Late medieval mottes in Lower Silesia

The example of Klein Beltsch (Belcz Maly, gm. Wqsosz)

Abstract

There are still many questions to be investigated about the castle-type motte - widely represented in Europe -, its dating, shape and use as a form of defensive fortification, mostly because only a small number of such sites have been archaeologically examined. This was the starting point of the research project to investigate the motte Klein Beltsch (Belcz Maly) in Lower Silesia and a nearby bridge in 2009. A complex stratigraphy within the motte was detected which included the Bronze Age, late Slavic and probably Roman Iron Age phases of use. According to the finds, including a fragment of stoneware of the "Falke-Gruppe", and to dendrochronology the fortification was erected only around 1400. In this contribution, the excavation results are presented and classified culture-historically.