Krzysztof Jaworski

# Rock engravings depicting Nine Men's Morris boards from Krzyżowa Mountain in the Strzegomskie Hills

## ABSTRACT

In April 2018, three game board engravings of Nine Men's Morris were discovered carved into the rocky summit of Krzyżowa Mountain (Strzegomskie Hills, Sudetes Foothills) near Strzegom in Lower Silesia. They had not been previously recorded in academic or regional literature, although they appear in several photographs from the first half of the 20th century. This article aims to determine the time of origin and purpose of these engravings. Several factors suggest their early medieval dating: (1) Silesia and the neighboring Czech lands have the highest number of similar discoveries within the Western Slavic region; (2) the summit of Krzyżowa Mountain (354 m above sea level) was located just 500 meters from a Slavic stronghold that existed from the 9th to the 13th century on the slightly lower Szeroka Mountain (340 m above sea level). The peak of Krzyżowa Mountain, one of the best vantage points in all of Lower Silesia, was undoubtedly used in the past by the stronghold's garrison. From its summit, old trade routes crossing Silesia from east to west and north to south (including the trans-Sudetic trade route connecting Polish and Czech lands) were clearly visible. The context of the discovery (a steep, exposed rock face and a high concentration of engravings in a relatively small area) suggests that the Nine Men's Morris boards from Krzyżowa Mountain were symbolic marks intended to bring luck and prosperity

## KEYWORDS

Middle Ages, board games, Nine Men's Morris, medieval symbolism, stronghold, Sudetes Foothills

<figure><img src="image_1.png" /></figure>
# I. INTRODUCTION

The knowledge of certain board games popular in the ancient and medieval world among the Slavs inhabiting the lands of present-day Poland in the early Middle Ages was spectacularly confirmed by archaeologists in 1962. During excavations conducted in Sandomierz, Lesser Poland Province, an incomplete set of chess pieces (missing only four pawns) made from deer antler was discovered. These were dated to the 12th century and identified as pieces of the Arabic type (Gąssowska 1964; Litmanowicz, Giżycki 1986, 41). Later, chess pieces were also found at other early medieval sites in the Vistula and Oder river basins, including Wroclaw's Cathedral Island (Ostrów Tumski) and the city's left-bank area, as well as in Opole, Międzyrzecz, and Kruszwica (Jamka 1960, 5 ff.; Hensel, Broniewska 1961, 87; Sachs 1985, 108 ff.; Jaworski 1990, 41, photos 15–17, table XI g-k; Gomułka 2018, 1031, Fig. 975 a-c), as well as in Baltic coastal centers such as Szczecin, Wolin, Kołobrzeg, and Gdansk (Rulewicz 1961, 18 ff.; Cnotliwy, Leciejewicz, Łosiński 1983, 278). These artifacts, unquestionably associated with chess, were crafted from deer antler, ivory, wood, and stone, and were found in stratigraphic layers dated to the later phases of the Central European Slavic early Middle Ages (early 11th century to the turn of the 12th/13th centuries).

The presence of chess in medieval Poland is also confirmed by written and heraldic sources. The coat of arms Wczele, sometimes referred to as the chessboard, features a chess-related motif both on the shield and the crest. It is said to have been granted as early as 1103 by Duke Bolesław the Wrymouth to one of the Polish knightly families (Gąssowska 1964, 157; for a detailed discussion of this coat of arms, see Litmanowicz, Giżycki 1986, 344 ff.). The discovery of chess pieces in 11th-century layers on Wroclaw's Cathedral Island further confirms the early appearance of the royal game in the lands of present-day Poland, slightly later than in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe, which were geographically closer to the cultural centers of southern and western Europe.

The concept and rules of chess originated around 570 AD in India, and in a modified form, the game spread through Arabia and reached Europe via Arab-influenced regions – arriving in France in the 8th–9th centuries, in Germany and Scandinavia in the 10th–11th centuries, and in the Czech lands in the 11th century. Another route brought chess from Persia and Central Asia through the Khazar Khaganate to Kievan Rus in the 9th century (see Litmanowicz, Giżycki 1986, 352). Once in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia, the design of
pawns and pieces evolved, incorporating anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, which were absent in Islamic art and sculpture.

