Arkadiusz Michalak

During last two years four bronze fibulas found accidentally in the area of the Middle Odra River – near Lubrza, Lubniewice and Dobre, were donated to the Archaeological Museum of the Middle Odra River Area collection. They were so called “loose finds”, since no other archaeological evidence were found in its find place. They belong to the types: A II 41, A V 129 series 8, V group, series 8 according to O. Almgren’s classification (1927) and group 3 Zweigliedrige Spiralfibeln type 3.10 Niemberger fibel according to typology of E. Riha (1979). These artefacts are specific for the Wielbark and Przeworsk culture, as well as, societies identified with Germanic tribe of Thuringia.

Grodziszcze is a small village near Świebodzin, which is located between Gorzów and Zielona Góra.  The stronghold was already excavated in the 1960s, but former researchers had difficulties in establishing its chronology. The main goal for our excavations was to recognise the construction of the rampart and gather samples for dendrochronological dating. The stronghold is placed on the peninsula. Thanks to geomorphological research we were able to establish, that this area was an island in the early middle ages. From the studies of prof. Chudziak and his crew, we know that some islands were valorized in mythical-religious terms, including sacrifices to local deities. That’s why we also assumed to make an underwater survey of coast of the lake near stronghold We began our excavation from conducting geomagnetic research. It showed us the exact places where two ramparts were located. Our excavations revealed the construction of two walls made of wood and earth. The first one build in the grillage construction with stone coating from the outside, was finished in the middle of the 10th cent. Then stronghold was most likely burnt by the warriors from the early Piast State. The second wall, younger one, was created in the frame construction around the 1st half of the 11th cent. Particular wooden boxes of the rampart were filled with clay. Together with the excavations we proceeded the surface survey with metal detectors. During this action many interesting artefacts were discovered. First of all we should mention coins: 6 Sasanid drachmas from the 9th cent. and 6 silver cross pennies from the second half of the 11th century, and also jewellery: temple rings, rings, lunula, earring, parts of costume from the 10th-11th cent. Among the artefacts discovered on the stronghold were also many metal merchant accessories, including fragments of scale and weights (both cubo-octohedral and barrel-shaped), fragments of the weaponry and horse riding equipment (spearhead, axeheads, arrowheads, spurs, bits). These specimens may indicate the existence of special kind of market place related to inter-regional exchange. Among artefacts recovered from the surface of the stronghold were also items connected with household equipment (knives, strike a light, whetstones), agricultural tools (sicles), fishing equipment (hooks and multipronged leisters). The latter activity of the stronghold inhabitants were confirmed during the underwater survey, when the remains of several wooden platforms near the stronghold were discovered. However this research did not confirm deliberate water deposits. Due to the flooding the area of the stronghold by lake, it was abandoned in the late 12th cent., and inhabitants of the fortress moved to nearby

The text presents a find of a decorative belt loop recovered in the area of Międzyrzecz. The find measuring: height 69,7 mm, width 27 mm, thickness 3-5 mm and it depicts a male figure in a short outfit with a hood and in tight trousers. The object was made using a cast technique from a material with brass properties, with copper (Cu – 88,44%) as a main component and addition of zinc (Zn – 7,46%) and lead (Pb – 1,53%). Similar objects were manufactured in Bavaria in the second half of the 15th and at the beginning of the 16th century. Until today only several similar belt loops have been recovered, the Międzyrzecz find is the third one from Poland. The finding of this type of items in the area of Międzyrzecz is undoubtedly related to the role of the town in the Middle Ages as an extremely important road junction, protecting the route from Poznań to Germany

The article is concerned with the early medieval military artefacts which were found during archaeological excavations at the Trepcza complex (Sanok District, Podkarpackie Voivodeship). The complex is composed of several elements: two strongholds (“Horodna” site 1 and “Horodyszcze” site 2), a barrow cemetery (site 3) and the “Horodna”
stronghold suburbium (site 25). Among the artefacts which were found in these sites were: one battle axe, one axe and four fragments of other axes, 34 arrowheads (including specimens with tang and triple-winged), one single ring of chain mail, two eyelet spurs, three other spurs and three loops for spurs, one iron bit and one horseshoe. All these
objects were probably used in the 9th (2nd half ? ) and also probably the beginning of the 10th century.

