An Early Medieval cemetery at Grodowice, in the Kazimierza Wielka district

In the years 2005–2008 a major part of an early medieval cemetery at site 1 at Grodowice, Świętokrzyskie province, was discovered. The Grodowice necropolis is an example of a flat cemetery with 35 graves arranged in rows, where most of the deceased were buried in rectangular burial pits with rounded corners. In the majority of the burial pits there was no evidence to suggest the use of additional constructions within the graves. The deceased were usually buried with their heads to the west, prone on their backs, with their hands stretched along the corpse. The results of anthropological analysis indicate that the deceased buried in the cemetery were of various sex and age. The marginally diversified forms of ornaments and elements of costume, such as temple rings, finger-rings, beads and coins, commonly known from cemeteries in western Slavdom, were the predominant grave goods found with the deceased. The Grodowice necropolis was most probably in use between the second half or towards the end of the 10th century and 12th century. The cemetery probably ceased to function soon afterwards, as a result of the expansion of the parochial network that was recorded in the entire Wiślica provostry during the 12th century. It was accompanied by the construction of new churches whose surroundings started to be used for burying the dead.