## II. THE GAME OF NINE MEN'S MORRIS AND THE BOARD MOTIF IN THE CULTURE OF MEDIEVAL INHABITANTS OF THE ODER AND VISTULA BASINS

However, chess was not the only board game known to the medieval inhabitants of the territories of present-day Poland. Archaeological research has uncovered evidence indicating that other board games, similar to backgammon, checkers, and Nine Men's Morris were played in medieval Wroclaw (Kaźmierczyk 1970, 491, Fig. 138 0; Jaworski 1993, 204, 208 ff.; Table 25, items 1, 2; Borkowski 1999, 189, Fig. 1:7,8; Konczewska 2010, 249 ff., Figs. 164, 171; Gomułka 2018, 1031 ff., Figs. 975, 976). Similar finds, though in single instances, have been recorded at other Silesian sites, including Opole and the castles of Bardo and Rogowiec (Norska-Gulkowa 1985, 254, Fig. 13 p; Boguszewicz, Dwojak, Ziółkowski 1990, Fig. 7 b; Francke, Lodowski 1991, 196, Fig. 18 f). It is highly likely that the widespread adoption of these games occurred only in the late 12t^th^ and early 13t^th^ centuries, coinciding with the arrival of settlers - mainly from German-speaking regions - who migrated into Silesia and, in the following decades, into other areas of the Oder and Vistula basins (Zientara 2006, 202-207, 216-218; Młynarska-Kaletynowa 1986, 106-110; Buśko 1998, 155 ff.). However, archaeological findings suggest that at least one of these board games was already known among the Western Slavs in the early Middle Ages. This was Nine Men's Morris, one of the most popular strategic games, whose origins predate even those of chess.

The origins of Nine Men's Morris can be traced back to the mid-second millennium BCE, as evidenced by carvings depicting game boards discovered in the ancient temple of Kurna in Egypt, dated to around 1400 BCE (Bell 1979, 90 ff.). By the first millennium BCE, Nine Men's Morris had already become the most popular board game in the Mediterranean region. The unchanged rules of this game have survived both into the European Middle Ages and into modern times, including the present day. Nine Men's Morris was so widespread and emotionally engaging for players that its board quickly became, already in antiquity, a symbol of luck and success - both in the game and in life. This is clearly indicated by carvings of the game's diagram found on vertical rock surfaces, architectural structures, and large utility objects (e.g.,
furniture - one such board carving, possibly as later graffiti, was placed on Charlemagne's marble throne in Aachen; Corsepius 2005; see also Rakoczy 2015, 256 ff.). Similar boards were also carved into rocks along dangerous Alpine communication routes (Mandl 1991, 84–85, 141–143, Table 5, G 6–8).

The oldest confirmed depictions of a Nine Men's Morris board from the territory of Western Slavs come from two Czech strongholds - Prague-Butovice (Praha-Butovice; Fig. 1: 2) and Libice in Eastern Bohemia (Fig. 1: 1). Unfortunately, the Butovice board lacks a complete archaeological context - the stone slab featuring the game's board (Bláhová, Frolík, Profantová 1999, 233; Profantová 2016, 265–266, Fig. 9:5) was discovered during surface surveys at a site dated to the 9th century. More is known about the board from Libice. It was carved into a horn plate found in pit 3c, dated to the 9th–10th centuries; only a quarter of the original board has been preserved (Justová 1990, 670, Table VIII:2; Princová-Justová 1999, 27, Fig. 15: 2).

A similar artifact is also known from the northern frontiers of Western Slavdom. At the site in Ganschendorf, Mecklenburg, a stone slab featuring a Nine Men's Morris board engraved on one of its flat surfaces was found in a pit approximately 80 meters east of an 11th-century Slavic stronghold (Fig. 2; Schanz 2003, 101 ff.; Konze, Samariter 2012, 141, Fig. 12). The Ganschendorf board was carved into a somewhat irregular sandstone slab measuring 23×13×4 cm. It appears to be the closest analogy to the earliest discovered artifact of this kind from Polish territory, with a very similar chronology. In 1962, at the early medieval stronghold in Podegrodzie (site 2 "Zamczysko") in the Dunajec Valley, Nowy Sącz County, a flat stone slab with an engraved Nine Men's Morris board was discovered at the base of the rampart in a cobbled layer (Fig. 3; Woźniak 1964, 58; 1969, 263 ff.; Żaki 1974, Fig. 316; Poleski 2004, 316, Fig. 145: 9; Rakoczy 2016, 38, Fig. 18). The slab had a regular, rectangular shape (22×18.5 cm) with rounded corners (Zenon Woźniak even referred to it as a cobble<fnref n="1" />; Woźniak 1964, 58). The engraving covered almost the entire upper surface of the artifact, as the outer edges of the board measured 18×14 cm. The functioning period of the stronghold in Podegrodzie, determined primarily based on an analysis of ceramics from the site, dates to the 11th century, most likely its second half (Poleski 2004, 317, 320).

<footnote n="1">¹ It is worth emphasizing that in his second study of this artifact, Z. Woźniak considered an alternative interpretation – it was supposed to be a nomogram for performing architectural calculations; Woźniak 1969, 263 ff).</footnote>
<figure><img src="image_2.png" /></figure>

**FIG. 1.** Early medieval Nine Men's Morris boards from the Czech Republic: 1 – Libice nad Cidlinou, Nymburk District, deer antler; 2 – Praha-Butovice, stone. Source: Profantová 2016, Fig. 9:4,5

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /></figure>

**FIG. 2.** Ganschendorf, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte District, Germany. Nine Men's Morris board engraved on a sandstone slab. Source: Schanz 2003 and Romanowicz 2013, Fig. 4

Another early medieval depiction of a Nine Men's Morris board from Polish territory dates to approximately the same period. In 1975, a fragment of a small, thin-walled plate turned from ash wood was discovered in Layer G of Trench I on the Cathedral Island in Wroclaw. This layer is dated to the late 11th or early 12th century (for chronological remarks on the layer, see Pankiewicz
<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 3.** Podegrodzie, Nowy Sącz County, Poland. Nine Men's Morris board engraved on a stone cobble. District Museum in Nowy Sącz, inventory no. MNS-A/127, KW 18470. Photo: B. Czech. Source: Rakoczy 2016, Fig. 18</figcaption></figure>

2023, 109) (Fig. 4; inventory no. 109/f/75). During the analysis of this artifact in 2014, Małgorzata Rakoczy identified an engraved pattern of lines forming a Nine Men's Morris board on the bottom of the plate, specifically on its external underside (Rakoczy 2015, 249 ff.; 2016, 37 ff., Fig. 17). She suggests that the engraving was added after the item had ceased to be used as a plate. The Wrocław artifact remains the only find of its kind from Polish territory to have received a comprehensive monographic study (Rakoczy 2015).The author presents the artifact within a broad European comparative framework, highlighting its uniqueness not only in the context of early medieval Silesia. Her observations can be supplemented by the fact that ash wood was considered by the Slavs to be a symbol of immortality (due to its leaves falling while still green in autumn). Additionally, its sap was used in medieval times as an antidote for viper bites, while its bark was processed into fever-reducing medicines (Będkowska, Marszałek, Pikus 2012, 70 ff.).

Other representations of the Nine Men's Morris board discovered in the Vistula and Oder river basins date to the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The Museum of the Origins of the Polish State in Gniezno houses
<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 4.** Wroclaw (Ostrów Tumski/Cathedral Island), Poland. Nine Men's Morris board engraved on the bottom of a wooden vessel made of ash wood. Source: Rakoczy 2016, Fig. 17</figcaption></figure>

a ceramic figural tile featuring a depiction of a Nine Men's Morris board along with what appears to be a devil's mask. This artifact, found at site 22 in Gniezno, is dated to the 15th century (Janiak 2003, 95, Fig. 188). The author of the study initially interpreted the depiction as a representation of the “Minotaur's Labyrinth” (see also Sawicki 2014, 73). A significantly later artifact, dating to the first half of the 17th century, is a ceramic tile featuring a Nine Men's Morris board discovered at the Royal Castle in Warsaw (Pela 1999, 31)<fnref n="2" />.

Other post-early medieval representations of the Nine Men's Morris board have been recorded in Lower Silesia, though only one such artifact has been published in the archaeological literature. This is a small tin plaque discovered in Nowy Targ Square in Wroclaw, dated to the mid 13th century (inventory no. 11648/11). The plaque features a Nine Men's Morris board on one side and a backgammon board on the other (Sawicki 2014, 71 ff., 84, Fig. 56a).

<footnote n="2">² This article will not present the relatively numerous examples of depictions of Nine Men's Morris boards from the late medieval and early modern period from the Czech and Moravia regions (engravings on stones, ceramics, plaster, wall paintings, impressions on building ceramics). However, I would like to thank Nad'a Profantová, Pavel Kouřil, Ewa Lisowska, Sylwia Rodak, Lucyna Jaworska, and Tomasz Dudziak for the information about these items (including bibliographic data).</footnote>
The author interprets this find as either a miniature game board - a toy - or a token intended to bring good fortune to its owner (Sawicki 2014, 73). He unequivocally classifies the plaque as an import from Western Europe, likely produced in one of the Dutch centers.

Two other Nine Men's Morris boards from the Lower Silesian Voivodeship have not yet been scientifically studied and exist only in online records. In 2007, a Nine Men's Morris board carving was discovered on the wall of the presbytery in the Romanesque Church of St. John and St. Catherine in Świerzawa. The church, according to tradition, was founded in 1159 by Duke Bolesław the Tall and is documented as existing in 1268 (Steinborn 1959, 85, 92). The carving was found after the removal of three layers of modern plaster and is preliminarily dated to no later than the 15th century. Since the board is positioned on a vertical wall, it could not have served a practical function but was instead likely symbolic or ideological (for the significance of Nine Men's Morris in antiquity and the Middle Ages, see Pijanowski 1969, 38 ff.).

This symbolic meaning is emphasized by the immediate proximity of another unique carving on the same wall - the so-called Solomon's knot (Latin: *Salomonissigillum*, (Fig. 5). From antiquity through the Middle Ages, this symbol was associated with immortality, eternity, and good fortune, particularly in battle. Notably, one of the most commonly used medicinal plants in medieval and early modern pharmacy, *Polygonatum odoratum* and *P. multiflorum*, bears a similar name - Solomon's seal, perhaps not coincidentally (see Kadłubek, Drobnik 2014, passim; Stefanowicz, Ochocka 2004, 163 ff. and the quote "Polygonatum multiflorum has been known in medicine and used for thousands of years. (...) Extracts made from its rhizomes were used in folk medicine mainly externally, as hot compresses for the skin in cases of bruises, contusions, hematomas, ulcers, boils, as well as swellings and irritations"). The carvings in the Church of St. John and St. Catherine in Świerzawa have received virtually no scholarly attention, particularly the Solomon's knot engraving. The Nine Men's Morris board has only been briefly mentioned based on an online reference, identified as a "15th-century drawing on the wall of a church in Świerzawa, Lower Silesia" (Gomułka 2018, 1035).

Similarly, the Nine Men's Morris board discovered during archaeological and architectural investigations in Opole Cathedral has yet to be fully published (research by dr M. Przysiężna-Pizarska from the University of Opole). It was found carved into a stone slab covered in mortar, originating from a wall relic uncovered beneath the present-day church floor (Fig. 6). Preliminary findings suggest that the carving dates to the church's construction period,
<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 5.** Świerzawa (Church of St. John and St. Catherine), Złotoryja County, Poland. Nine Men's Morris board and Solomon's knot engraved in plaster on the northern wall of the presbytery. Photo: K. Jaworski</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 6.** Opole (Cathedral of the Holy Cross), Poland. Nine Men's Morris board engraved in 13th-century building mortar. Source: Róg 2022 [accessed: 26.03.2025]</figcaption></figure>
i.e., the first half of the 13th century (Róg 2022). Discoveries of Nine Men's Morris boards in medieval churches have dozens of parallels in Southern Europe, especially in the Mediterranean Basin. Such finds are less common in other regions, but a noteworthy example is a similar discovery in the ruins of the early Romanesque church in Dąbäßa near Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania. This church was most likely built during the Hungarian rule in the 11th–12th centuries (Gall, Laczkó 2013, 101–102, 112, Table 9), although the site itself likely has an older Avar or Slavic origin, dating back to the 8th–late 9th century (see Tílipic 2006, 108).

