Grody „plemienne” i „wczesnopaństwowe” na Mazowszu (IX–XI w.)
„Tribal” and “early State” strongholds in Mazovia (9th–11th c.)

State of the art, research questions and interpretive possibilities

Summary/Abstract: The following text is dedicated to early medieval strongholds built in Mazovia between the end of the 9th and the end of the 11th c. At least 39 sites can be dated to that period, among them 14 were built in the so-called “tribal” period, while the other ones are associated with the early Piast state structures. One should emphasize the small number of “tribal” strongholds and their concentration to the north of the middle Vistula river. The standardized form of the oldest fortifications refers directly to the so-called Tornow type. Apparently, the first strongholds associated with the expansion of the early Piast state appeared at the end of the 10th c. in the western Mazovia and the main building activity was limited to that area until the end of the 11th c. Noteworthy, at least up to the mid-11th c. both “tribal” and early-state strongholds existed near to each other.

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