An anthropomorphic belt loop from Międzyrzecz surroundings. From research on the material culture of Late Medieval inhabitants of the Greater Poland-Brandenburg-Silesia borderland


The text presents a find of a decorative belt loop recovered in the area of Międzyrzecz. The find measuring: height 69,7 mm, width 27 mm, thickness 3-5 mm and it depicts a male figure in a short outfit with a hood and in tight trousers. The object was made using a cast technique from a material with brass properties, with copper (Cu – 88,44%) as a main component and addition of zinc (Zn – 7,46%) and lead (Pb – 1,53%). Similar objects were manufactured in Bavaria in the second half of the 15th and at the beginning of the 16th century. Until today only several similar belt loops have been recovered, the Międzyrzecz find is the third one from Poland. The finding of this type of items in the area of Międzyrzecz is undoubtedly related to the role of the town in the Middle Ages as an extremely important road junction, protecting the route from Poznań to Germany

Kostrzyn nad Odrą (Küstrin)-a town situated in the northwestern part of today s Lubuskie Voivodeship, in the confluence of ' the Warta River into the Odra River-was in the Middle Ages an important part of the defensive system of the eastern frontiers of Brandenburg. A catastrophic drought from 2015, and thus the record low level of the Odra River and the moats surrounding the Kostrzyn Fortress, enabled the employees of the Kostrzyn Fortress Museum to discover three extremely intriguing medieval military artefacts: an axe, a spear and a falchion. Their form and characteristic decoration allow to date them to the 15 century. th These finds have numerous analogies in artefacts known from Silesia, Bohemia and Moravia, which suggest the southern origin of the analysed finds of weaponry.

Among the items excavated during research conducted on the Early Medieval stronghold in Przytok were also wooden artefacts. During their analysis attempts were made to recognize the type of artefacts, the way they were made, the nature of deposition, the
specifics of the selection of wood raw material, as well as environmental conditions and potential directions of logging. The analyzed samples came from moat and were mostly waste generated during carpentry works related to the construction of wood and earth rampart of the stronghold in Przytok. Some of the samples, mainly branch wood, dowels and chips and alder, elm and pine shavings, and perhaps also some oak probably arose when erecting foundation fortifications, which, due to their small amount, seem not to be very extensive. The rest, mainly oak waste from large elements, should be associated rather with the structures of the rampart. One specific item of spheric form can be recognised as a head from the club, but not neccessary a weapon. Other purposes are also considered.

Zatonie is a charming village with medieval records. The
palace and its inhabitants played an important role in its
history. In the area of the surrounding park, together with
revitalization works, archaeological survey with the use of
metal detectors were carried out. One of the artefacts discovered
during these works is the metal seal matrix.
The stamp, clearly oval, has dimensions of 16 × 13 mm.
Inside the coat of arms shield three parallel diagonal bands
are shown. Above the shield, three majuscula letters were
engraved, they can be read from left as K V J (Z;?).
The seal belonged to members of the von Knobelsdorff
family. Perhaps it was the property of Zyriakus, the son of
Christoph von Knobelsdorff, first appearing in sources in
1571, and the last time in 1618.

In 2016, an Early Medieval sword scabbard chape was handed over to the Museum of Kostrzyn Fortress. According to the person submitting it, it was found about 5-6 years earlier in the northern part of Kostrzyn nad Odrą. The main decorative motif of the openwork field is a heraldically arranged bird. The closest analogies to the chape in question are dated to the second half of the 10th and 11th century. Artefacts of this type could have been produced in Scandinavia, but also in the Rus and Baltic areas. Unfortunately, we are not able to say what raw material was used to cast the artefact in question. An analysis of the metal composition of the find carried out on the surface of the artefact demonstrated that a very heterogeneous lead alloy was used, which could have also been a result of lead-bleaching. The same technology was also observed on the chapes from Ruthenia. Scholars have explained the presence of an ornithomorphic motif on the surface of the artefact in various ways.