The board from Lubań, located in historical Lusatia and discovered in 2010, has a clearly younger chronology. The engraving probably dates to the 18th century and was placed on a sandstone windowsill of the former city prison (Bernacki, n.d., where the circumstances of the discovery and its interpretation are discussed). This artifact has not yet been further presented in the scholarly literature

### III. A SET OF ENGRAVED NINE MEN'S MORRIS BOARDS FROM KRZYŻOWA MOUNTAIN NEAR STRZEGOM

The collection of Silesian Nine Men's Morris game boards mentioned above can be supplemented with three additional similar engravings (Fig. 7). These were discovered by chance on 8 April 2018, on Krzyżowa Mountain (353.6 m a.s.l.), a hill towering over Strzegom. A slightly higher nearby peak, Świętego Jerzego Mountain (354.4 m a.s.l.), is located just 250 meters to the west (see Głuszyński 2015). These twin peaks are considered the highest points of the Strzegomskie Hills, a mesoregion largely composed of granite and part of the Sudetes Foothills (German: *Striegauer Berge*).

The game boards, engraved on one of the granite rocks on Krzyżowa Mountain, are clearly visible, even from the tourist path leading to the summit from the west. They can be seen in some historical photographs, including images from the 1930s preserved in the Bildarchiv Foto Marburg collection (Fig. 8) and on several postcards from the Strzegom region (Fig. 9). Despite their distinctive appearance and seemingly recognizable form, these engravings depicting Nine Men's Morris game boards had never been published before - neither in academic literature nor in travel guides. An initial report on the discovery of the engravings on Krzyżowa Mountain was presented as an illustrated conference abstract (Jaworski 2019).
<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 7.** Krzyżowa Mountain near Strzegom, Świdnica County, Poland. A group of three Nine Men's Morris boards engraved on natural granite rock. View from the northeast. Photo: K. Jaworski</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 8.** Rocks on Krzyżowa Mountain with visible engravings of Nine Men's Morris boards. Interwar-period photograph from the Bildarchiv Foto Marburg collection. Reproduced on: www.polska-org.pl [https://polska-org.pl/4319453,foto.html?idEntity=5595693; accessed: 26.03.2025]</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 9.** Rocks on Krzyżowa Mountain with visible engravings of Nine Men's Morris boards. Postcard issued during the interwar period by Kreisausschuß Striegau. Collection: K. Jaworski</figcaption></figure>

Three Nine Men's Morris boards were engraved on an almost horizontal rock ledge, which slopes slightly to the west (Fig. 10). The ledge is undercut on the western side by an almost vertical, highly exposed rock wall, reaching a height of several meters. The engravings exhibit all the characteristics typical of ancient and especially medieval representations of Nine Men's Morris. They do not contain any additional lines, which sometimes appear in modern variations. Such a large number of boards on a relatively small rock surface (approximately 160x110 cm), which, as noted above, is highly exposed, is particularly intriguing. The distances between them are only 0.3-0.4 m, making it unlikely that they were used simultaneously by players – if they were ever intended as actual game boards. The engravings are of similar dimensions. The outer edges in all cases measure approximately 20 cm. The sizes of the three rectangles forming each board – from the outermost to the middle and the smallest inner one – are very similar: board no. 1 (northern) – 21x22 cm, 15x16 cm, 9x10 cm (Fig. 11); board no. 2 (central) – 22 x 23 cm, 13x15 cm, 8x9 cm (Fig. 12); board no. 3 (southern, the most poorly preserved) – 19x21 cm, 13x14 cm, 7x7 cm (Fig. 13). Interestingly, these dimensions are also similar to the Nine Men's Morris board engraved in the Middle Ages on the wall of the presbytery of St. John and St. Catherine's Church in Świerzawa.
<figure><img src="image_11.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 10.** Krzyżowa Mountain near Strzegom, Świdnica County, Poland. A group of three Nine Men's Morris boards engraved on natural granite rock. View from the southwest. Photo: K. Jaworski</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_12.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 11.** Nine Men's Morris board No. 1 from Krzyżowa Mountain. Photo: K. Jaworski</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_13.png" /><figcaption>FIG. 12. Nine Men's Morris board No. 2 from Krzyżowa Mountain. Photo: K. Jaworski</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_14.png" /><figcaption>FIG. 13. Nine Men's Morris board No. 3 from Krzyżowa Mountain. Photo: K. Jaworski</figcaption></figure>
The purpose of the Strzegom engravings cannot yet be determined with certainty. At this preliminary stage of research on this set of Nine Men's Morris boards, there is more evidence supporting their interpretation as symbols of prosperity and good fortune. This is suggested by the already noted low accessibility and high exposure of the rock ledge, which would have forced any potential players into near-acrobatic postures during a game – if played at all – on just one of the three boards.

