Recent Finds of Islamic Coins from the Old Town and Zawodzie Districts in Kalisz

Abstract

A settlement cluster around Kalisz first emerged in the Roman Period on a route leading from the south towards the Baltic coast. In the Early Middle Ages, a settlement centre connected with the Kalisz-Zawodzie stronghold developed at the crossroads of trade routes linking Wielkopolska with Silesia, Mazowsze, and Małopolska, with the earliest traces of early medieval occupation dating back to the 8th century. In the 10th century, oriental silver in the form of silver dirhams started to flow into the discussed region. These coins were part of deposits discovered in the sites of Kalisz-Szałe and Kalisz-Rajsków. Many years of research on artisanal settlement Kalisz-Stare Miasto produced a few fragments of Sāmānid dirhams minted between AH 279–343 (892–954). In 2018, during research at the Church of St. Adalbert located within the Kalisz-Zawodzie settlement accompanying the stronghold, a part of what was probably a larger silver deposit was found. In total, 13 dirham fragments were recovered, among which Sāmānid emissions dated to the first half of the 10th century were identified (8 pcs), as well as five pieces of undetermined dynastic attribution. As demonstrated by the stratigraphic analysis, the early medieval hoard had been discovered and dispersed at some point during the period when the church cemetery was used, between the 17th century and second half of the 18th century.