10 to 20 m. Pit quernstone
quarries were often located in places where the humus
was relatively thin and it was easy to reach the rock.
There is a higher density of quarries on the lower parts
of the mountain, where conditions are favourable for
communication between a settlement and a quarry.
Granite was exploited in several ways. Fireplaces
recorded from archaeological excavations of quarries indicate that heating rocks to cause exfoliation of
granite was probably one of the most popular methods
of extraction (Domański 2002:41). Traces of fire were
discovered inside more than five quarry pits. The second
Fig. 4. Biotite-bearing granodiorite showing biotite (B) and
quartz (Q) from the eastern part of Strzegom-Sobótka Granite
Intrusion. Photo: Piotr Gunia.
method, by contrast, was hypothetically controlled
freezing of water inside the cracks during the winter
using wooden pegs. There is no obvious archaeological
evidence that may confirm the use of this technique,
but some ethnographic observations suggest the
possibility of the use of such techniques (Kaźmierczyk
1990:26–50). It is beyond doubt that 12th century
quarry-workers used iron wedges to extract blocks
of granite (Wojciechowski 1962:47), as is confirmed
by the archaeological finds of 8 iron wedges (Fig. 7)
discovered in one of the quarries and dated back to the
12th century (based on pottery findings). Wedges were
probably also used for quarrying in previous centuries,
but no similar findings of this type were found during
excavation to prove this assumption.
Huge plates of granite (with a diameter up to 60
cm) were extracted by using the methods mentioned
above. Quernstones were given their initial circular
shape within a quarry (Fig. 8), but there are no circular
outlines in the bedrock. Sometimes both the hole
and circular shape were formed simultaneously with
chisels. Many quernstones were discarded in different
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AmS-Skrifter 24 Production and distribution of rotary quernstones from quarries in southwestern Poland in the early Middle Ages
Fig. 5. Representative
petrographic features of
granodiorites from the
eastern part of StrzegomSobótka Granite Intrusion.
1) Microperthites of
granodiorites, 2) Wavy
light extinction of quartz in
the granodiorites, 3 and 4)
Zonal structure of feldspars
in the granodiorites, 5
and 6) Albite twinning
striae of plagioclases in the
granodiorites. Photo: Piotr
Gunia.
Fig. 6. Early medieval pit quarries on the northern part of Mt.
Ślęża during wintertime. Photo: Ewa Lisowska.
stages of production nearby the quarries, due to damage
to the rock while forming the discoid shape (Domański
2002:Fig. 37–38, 47). Granite from Mt. Ślęża represents an ordinary material for grinding stones, which
often cracks into pieces. However, natural conditions
and availability of rock material in the Early Middle
Ages, especially in its older phases (until 10th century),
make this granite a good alternative for making querns
because better material was inaccessible. Still, it is hard
to count the amount of unfinished quernstones lying
Fig. 7. Early medieval iron wedge found in the quarry located on
the northern slopes of Mt. Ślęża. Photo: Archive of the Institute
of Archaeology, Wrocław University.
on the slopes of Mt. Ślęża; some of them were reused
as building material, many units were probably taken
by villagers.
Quernstone production during the Early Middle
Ages in Lower Silesia was strongly associated with
the existence of local workshops at settlements nearby
the quarries, for the simple reason that finishing the
surface treatment of a quernstone took time and it
was more convenient to work with the assemblage of
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Ewa Lisowska, Piotr Gunia & Michał Borowski
Fig. 8. Unfinished and broken quernstones found during
excavation of the quarries on the northern slopes of Mt.
Ślęża. Diameter approximately 40–45 cm. From Domański
(1965b:Fig.2).
Fig. 9. Unfinished quernstones and fragments of quernstones
found in the early medieval settlement in Chwałków during the
excavation of 1925. Diameter approximately 40–45 cm. From
Jahn (1929:Table 22, Fig. 1–4).
Fig. 10. Coarse-grained mica schist with well-developed
foliation. Representative photomicrograph of thin section.