The chronology of the Nine Men's Morris boards engraved on Krzyżowa Mountain remains unknown for now. However, numerous indications suggest that they may have been placed there as early as the early Middle Ages. If so, they would constitute the third example – after Podegrodzie and Ostrów Tumski in Wrocław – of the presence of Nine Men's Morris in early medieval Poland. Hypothetically, these engravings could be linked to the garrison of the Slavic stronghold that functioned between the 9th and 13th centuries on the nearby Szeroka Mountain, located less than 0.5 km from Krzyżowa Mountain. Szeroka Mountain (German: Breite-Berg) is more commonly referred to in Polish archaeological literature by its alternative name – Bazaltowa (Polish: Basalt) Mountain.

Its strategic advantages (340 m above sea level), situated about 1.5 km north of the present-day center of Strzegom, were first utilized in prehistoric times, when a fortified settlement of the Lusatian culture was established there during the Hallstatt period of the Iron Age. The abandoned site, most likely destroyed by a Scythian raid at the turn of the 6th and 5th centuries BC, remained in ruins until the early Middle Ages. The Slavic fortification built on this site, probably as early as the 9th century, survived the turbulent events of the late 10th century – specifically, the incorporation of the Oder region into the early Piast state. Later, it became one of the key centers of Piast administration in Silesia. The stronghold was listed among the castellanies mentioned in Pope Adrian IV's papal bull for the Bishopric of Wrocław, dated 23 April 1155. It is also associated with the figure of Apezko de Silyz recorded in documents from 1292 and 1299 as the castellan of Strzegom (castellanus in Strigun) – (see Kaletynowie, Lodowski 1968, 136, where references to historical sources can be found; also: Rodak 2017, 201).

In many studies on the stronghold on Szeroka (Bazaltowa) Mountain, the site is typically considered to have functioned – after its prehistoric Hallstatt episode – only between the 11th and 13th centuries. The absence of written sources, as well as the archaeological finds discovered at the site, previously prevented scholars from dating the stronghold to an earlier period. The
relatively late chronology of the site was primarily indicated by metal arti-
facts, many of which originated from the later phases of the early Middle Ages
and the beginning of the late Middle Ages, including coins from the 12th–14th
centuries. It was not until the 1970s that significant revisions were made to the
chronology of the stronghold on Szeroka Mountain. Wroclaw archaeologist
Józef Kaźmierczyk, who participated in the last two seasons of rescue excav-
vations at the site (1964–1965), reanalyzed the published documentation from
pre-1945 German excavations. He identified two construction phases of the
early medieval defensive structures and dated the older phase to the 9th–10th
centuries, while the younger phase was associated with the castellany strong-
hold confirmed by historical sources from the 11th–13th centuries (Kaźmierczyk
1978, 38). Kaźmierczyk also noted the presence of ceramics from the 9th and
10th centuries within the cultural layers of the stronghold, which correspond-
ed to the earlier phase of its early medieval occupation. In the later phase, the
site became part of an important network of strongholds located along the
northern edge of the Sudetes, at the very foothills of this mountain range. The
district, with the Strzegom stronghold as its center, bordered to the northwest
with the territory of the Gramolin castellany, which is now identified with the
village of Grodziszcze near Świdnica. To the west, it was adjacent to a district
associated with the stronghold in Świny, near present-day Bolków.

