Pozostałości osadnictwa z późnego neolitu i wczesnej epoki brązu na stanowisku 4 w Sztynwagu, gm. Grudziądz, woj. kujawsko-pomorskie

Abstract

The multicultural site 4 in Sztynwag occupies a small section of the second fluvial terrace (fi gs. 1, 2) of the Grudziądz Basin mesoregion. The site lies on cambic arenosols which were originally surrounded by waterlogged ground (wetlands), most of which has now been drained (Bienias 2006). An open-plan excavation carried out at this site in 2000 revealed 680 archaeological features and over 8000 pottery sherds, around 70% of which were associated with phase IIIB of the Chelmno group of the Funnel Beaker culture (Chudziak 2006; Slupczewski 2006). Four features and 100 ceramic sherds were attributed to the Globular Amphora culture (figs. 4–6); they represented the remains of a small settlement dated to phases IIIa–IIIb of this culture in the Kuyavia region. The Corded Ware culture was evidenced by the presence of three features and 65 potsherds, most of them (58 sherds) produced using a technology that involved the addition of crushed stone temper to the ceramic fabric; only seven of these sherds were tempered with a mixture of sand and grog (fi gs. 7–9). Three rim sherds are particularly distinctive: they came from vessels with a fabric tempered with crushed stone and were decorated with a motif of intersecting horizontal and vertical impressions made with a thick two-stranded cord (fig. 8: 7–9). This type of pottery is currently ascribed to the so-called northeast trend of the Corded Ware culture sphere. It can probably be linked to the late period of this sphere’s development or to the early Bronze Age. The discovered remains provide evidence of multiple though transient use of this site by communities representing almost every stage of development of the Corded Ware culture (the most intensive use occurring during the earlier phase). Early Bronze Age evidence took the form of nine features and 490 ceramic vessel sherds attributable on stylistic grounds to the Iwno/Trzciniec culture of the Chelmno region (figs. 10–15). They are generally consistent with the end of the early horizon/beginning of the classic horizon of the Trzciniec cultural sphere in Kuyavia (HT 1–2 – after Makarowicz 1998a; 1998b; 2010). The pottery assemblage is from a single stylistic phase and probably represents the remains of a relatively permanent (multi-season?) settlement located on the sandy elevation of a fluvial terrace. The number of features and finds dating from the transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age discovered in Sztynwag indicates that this was an area of relatively intensive occupation, particularly well-evidenced in the early Bronze Age. Rescue excavations carried along the route of the A–1 motorway in the Chelmno region, within the Lower Vistula valley, led to the discovery of several other sites which yielded finds dating from the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age which were stylistically similar to those recovered from Sztynwag (Kamionki Duze, Łysomice Commune, sites 2 and 15; Stare Marzy, Grudziądz Commune, site 5; Ruda, Grudziądz Commune, sites 3–6).