Unfinished quernstone from Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. Quartz
(Q) and muscovite (M). Photo: Michał Borowski.
iron tools supported by a settlement. The results from
archaeological excavations at three sites in the Ślęża
region represent Early Middle Age settlements (dated
to the 8th–13th century) with quernstone workshops
located nearby the villages of Chwałków, Będkowice
and Strzegomiany (Jahn 1929, Śledzik-Kamińska 1996,
Domański 2002:64, 70, 80, Jaworski 2008:76–80).
Unfinished discoid quernstones were transported
the few kilometres from the quarries to the villages,
where the final stage of the production process took
place, i.e. forming the shape and the surface of querns
and drilling the eye. These activities are confirmed by
archaeological finds of unfinished quernstones at the
sites mentioned above (Fig. 9).
The dimensions of quernstones made of granite
differ; the smallest specimen measures just 35 cm,
the largest 50 cm. No connection or dependence was
observed between quernstone dimensions and their
relative chronology. Most of the quernstones made
from granite have an average diameter of 41 cm, they
are generally around 8 cm thick and the diameter of
the eye is an average of 5 cm. Accurate measurement of
all dimensions was possible for 49 quernstones from 20
different archaeological sites.
Mica schist rotary quernstones of
Kamieniec Ząbkowicki
Petrography
The Niemcza-Kamieniec Metamorphic Complex is a
large, meridionally elongated unit, situated to the east
of the Góry Sowie Massif and of the Niemcza Shear
Zone in the Fore-Sudetic Block. The tectonic evolution of this area is the subject of multiple, conflicting
interpretations (Mazur & Józefiak 1999:2–5, ObercDziedzic et al. 2005:365, 368). The metamorphic belt is
composed mainly of medium-grade mica schists, with
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AmS-Skrifter 24 Production and distribution of rotary quernstones from quarries in southwestern Poland in the early Middle Ages
Fig. 11. Representative
petrographic features
of coarse-grained
mica schists in thin
sections (crossed
nicols): 1) crenulation
folds (quernstone
from Włostowa), 2)
fine-grained aggregate
composed of sericite,
plagioclase and
quartz (quernstone
from Włostowa), 3–5)
partly decomposed
porphyroblasts of
garnet, where 3)
is an unfinished
quernstone from
Kamieniec Ząbkowicki,
4) is a quernstone
from Polwica and
5) is a quernstone
from Włostowa,
6) post-kinematic
porphyroblast of
andalusite (quernstone
from Bardo). Photo:
Michał Borowski.
minor amounts of quartzo-feldspatic schists, marbles,
quartzo-graphitic schists, amphibolitic schists and
eclogites (Mazur & Józefiak 1999). According to Mazur
and Puziewicz (1995:786–787), the Niemcza-Kamieniec
Metamorphic Complex can be divided into two parts.
The northern part is aligned along the eastern border
of the Niemcza Shear Zone, whereas the southern part
forms an isolated outcrop in the vicinity of Kamieniec
Ząbkowicki. The metapelites in the latter fragment
of the unit comprise two main structural varieties,
namely coarse- and fine-grained schists. The rock type
from which investigated quernstones were produced is
petrographically very similar to garnet-bearing coarsegrained schists from the southern part of the complex
described by Mazur and Józefiak (1999:5–6).
The raw material used for the quernstones is coarsegrained, and exhibits a grano-lepidoblastic structure
and has well-developed foliation (Fig. 10), which is
locally disturbed by crenulation folds (Fig. 11.1). The
mica schist is composed of quartz, muscovite, biotite,
garnet, plagioclase and chlorite; common accessory
minerals are tourmaline, apatite, zircon, rutile and
ilmenite, while staurolite and andalusite represent less
frequent components. The rock consists of alternating
muscovite-biotite and quartz or quartz-mica layers
(Fig. 10). Muscovite plates are usually aligned subparallel to the foliation planes. In many places, elongated, fine-grained aggregates composed of randomly
oriented sericite, plagioclase and quartz can also be
observed (Fig. 11.2).
Garnet porphyroblasts (spanning 5 mm across or
more) are very often partly decomposed and replaced
by pseudomorphs of biotite, chlorite and iron hydroxides (Fig. 11.3–5). In less altered grains, inclusion trails
of rutile, ilmenite and quartz are often visible.
