Janków II
Janków Drugi, in commune Blizanów, distr. Kalisz, in archaeological literature known also as Oszczywilk and Piłat, lies about 15 km to the north-west of Kalisz on the right bank of the river Prosna. The locality harbours a multi-culture site (site 1 AZP 63-37/10 in the National Archaeological Survey), in fact, a group of sites rich in artefacts from different periods of prehistory and history. Found on the rim and the gentle incline of the sandy Prosna glacial valley close to an unnamed stream, the site was identified in 1924 by Józef Kostrzewski who discovered on its surface Pre-Roman Period, Roman Period and medieval pottery. During the 1930s basing on finds recovered during a surface survey Rudolf Jamka proposed to interpret the site as a grave field, or possibly, a settlement of Urnfield culture, and a Roman Period cemetery. The first excavation, undertaken in 1934 by Jan Fitzke, identified several settlement pits, some graves of Lusatian Culture and three inhumation burials from the →Migration Period. The fieldwork also yielded fragments of Przeworsk Culture pottery from the Pre-Roman Period. Investigating the site in 1950, Lech Leciejewicz from the Archaeological Museum in Poznań uncovered mostly features associated with Lusatian Culture. In 2007 the first Celtic coins were discovered here and, with time, found to be the products of a local mint. A grave that J. Fitzke had recorded as no. 1 held some poorly preserved skeletal remains, including a jawbone, which led this researcher to conclude that the body of the dead (woman?) had been deposited on its right side, with the face turned west. Over the head was a pottery jug – a wheel-thrown, so-called “blue” ware, two spindlewhorls, and lower down, an opaque glass bead, type 183 in the classification of M. Mączyńska, and a bronze bow brooch with three knobs on the head. To the left of the skeleton lay another brooch - a crossbow form, type Ramersdorf in the classification of M. Schulze-Dörrlamm. The position of the brooches, which had, next to them, some surviving textile fragments, suggests that the dead woman wore a peplos. The second burial, recorded as “feature no. 6”, held somewhat better preserved remains of a skeleton, buried lying on its right side, with legs flexed, aligned N-S, the face turned west. Over the head was a hand-built clay pot, and below the feet, an oblong iron object – presumably an awl. The third burial (grave no. 8) presumably rested in the same position as the other two – on its side, with legs flexed. The grave goods of the dead woman(?) were an iron knife, two bronze dress pins, a gilt disc brooch, two bronze crossbow brooches, five glass beads and a clay spindlewhorl. The position of the brooches suggests that in this case also the dead individual wore a peplos. The grave pit contained fragments of a textile (textiles?) covered by a slender layer of wood (coffin remains?).
The dating of these burials rests on the chronological position of brooch forms discovered in grave no. 1., which is still open to debate. J. Werner, who interpreted both brooches as imports from the Danube region, proposed to date grave no. 1 to the late 5th century; M. Schulze-Dörrlamm – basing on the bow brooch – to the second third of the 5th century. According to Polish researchers this burial dates to the second half of the 5th century. The burials from J. would document the survival of a small Germanic group within an important settlement centre on the Middle Prosna during the 5th century, possibly even longer.
MR
Literature: A. Karpińska, Nowe nabytki działu przedhistorycznego Muzeum Wielkopolskiego w Poznaniu w latach 1923-1925, Przegląd Archeologiczny, vol. III, 1927, no. 3, p. 239 (no 3 and 5); J. Fitzke, Odkrycie osady z wczesnego okresu rzymskiego i cmentarzyska z okresu wędrówek ludów w Oszczywilku, w pow. Kaliskim, Z otchłani wieków, vol. IX, 1934, no. 2, p. 21-38; L. Leciejewicz, Sprawozdanie z badań, maszynopis w Archiwum Muzeum Archeologicznego w Poznaniu; J. Werner, Das Grab von München-Ramersdorfund die Zeitstellung der Niemberger Fibeln, Jahresschr., Mitteldt. Vorgesch. vol. 35, 1951, p. 144-148; A. Abramowicz, K. Dąbrowski, K. Jażdżewski, S. Nosek, Périod des Migrations des Peuples, Inventaria Arch. Pologne, fasc. 2, Łódź 1959, tab. 14; M. Rudnicki, S. Miłek, L. Ziąbka, A. Kędzierski, Mennica celtycka pod Kaliszem, Wiadomości Numizmatyczne, vol. LIII, 2009, no. 2, p. 103-145; V. Hilberg, Masurische Bügelfibeln. Studienzu den Fernbeziehungen der völkerwanderungszeitlichen Brandgräberfelder von Daumen und Kellaren. Daumen und Kellaren – Tumiany i Kielary 2, Schriften des Archäologischen Landesmuseums 9, Neumünster 2009, p. 130-135; A. Bursche, J. Kowalski (ed.), Barbarzyńskie Tsunami - Okres Wędrówek Ludów w dorzeczu Odry i Wisły, Warszawa-Szczecin 2017.