Nieinwazyjne i małoinwazyjne badania archeologiczne grodziska w Horbowie-Kolonii, w powiecie bialskim, w województwie lubelskim, w roku 2021
Authors:   Katedra Historii Starożytnej, Bizantyńskiej i Średniowiecznej KUL, Lublin, Polska, Marcin Piotrowski , Piotrowska Patrycja ,   Firma Gorgona (ArchaeoFuture), Lublin, Polska, Kłosińska Elżbieta Małgorzata ,   Instytut Archeologii UMCS, Lublin, Polska
Published: June 2022

Archaeological research in Horbowo-Kolonia, Zalesie commune, Biała Podlaska district, in November 2021 was ordered by the Lublin Provincial Conservation Officer. The aim of the study was to identify better the fortified settlement included in the record of archaeological sites under the number AZP 60-88/88, site nr 10 and to put it under preservation order by entering it in the register of monuments of the Lubelskie Voivodeship. Due to the limited time and season of the year, it was decided to use minimally invasive and non-invasive methods of research - modern technologies, geophysics and remote sensing. Researchers prepared a series of several dozen geological probing, geophysical prospection with the magnetic method within the fortified settlement and the „podgrodzie”, aerial photographs from the drone, as well as the generation of maps, plans and 3D models based on field measurements and LiDAR data, analysis of orthophotomaps from various periods, provided by The Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography in Warsaw (GUGiK). The research was preceded by an archival research. The site is located in the south-western part of Zalesie commune, in the central part of Biała Podlaska district, about 15 km east of Biała Podlaska. It is located at the end of a sandy deposits formed as a result of river accumulation, shaped by the waters of the Krzna River, which meandered strongly in the distant past. The local name Horbow has a topographic character and is associated with the oronyms of the type Horbek or Horby, derived from the Ukrainian word горб (horb) or the Ruthenian горб (gorb) meaning hump, a slight hill. The etymological basis of the local name Horbow upon Krzna was certainly created before the appearance of the Horbowski (Zaranek-Horbowski) family in this area, which took place at the beginning of the 15th century. Giving the Zaranek family a manor in Horbow resulted in the creation of the nickname Horbowscy, which became a commonly used surname with time. On the basis of geological probing, it was possible to distinguish 15 different types of layers at the site. Even though, the diagnosed stratigraphy gives a very general picture, it allows the researchers to plan future excavations. As it was indicated by means of trial excavations, the relics of the ramparts and moats had preserved some elements of the original construction. During the magnetic prospection, many anomalies were captured that can be considered archaeological features and traces of human activity in the Modern period. A special place in this group is encompassed by the M-1 type feature, which should be interpreted as an image of the box structure of the main (internal) rampart of the fortified settlement. What is more, the entrance gate was also located. The stronghold in Horbowo-Kolonia belongs to the group of lowland structures located in the floodplain parts of river valleys and formally represents the ring type with a double line of ramparts separated by a moat, with a narrow inter-rampart space. The circumferential length of the inner rampart was approximately 140 m, and the enclosed area amounted approximately 0.15 ha. The circumference of the external rampart was originally about 207 m. The site has various formal analogies among the fortified settlements from the tribal period, sometimes also functioning at the beginning of the state period, for example in the present-day Lublin voivodeship. The immediate hinterland of the stronghold was the part of the elevation adjacent to the east, which can be described as the „podgrodzie”. On the basis of two fragments of pottery vessels found in the „podgrodzie” and the construction of the main rampart and various formal analogies, the object should be initially dated between the 8th and 11th centuries, with an indication of the 9th–10th centuries.