THE LONELY MOUNTAIN – WROCZEŃ (SANOK DISTRICT, SE POLAND) – A SACRED MOUNTAIN OF THE IRON AGE
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 24/03/2021

OralIn the vicinity of the Wroczeń mountain, in the last decades, many prehistoric settlements have been discovered. Most of them date  to  the  Roman  period.  However,  the  settlements  associated  with  the  La  Tène  period  and  the  early  Iron  Age  are  known  as  well. Some of these sites, located at the foot of the Wroczeń mountain, were excavated and provided numerous archaeological materials.  The  area  of  the  Wroczeń  itself  until  2015,  was  not  penetrated  to  a  significant  extent  by  archaeologists,  due  to  the  forest cover of the mountain. Over the last four years, due to accidental discoveries and conducted archaeological excavations, the image of this place has changed significantly. Discoveries of deposits of iron tools as well as other objects, like bracelets, give evidence to the sacred significance  of  this  place  in  the  La  Tène  period.  There  are  also  finds,  from  the  Wroczeń  as  well  as  from  the  other  mountains  in  the Sanok region, that would suggest a special role of the mountains also for the bronze age societies. Between 2015 and 2018 excavations,  which  led  to  the  exploration  of  the  whole  site,  have  been  conducted  on  the  necropolis  of  the  Przeworsk  culture,  dated to the Roman period. During the research on this small burial ground located on the slopes of Wroczeń, ten graves were discovered of which half were, richly furnished with weaponry, burials of warriors.The discoveries of recent years allow a new interpretation of the Wroczeń mountain as a place that occupied a prominent place within  the  sacrum  of  the  iron  age  community.  The  presentation  aims  to  present  the  results  of  field-work  carried  out  in  recent  years on the mountain and the possibilities of interpreting the Wroczeń mountain as a place of religious significance in the con-text of other finds from the Sanok region.


Author(s): Bulas, Jan - Okońska, Magdalena (Jagiellonian University) - Kotowicz, Piotr (Sanok)