Archaeologists and history enthusiasts from the Search and Exploration Association “Krecik” have completed the first stage of a sanctioned field survey in Lipina Nowa, Poland, uncovering a remarkable cross-section of artefacts spanning from the Roman period to the 20th century.
The discoveries will soon enrich the collections of the Muzeum Zamojskie w Zamościu, where specialists will conduct further analysis and conservation.
Operating under a permit issued by the Lublin Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments’ Zamość Delegation, valid through 2025, the three-member team—Michał Tracz, Zbigniew Oszczępałski and Andrzej Saputa—conducted systematic metal detector surveys across selected plots in Lipina Nowa.
Roman-Period Fibula
The most significant discovery is a bronze fibula, or cloak brooch, dating to the late Roman period. The artefact is intact and in excellent condition. Professor Barbara Niezabitowska-Wiśniewska of the Institute of Archaeology at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University classified it within Almgren Group VI, type A.162. This typology, characterised by a profiled bow and foot, places the object between the second half of the 3rd century and the first half of the 4th century AD. Such finds attest to cultural connections and exchange networks operating in the region during antiquity.
Medieval Weaponry and Dress Accessories
Among the medieval finds is an iron “star” blade—identified as a caltrop—used as anti-cavalry or anti-personnel field defence from the late 12th to 15th centuries. Measuring approximately 6 by 5 centimetres, the object features a mounting aperture at its base. Andrzej Maziarz of the Arsenal Museum of Fortifications and Weaponry in Zamość conducted the analysis. Additional bronze artefacts, including a belt buckle and ring, have been dated to the 12th–13th centuries.
17th-Century Coin Hoard
A particularly noteworthy assemblage includes 14 early 17th-century coins, many issued under King Sigismund III Vasa. The collection features półtoraks (1½ grosz coins) from Bydgoszcz dated 1622–1624, a Lithuanian penny minted in Vilnius in 1625–1626, and a Swedish half-groschen struck under Gustavus Adolphus in Riga or Elbląg. Surface corrosion patterns suggest the coins were originally deposited together, possibly in a pouch, after 1630.
An additional cache of 21 copper boratynki—low-denomination coins issued between 1650 and 1657 under John II Casimir Vasa—was also recovered.
Later-period finds include 19th-century uniform buttons, an interwar-era emblem of the Riflemen’s Association, Russian Imperial kopecks from 1833, interwar Polish grosz coins, Jewish dreidels, and an 18th–19th–century spur rowel.
All artefacts will undergo expert examination before potential public exhibition, offering new insights into the layered history of Lipina Nowa and its surrounding region.
Sources : Lublin Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments
