Datowanie początków cmentarzy wczesnośredniowiecznych na ziemiach polskich w świetle danych numizmatycznych
Dating the origins of early medieval cemeteries in the Polish lands in the light of numismatic data

Author(s): Stanisław Suchodolski
Subject(s): Archaeology, Middle Ages, 6th to 12th Centuries, 13th to 14th Centuries, 15th Century
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: coins; graves; cemeteries; dating
Summary/Abstract: Coins are the best dater of any artifact discovered in archaeological contexts. The time of circulation must be added to the date of creation of the coins. Coin dating is also more precise than that using 14C radioactive carbon analysis. The earliest, but only sporadic, coins appear in graves at Silesia (Germany). They are more common in cemeteries in Wielkopolska (Dziekanowice, Sowinki), Kujawy (Bodzia) and Gdańsk Pomerania (Kałdus, Warm). The beginnings of depositing these coins in graves can be assessed for a period not earlier than the last quarter of the 10th century, and more certainly for the years 990–1000. This corresponds to the beginning of Bolesław's reign Brave (992–1025), i.e. a quarter of a century after the adoption of Christianity. Has this rite existed in Poland before, finally the reign of Mieszko I cannot be ruled out. For now, however, there are no numismatic arguments for this. We also don't know whether there were earlier skeletal graves, which, however, did not contain coins.

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