Castrum Lubenov. Tragiczne dzieje średniowiecznej wieży w Lubrzy / Castrum Lubenov. The tragic history of the medieval tower in Lubrza

Abstract

In 2016, the immediate surroundings of a valuable historical site - a knight's tower (motte-and-bailey castle) in Lubrza, Lubuskie Voivodeship, W Poland - were destroyed. Rescue works undertaken immediately after this unfortunate event led to the documentation of the tower's state of preservation and the acquisition of numerous late medieval artefacts, displaced from their original context. The book provides a full description and reconstruction of the history of the tower structure and the material culture associated with its functioning. From the outset, the intention of the editor of this study was to show the tragic history of the castle through the prism of the daily activities of its former inhabitants - as the Braudelian structures of everyday life. As a result the reader is presented with a multiplot story about the material and spiritual sphere, status and contacts, and eventually the mundane everyday functioning of the building over the centuries. The historical context (J. Karczewska), architectural context (A. Legendziewicz), geo-informational context (G. Kiarszys), various aspects of individual categories of finds (H. Augustyniak, S. Kałagate, A. Michalak, A. Janowski, T. Szczurek, D. Makowiecki, M. Makowiecka, P. Stachowiak), as well as the theme of the technology of blacksmith craftsmanship (M. Biborski et al., J. Hošek) are taken into account. No less important is the analysis of the legal context of destroying a monument and its impunity (M. Kosowicz). As a result, we are presented with an extremely fascinating picture of everyday life of the upper classes in the Middle Ages on the borders of Silesia, Greater Poland and Brandenburg, provoked by the rape on heritage, but nevertheless proving the great potential of contemporary archaeology in "reading the past" from the scraps it has at its disposal.