Borownia. The prehistoric striped flint mine from the World Heritage List

il. ; 29 cm

ill. ; 29 cm

The site was discovered in 1921. It is located in the sandy area of the Iłża Foreland, in central Poland on the Kamienna river, a left tributary of the middle Vistula river. In 1922 the Borownia site was referred to as a campignian striped flint mine. In 1935 it became a protected area because of the well-preserved prehistoric mine landscape. Since its discovery, it has been repeatedly studied by non-destructive methods. In 2017 a decision was made to submit the site for entry on the World Heritage List as part of the Krzemionki Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining Region. In the same year the first excavations were carried out in order to obtain samples for mine dating by the 14C method. In light of the archaeological material and dates it was found that the flint deposit was mined in the early Bronze Age, between 2300 and 1600/1500 cal. BC . From striped flint bifacial axe blades and adzes were produced. The author believes that the mine was exploited by communities inhabiting the small Gierczanka river area, mainly in the settlement Mierzanowice, located 10 km south of Borownia, on the loess upland (the Mierzanowice culture). On July 6, 2019 the mine, together with the Krzemionki Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining Region, was entered on the World Heritage List. The article presents three visualizations: the shaft, the Borownia mining field, and settlement Mierzanowice