Post-kinematic porphyroblasts of andalusite up to
6 mm across (Fig. 11.6) were ascertained only in one
sample (quernstone from Bardo). They often enclose
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Ewa Lisowska, Piotr Gunia & Michał Borowski
Fig. 13. Examples (1–2) of mica schist quernstones from early
medieval settlement in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. Property of the
museum Multicultural Old Mine Park in Wałbrzych. Photo
and drawing: Ewa Lisowska.
Fig. 12. Unfinished quernstones (1–3) from early medieval
settlement in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. Property of the museum
Multicultural Old Mine Park in Wałbrzych. Photo and
drawing: Ewa Lisowska.
numerous inclusions of muscovite, biotite, quartz and
ilmenite.
The question of millstone quarries and
manufacturing technology
In the region of Kamieniec Ząbkowicki, there are many
rocks where past quarrying activities are clearly visible
(Fig. 15–16), represented by traces of the use of wedges
and drills, or simple rock cutting, which are represented by artificial gaps in the bedrock. Only one settlement dating back to 9th–10th century AD corroborates
a possible quernstone workshop (Jaworski 2008:81).
More than 10 quernstones made from mica schists
were found at this location (Fig. 12–14); some of them
are complete, with visible traces of usage, while a few
unfinished units represent different stages of quernstone production. Until 2009, excavations focusing on
possible Middle Age quarry sites in this region had
not revealed any quarries. The excavation carried out
in 2009 at a small quarry, the nearest possible place to
exploit mica schists, has shed more light on the problem
174
Fig. 14. Examples (1–4) of mica schist quernstones from an
early medieval settlement in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. Property
of the museum Multicultural Old Mine Park in Wałbrzych.
Photo and drawing: Ewa Lisowska.
AmS-Skrifter 24 Production and distribution of rotary quernstones from quarries in southwestern Poland in the early Middle Ages
Fig. 15. Unfinished quernstone (diameter approximately 50 cm)
in the bedrock in the quarry situated in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki.
Photo: Ewa Lisowska.
Fig. 16. Wedge-mark found in the quarry situated in Kamieniec
Ząbkowicki. Size of the wedge-mark: length 16 cm and width 3
cm. Photo: Ewa Lisowska.
of past quarrying activities in this area (Lisowska 2011).
We noted there that one unfinished disc for a quernstone still was attached to the bedrock (Fig. 15). This
is the only specimen under production known from
the region of Lower Silesia. Results of the excavation
carried out at this site suggest that probably the Early
Middle Age quarry was destroyed by the later mica
schist exploitation, which took place in the 15th–18th
century. The connection between the Early Middle Age
settlement in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki and the excavated
quarry site is confirmed through geochemical analysis
(electron microprobe analysis – energy dispersive
spectroscopy, wavelength dispersive spectroscopy) of
garnets in mica schists sampled from the outcrops in the
region of Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. The best geochemical
similarity to the mica schist quernstones found in the
settlement occurs in the samples that had been taken
from the excavated quarry. The excavation of the quarries in the Kamieniec Ząbkowicki region will continue.
Quernstones made from mica schist were formed
in two ways. The first method was very similar to that
noted in the abovementioned workshops situated in
the Ślęża Massif. Huge blocks of polygonal plates of a
specified thickness (no more than 10 cm) were transported from the quarry to the workshop in the settlement. Both the circular shape and the eye were formed
in the stone, which is confirmed by the finds of unfinished quernstones from the site. The second method
used in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki was to shape a circle
directly into the stone in the bedrock. Unfortunately,
no archaeological evidence of the kind of tools used in
this work was found, and no traces of the use of specific
tools to separate the stone from the bedrock were noted.
Characteristic traces after removing quernstones from
quarries in other parts of Europe, represented by
circular outlines in the bedrock (for example Heldal &
Meyer 2011:Fig. 2, 8, 12, Jaccottey 2011:Fig. 14, 19, 20),
are absent in southwestern Poland. It is also difficult to
tell exactly what method of rock extraction was used in
Early Middle Age quarrying in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki,
because of the fact that Middle Age quarrying activities were almost totally destroyed by modern exploitation of mica schist (Lisowska 2011:147). Traces of using
wedges and drills preserved in studied quarry sites are
definitely from the modern era.
The case of quernstones from
Gilów
A very special case of a quernstone workshop was
discovered in the stronghold in Gilów, situated in the
Niemczańskie foothills. Recent research carried out
within the last two decades shows that the stronghold
was built at the end of the 9th century by the people
of Great Moravian origin (Jaworski 2005:272–286).
By the beginning of 10th century, the inhabitants of
the stronghold had left their settlement for unknown
reasons. The residents of Gilów had no insight into
the natural resources of Lower Silesia. They used only
local rock from outcrops in the vicinity of the stronghold to produce whetstones and quernstones. To make
millstones for their own needs, they exploited gneiss
cataclasites (Jaworski & Wójcik 1997:136), which is
a very brittle rock and unsuitable for this purpose.
Quernstones made from gneiss cataclasites are known
only from Gilów, and such finds have not been discovered at any other archaeological sites (Fig. 17–18). Since
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Ewa Lisowska, Piotr Gunia & Michał Borowski
the stronghold was quickly abandoned, there was probably no possibility of procuring a better quality of raw
material from other parts of Sudeten. Contact between
other inhabitants of the region was strongly needed to
obtain granite from Ślęża or mica schists with garnets
from Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. The local millstone workshop in Gilów existed for only a few decades. The stone
material was probably derived from the quarry situated in the central part of the stronghold (Jaworski &
Pankiewicz 2008:184–188) or from the nearby outcrops.
Fig. 17. Gneiss cataclasites quernstones found in the stronghold
in Gilów (scale 100 cm). From Jaworski (2005:Fig. 139).
Fig. 18. Examples (1–3) of gneiss cataclasites quernstones found
in Gilów. Property of the Institute of Archaeology, Wrocław
University. Photo and drawing: Ewa Lisowska.
Distribution of quernstones
during early Middle Ages
(6th/7th–13th century) in
southwestern Poland
Millstones made of granite and mica schist were
further distributed within Lower Silesia. Good
quality quernstones were willingly purchased by
the people settled in the northern part of the region.
Quernstones were transported to, and floated up, the
nearest navigable rivers. This hypothesis is confirmed
by the distribution of mica schist quernstones, with
the greatest concentration of finds recorded in the
Nysa Kłodzka basin (Fig. 19), a left tributary to the
Oder River. The Nysa Kłodzka river is easily navigable in its middle and lower sections and it runs very
close to the outcrops of mica schists near Kamieniec
Ząbkowicki, making it was the most convenient way
to transport the material. We find a different situation in the area of Mt. Ślęża, where there are no major
rivers in the vicinity that can be used to transport
quernstones. Thus, the highest density of granite
quernstones noted at the Early Middle Age sites was
observed nearby, within a distance of 10 km from Mt.
Ślęża (Fig. 20). Granite quernstones have also been
recorded at sites situated further north, approximately 100 km from the outcrops on Mt. Ślęża. In
our opinion, such distribution probably depended on
the range of the Slavic tribe Sleenzanie in the oldest
phases of the Early Middle Ages (7th–10th century
AD). The Sleenzanie tribe inhabited exactly the same
area as the boundaries of distribution of granite
quernstones mentioned above.
In later centuries, the distribution of granite quernstones was connected with the existence of trade
routes. The main track from the south to the north ran
very close to the area of Mt. Ślęża (Moździoch 1990).
The route crossed the Odra River in Wrocław, which
was the most important trade and political centre
during the Middle Ages in southwestern Poland. It is
beyond doubt that Wrocław acted as transit place in the
trade of granite quernstones during the Middle Ages
(11th–13th century). This is confirmed by numerous
findings of granite quernstones imported from Mt.
Ślęża discovered at Early Middle Age sites in Wrocław
(Kaźmierczyk 1990:152–159). For example, at the
Ostrów Tumski stronghold site at Wrocław, more than
50 quernstones were made from granite of the Ślęża
type (Fig. 21). Wroclaw should be regarded as the most
important trade centre, a hub for the transport and
176
AmS-Skrifter 24 Production and distribution of rotary quernstones from quarries in southwestern Poland in the early Middle Ages
Fig. 19. Distribution of
Kamieniec Ząbkowicki type
mica schist quernstones
within Lower Silesia.
Archaeological sites: 1) Bardo,
2) Głębinów, 3) Gromnik, 4)
Kamieniec Ząbkowicki, 5)
Nowy Świętów, 6) Pilce, 7)
Polwica, 8) Stary Zamek, 9)
Włostowa, 10) Wójcice, 11)
Wrocław Ostrów Tumski.
Drawing: Ewa Lisowska.
distribution of Sudeten rocks in the 10th–13th century.
This is confirmed by the dispersion and distribution
of other stone items, which were quarried and then
manufactured in the Sudetenland, including the very
popular whetstones made from quartzite schists.
The current state of research enabled us to undertake petrographic identification and typological classification of only 50 per cent of all quernstones known
from the excavated archaeological sites. Many previously discovered quernstone finds were lost or totally
Fig. 20. Distribution of
granite quernstones within
Lower Silesia. Archaeological
sites: 1) Bardo, 2) Będkowice,
3) Biała, 4) Chwałków, 5)
Czeladź Wielka, 6) Kamieniec
Ząbkowicki, 7) Milicz, 8)
Opole, 9) Rogów Sobócki, 10)
Sobótka, 11) Stary Zamek,
12) Strachów, 13) Ślęza, 14)
Wrocław Ostrów Tumski,
15) Bytom Odrzański, 16)
Mściwojów, 17) Obiszów,
18) Żarek, 19) Żukowice.
Drawing: Ewa Lisowska.
177
Ewa Lisowska, Piotr Gunia & Michał Borowski
Fig. 21. Examples (1–9) of quernstones made from granite of Ślęża region found in early medieval site in Wrocław (Ostrów Tumski).
Property of the Institute of Archaeology, Wrocław University. Photo: Ewa Lisowska.
damaged during World War II or lost during flooding
in 1997.
In the petrographic comparative analysis of the
quernstones from different archaeological sites in
Lower Silesia, we used several complementary methods.
Both for samples taken from the outcrops and from
millstones, apart from studying thin sections, we used
electron microprobe analysis (using a Cameca Electron
Microprobe analyser) and rare earth element analysis
(using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission
spectroscopy at Acme Analytical Laboratories in
Vancouver, Canada). Detailed discussion of the results
of the geochemical research will be published soon in
two separate articles. On the basis of the mentioned
petrographic research, we created the distribution map
showed in Fig. 19–20.
Final remarks
The quarrying and manufacturing of quernstones by
Silesian Slavic tribes was fairly simple and straight-
178
AmS-Skrifter 24 Production and distribution of rotary quernstones from quarries in southwestern Poland in the early Middle Ages
forward from a technological point of view. This early
simple technology was developed over time. The development of monumental architecture in the 11th–13th
century led to increasing interest in rock materials,
as well as a significant enrichment of the range of
tools used for rock exploitation. It is surprising that
although the Slavs were a culturally alien ethnic
group, they exploited exactly the same outcrops as
their predecessors in the Roman Period. It seems that
the distribution of the quernstones made from Sudetic
rocks had a rather local character and would not have
gone beyond the area of southwestern Poland. This
thesis is confirmed indirectly through a quernstone
made from mica schist found in Wolin, Pomerania,
which was made from schist of Norwegian origin,
probably from the area of Hyllestad in western Norway
(judging from a macroscopic analysis), and not from
Sudetic rocks which were much closer, no more than
500 km away. In the light of the presented data, the
region of Lower Silesia seems to have been totally selfsufficient for millstone production in the Early Middle
Ages. The quality of the raw material was rather good,
but not considered suitable for export other regions.
Also, the absence of any imported quernstones from
other parts of Poland and Europe clearly indicates
economic independence with regard to the quarry and
the distribution of quernstones.
Acknowledgements
The archaeological finds presented in this paper are
the property of Institute of Archaeology University of
Wroclaw and “Multicultural Old Mine Park” Museum
in Wałbrzych. We would like to thank them for access
to this material. Special thanks also to Dr Berandeta
Kufel-Diakowska for her valuable comments and assistance in preparing the article.
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