This paper presents an analysis of the polygonal artefact in a cross sectional view, made of antler bone, discovered in the 12th-c.
layer, on the stronghold in Santok. These kind of items, also known in metal, are often referred to as war flail (kisten) – a weapon
very popular in Ruthenia, particularly effective in close combat. On the basis of morphological, stratigraphical and contextual
evidence of European finds, the Authors suggest that these items might have been steelyard weights.

During the query at the Museum in Wünsdorf archive they have revealed a new, yet unknown to the science, early Medieval cemetery, discovered in Bukowiec near Międzyrzecz just before World War II. During the exploration of a gravel mine they found 3 graves with skeleton burials and stone constructions. In grave No. 1, beside the remains of the deceased, there was also an axe head. This specimen originally
had probably asymmetric, wide blade finished with a narrow beard – drooping blade, and that is the reason why it shows most convergence
with axe group referred to in the literature as the „Lunow type”. It is a type diversified internally, popular mostly in the 2nd half of the
X century and in the 1st half of the XI century in south-west part of the Baltic Sea basin. The specimen discovered in Bukowiec allows then to
narrow the chronology of the site, which can be dated on the XI century on the basis of archaeological data and historical premises.

Temporal remains of the royal couple, Margrave John and Princess Catherine were laid to rest here in a specialty prepared royal crypt under the altar of Holy Virgin Mary Church in Kostrzyń Old Town. The turbulent history of Kostrzyn Old Town has prevented the sarcophagi from lasting to the present day - only Princess Katarzyna’s sarcophagus lid has survived - a copy from 1882. In 2012 a fragment of a round item was handed over to the Kostrzyn Fortress Museum, decorated by a cast representation of two armed men. In light of the available sources it is difficult to determine if the section of the plaque in question constituted an element of the sarcophagus of John of Brandenburg-Küstrin, despite there being quite persuasive evidence. Primarily, dating of the historical artefact,
i.e. at somewhere between the last quarter of the 16th century and the start of the 17th century, perhaps approx. 1600. Thus, it falls at the time of Margrave John’s death (and probably during the time the sarcophagus was made). The fact that the plaque section was found in rubble taken up from the princely crypt (the founder’s own recollections) is not without significance. According to available sources, the crypt was intended only and exclusively for the margraves. Subsequent burials in the church crypts are from later dates.
At the end it would worthwhile to note that Margrave John was deeply religious. It showed across every sphere of his life. One of his life mottos was: Sous spes maea Christus (All hope in Christ). Thus, it is not impossible that he would have wished a sarcophagus which was to subsequently hold his remains to be decorated with the Resurrection scene. And it is beyond reasonable doubt that the plaque in question was part of an elaborate sarcophagus, where a member of a wealthy family was laid to rest. But was it John of Küstrin? It is possible but thus far this hypothesis remains unresolved.

