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ANCIENT STONE CIRCLES IN THE NORTHERN POLAND

Agnese Kukela

Abstract

There are several hundreds of stone circles known in the northern Europe. Most of them were created during the time period from the late Stone Age until Middle Ages. However, their historical significance has been studied and evaluated only in a small number of cases. More often these stone circles are considered as peculiar nature formations, connected with the local folklore. The stone circles locate in the northern part of Poland were mainly studied since the beginning of the last century and the time of their creation was estimated as 2nd ? 1st century BC. These stone circles were transformed several times and thus lost their initial significance. However, extensive material and documentation research carried out in 2017 demonstrates that most of the stones were processed using different tools in various historical periods. By analysing the way of processing, the technology and tools used for these purposes, we were able to distinguish three different groups of stones. These groups characterize the processing of stones in the last century, in the Iron Age and also in the Bronze Age. The last group of stones is the most significant since it characterizes ancient megalithic culture in terms of the use of secondary stone material for creation of stone circles. These stones were processed with the stone tools, often giving anthropomorphic shape. The surface of these stones was carefully evened and some of them are still bearing cut signs. During the Iron Age the stones were shaped as pillars, sometimes having also orthogonal shape. The tool marks are still clearly visible, allowing us to evaluate the dimensions of the tools and the technique of processing. The surface of the stones was processed roughly and simply. The stones added to the circles during the last century were coarsely cut using iron tools, the shape was not specified or given at all, and the surface was poorly processed. Our study denotes that such approach could also be applied to analysis of other stone circles and stacks. This would allow us to promote purposeful historical and archaeological studies in particular region.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2018/2.3/s11.040

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