The summit of Krzyżowa Mountain was undoubtedly used as an obser-
vation point by the garrison of the stronghold. The peak of Szeroka Mountain,
where the stronghold was located, reached only 310–320 meters above sea level.
As a result, the highest point within the fortified area had its view obstructed
to the north by the higher peaks of Krzyżowa Mountain and Świętego Jerzego
Mountain. Additionally, the southern ridge of Krzyżowa Mountain blocked
visibility to the east and northeast, including toward the stronghold on Swar-
na Mountain (also known as Zwycięstwa Mountain, 315 m a.s.l.), located
about 4 km to the northeast near the present-day village of Graniczna. Today,
it is impossible to fully reconstruct the field of vision from the stronghold on
Szeroka Mountain, as the entire site has been nearly destroyed due to the ex-
ploitation of the granites and basalts that form the hill. However, observations
to the northwest, north, northeast, and east - toward locations such as Złoto-
ryja, Legnica, Jawor, and Wroclaw - could only be conducted from outposts
situated on Krzyżowa Mountain and Świętego Jerzego Mountain (Fig. 14, 15).
Reaching these observation points took no more than ten minutes of leisurely
walking, as both summits were connected to the stronghold by roads only
about 400 meters long.
<figure><img src="image_15.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 14.** The view of three peaks (from left: Szeroka Mountain, Świętego Jerzego Mountain, and Krzyżowa Mountain) in the Strzegomskie Hills. Copperplate engraving by Carl Friedrich Stuckhart from the early 19th century. Collection: Digital Library of the University of Wroclaw. Reproduced on: www.polska-org.pl [https://polska-org.pl/931015, foto.html?idEntity=520385; accessed: 26.03.2025]</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_16.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 15.** The view of three peaks (Szeroka Mountain – now almost completely leveled, Świętego Jerzego Mountain, and Krzyżowa Mountain) in the Strzegomskie Hills. Krzyżowa Mountain is closest to the right edge of the engraving. Created by Sylwia Rodak</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_17.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 16.** View towards the southeast, south, and southwest (panorama of part of the Silesian Lowland, Sudetes Foothills, and the Sudetes) from Krzyżowa Mountain near Strzegom: a - view to the southeast (1000-1340), showing part of the Wroclaw Lowland and Ślęża Massif, b - view to the southeast and south (1340-1560), showing the Świdnica Lowland, Bystrzyca Depression, and northeastern slopes of the Sowie Mountains, c - view to the south (1540-1800), showing the Sowie Mountains and Wałbrzyskie Foothills, →</figcaption></figure>
Krzyżowa Mountain is one of the best vantage points in Lower Silesia (Fig. 16a-d)<fnref n="3" />. From its summit, one can enjoy a panoramic view of nearly the entire Western and Central Sudetes, the entire Sudetes Foothills, and almost the entirety of the Silesian Lowland (Fig. 17). At the foot of the mountain, on the eastern side, runs a route that has been in use since the early Middle Ages, connecting the Świdnica region with the vicinity of Legnica and, further north, Greater Poland. To the west of Krzyżowa Mountain and Świętego Jerzego Mountain ran a road from the Sudeten passes separating Silesia from Bohemia (the Lubawka and Broumov-Mieroszów passes), through the

<figure><img src="image_18.png" /></figure>

**FIG. 17.** Visibility range from Krzyżowa Mountain near Strzegom. The map marks early medieval strongholds in the Wałbrzyskie and Kaczawskie Foothills, the Świdnica Lowland, and the Strzegomskie Hills. Other areas were visible from the summit of the neighboring Świętego Jerzego Mountain. Created by Sylwia Rodak

<figure><img src="image_19.png" /></figure>

d - view to the south and southwest (1740-2100), showing the Wałbrzyskie Foothills, Kamienne Mountains, and Wałbrzyskie Mountains. Photo: A. Miziołek

<footnote n="3">³ I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Antoni Miziołek for providing the photographs of the panorama of the Sudetes and the Sudetes Foothills from Krzyżowa Mountain.</footnote>
Kamienne Mountain and Wałbrzych Basins, towards both Legnica and Wroclaw. From both summits, observers could monitor the road running along the northern edge of the Sudetes, leading from the Bolesławiec region in the west towards Złotoryja, Bolków, Świdnica, and the faintly visible area of Nysa (this route continued towards Upper Silesia and Lesser Poland). Finally, to the north of Krzyżowa Mountain and Świętego Jerzego Mountain, there was an unobstructed view of the route from Wroclaw towards Legnica, the Bolesławiec region, and Lusatia. A strategic vantage point of this kind could not have been ignored or left unused by the garrison of the nearby military outpost. It is therefore possible that the guards stationed at the summit of Krzyżowa Mountain were the creators of the rock carvings presented here. However, whether this set of rock engravings dates back to the early Middle Ages (rather than the late Hallstatt period when the Lusatian culture settlement existed on Szeroka Mountain) may never be definitively verified or confirmed.

