EARLY MEDIAEVAL CEMETERY IN THE ZAMCZYSKO RANGE, BIALOWIEZA PRIMEVAL FOREST

Excavations conducted in 2003 in the Zamczysko Range in Bialowieza Primeval Forest (E. Poland) revealed an Early Mediaeval cemetery with flat graves, originally paved with stones and larger boulders (now destroyed by exploitation of stones from the site in the 19th and 20th centuries). In four trenches, covering in total 28.5 sq. m., remains of three inhumation burials (including two children) were discovered. Artifacts recovered from the site included potsherds, head-band ring pendants (made of copper with admixture of silver, zinc, and lead), and a single glass bead. Radiocarbon dating of human bones indicated that Zamczysko cemetery was used in the late 11th - early 12th century AD.