Excavations in preparation for the S1 Expressway have delayed road construction following the discovery of two Bronze Age settlements.
In a press statement announced by the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA), archaeologists uncovered the settlements near the village of Jawiszowice in Poland’s Oświęcim County.
According to the researchers, fragments of clay vessels and flints found in situ suggest that one of the settlements is associated with the Lusatian culture, a Bronze Age/Early Iron Age people from 1100 to 400 BC who inhabited what is now Poland, and parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, and Ukraine.
Excavations of the settlement (designated Jawiszowice 5 stand) have revealed traces of post holes and several agricultural structures, including a series of storage pits used as cellars for storing basic crops.
Located only a few hundred metres away is an earlier settlement (designated Jawiszowice 6 stand) that is associated with the Mierzanowice culture, an Early Bronze Age people from 2300 to 1800 BC that inhabited parts of Slovakia and Poland.
Settlements of the Mierzanowice culture are mostly represented by small seasonal camps, however, archaeologists found further traces of permanent structures within the settlement, in addition to storage pits, a ditch, and 34 flint artefacts that include an “intricate arrowhead” made from Jurassic flint.
According to the GDDKiA: “Due to the archaeological discoveries the contractor was obliged to suspend work in this part of the construction site and found it justified to extend the time to complete the investment of the S1 Expressway by 223 calendar days.”
The S1 Expressway expected completion date has now been postponed from July 2024 to June 2025 until excavations have fully documented both sites.
Header Image Credit : GDDKiA
Sources : GDDKiA