Such a form of verification could be the discovery of game pieces on Krzyżowa Mountain. It would be difficult to assume that people arriving at the summit in modern times - where their stay would likely be a brief episode used primarily to admire one of the most beautiful mountain panoramas in the Sudetes Foothills - would carve Nine Men's Morris boards into the hard granite. Moreover, not just a single board, but several, and not scattered across different parts of the rocky summit, but concentrated on a single rock shelf. In such a case, assuming these were actual game boards, it seems almost irrational that transient visitors would go through the effort of carving them. However, viewing the Strzegom carvings as symbolic signs significantly broadens the interpretative possibilities and enriches the discussion, including considerations regarding their time of origin. They may have been created, for example, during the turbulent and devastating wars of the 17th and 18th centuries (the Thirty Years' War, the Silesian Wars). Alternatively, they might have been engraved by miners searching at the

<figure><img src="image_20.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 18.** Twin peaks of Szeroka, Świętego Jerzego, and Krzyżowa Mountains depicted as a symbol of Strzegom on terra sigillata stregonensis tablets (17th century). Source: Ziątkowski 1998, Fig. 25</figcaption></figure>
foot of the neighboring Świętego Jerzego Mountain for the medicinal clay *terra sigillata stregonensis*, which was shaped into round tablets with embossed outlines of Krzyżowa Mountain, Świętego Jerzego Mountain, and Szeroka Mountain (Fig. 18) and exported throughout much of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries (Sagan, Pakiet 1988; Ziątkowski 1998, 93–95; Spielvogel, Pająk 2021, 31–33).

The form of the Strzegom Nine Men's Morris boards (characteristically medieval), their location (one of the best vantage points in Lower Silesia, along with the twin summit of Świętego Jerzego Mountain, from which key trade routes passing through the region could be monitored; Fig. 19)<fnref n="4" />, and

<figure><img src="image_21.png" /><figcaption>**FIG. 19.** Krzyżowa Mountain along with Świętego Jerzego Mountain, as seen from the nearby Swarna Mountain (Victory Mountain, 315 m above sea level) near the village of Graniczna Górna (where a 9th–10th century early medieval Slavic stronghold, later destroyed by a granite quarry, was located), 2.7 km to the northeast. Between Swarna and Krzyżowa Mountain, the depression of the Wierzbiak Valley is visible, with the Central and Western Sudetes in the background. Photo: K. Jaworski</figcaption></figure>

<footnote n="4">4 At the current, still very preliminary stage of research on these carvings from the territory of Western Slavs, attention can be drawn to the similar topographical context of the finds from Krzyżowa Mountain, Podegrodzie, and Butovice in the Czech Republic. The stronghold in Podegrodzie controlled a trans-Carpathian communication route running along the Dunajec Valley, while the stronghold in Butovice served as a key point for overseeing the route leading from nearby Prague toward its southwestern settlement hinterland along the Dalejský potok Valley. This area was</footnote>
the type of material in which they were carved (hard rock, whose processing was labor-intensive and time-consuming but ensured the long-term durability of the boards), allow for the preliminary hypothesis that their creators were members of the early medieval garrison from the nearby stronghold on Szeroka Mountain. Nevertheless, this unique and spectacular set of game boards - without a known counterpart not only in Polish territories but also in the neighboring regions of present-day Germany and the Czech Republic - certainly deserves further detailed research.

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ADDRESS OF THE AUTHOR

Krzysztof Jaworski
Institute of Archaeology
University of Wrocław
Szewska Street 48, 50-139 Wrocław
ORCID 0000-0002-0445-6262
<figure><img src="image_22.png" /></figure>