Osada jest położona około 3 km na północ od wsi Zawada, po prawej stronie starej szosy prowadzącej z Zielonej Góry do Sulechowa. Stanowisko jest ulokowana na terasie zalewowej Odry, na niewielkim wyniesieniu, na prawym brzegu Zimnego Potoku, który na tym odcinku Pradoliny Warszawsko-Berlińskiej (Doliny Środkowej Odry) jest jej głównym lewobrzeżnym dopływem, płynąc do niej równolegle w odległości 3-6 km (ryc. 1).
Stanowisko odkrył w 1960 roku Edward Dąbrowski (1969, s. 292; 1975, s. 75, przyp. 12). W 1963 roku odkrywca obiektu przeprowadził wstępne badania archeologiczne
(Kołodziejski 1966, s. 42), a dwa lata później, przy udziale Mieczysława Kaczkowskiego, kolejne sondażowe wykopaliska (Kaczkowski 1975, s. 61, przyp. 34). W 1966 roku obiekt został wpisany do Rejestru Zabytków Województwa Zielonogórskiego jako wczesnośredniowieczne grodzisko, z chronologią określoną ramowo na VIII-XII wiek (Kałagate, Magda 1994, s. 329). Wiadomo także, że prace wykopaliskowe były prowadzone w 1968 roku, ponieważ w archiwum MAŚN znajdują się fragmenty naczyń z numerami inwentarzowymi pochodzącymi z tego okresu. Kolejne prace przeprowadzono w ramach akcji AZP w 1984 roku. W tym samym roku wykonano plan warstwicowy stanowiska. W 1998 roku, pod kierownictwem Jarosława Lewczuka, zrealizowano kolejne badania powierzchniowe, podczas których znaleziono 20 fragmentów ceramiki. W okresie od 6 lipca 1992 roku do 7 sierpnia 1992 roku przeprowadzono stacjonarne badania archeologiczne, które poprzedzone były jednodniowym wstępnym rekonesansem stanowiska (27 marca 1992 roku). Badaniami kierowali mgr Marlena Magda i mgr  Sławomir Kałagate, finansowano je z funduszu Wojewódzkiego Konserwatora Zabytków Archeologicznych. Głównym celem przeprowadzonych wówczas badań była próba uściślenia chronologii, a także weryfikacja wcześniejszych przypuszczeń, że odkryte stanowisko może być grodziskiem. Podjęcie wykopalisk było uzasadnione także stałym i postępującym niszczeniem stanowiska na skutek prac rolnych.
W trakcie przeprowadzonych badań założono dwa wykopy i jeden rów sondażowy o łącznej powierzchni około 3,5 ara. Odkryto piętnaście obiektów wczesnośredniowiecznych i trzy skupiska ceramiki pradziejowej (Gruszka 2002).
Badania w 1992 roku nie potwierdziły przypuszczeń Edwarda Dąbrowskiego, który sądził, że w 1960 odkrył relikty grodu (Kałagate, Magda 1994, s. 337-338). 
W publikacji zostały uwzględnione głównie materiały pozyskane w trakcie wykopalisk z 1992 roku, ponieważ dokumentacja badań prowadzonych w latach 60. XX wieku uległa rozproszeniu (w archiwum MAŚN w Świdnicy zachował się jedynie rysunek jednego z profilów). Ponadto dysponujemy mało wartościową, ze względów poznawczych, kolekcją ceramiki, pochodzącą głównie z badań powierzchniowych. Opublikowano także wybrane znaleziska (Dąbrowski 1999, s. 51, tabl. I: 1, II: 12-17).
Z materiałów pochodzących z badań wcześniejszych w opracowaniu uwzględniono wszystkie dostępne zabytki wydzielone, głównie przedmioty kamienne i metalowe oraz fragmenty glinianych talerzy.
Publikacja jest efektem współpracy zespołu kilkunastu specjalistów z różnych dziedzin. Monografia składa się z trzynastu głównych rozdziałów. Pierwsze trzy omawiają zagadnienia związane z rekonstrukcją pierwotnego środowiska oraz opisują na szerszym tle uwarunkowania środowiskowe lokalizacji osadnictwa. W kolejnych rozdziałach zaprezentowano analizy znalezisk odkrytych podczas wykopalisk. Następnie przedstawiono zagadnienia związane z datowaniem osady. Publikację kończą rozdziały przedstawiające wyniki badań specjalistycznych dotyczące wczesnośredniowiecznej ceramiki. Wyniki przedstawionych powyżej analiz posłużyły do sformułowania wniosków dotyczących rekonstrukcji podstawowych zajęć gospodarczych mieszkańców tej wczesnośredniowiecznej osady oraz jej znaczenia i miejsca w systemie osadniczym na szerszym tle porównawczym.
Publikacja ukazała się dzięki finansowemu wsparciu Ministerstwa Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego, w ramach programu Ochrona Dziedzictwa Archeologicznego, Priorytet 5.

The stronghold and settlement in Przytok has not been the subject of a larger study so far. After research conducted in the 1960s by Edward Dąbrowski, the only real foot print concerning this site was the term published by the discoverer of the site and the author of the research in the Dictionary of Slavic Antiquities.
Both the settlement and the stronghold were discovered between 1956 and 1964. Rescue excavations were carried out on the settlement in June 1967. At that time, two pits containing fragments of vessels made without using a potter’s wheel were found.
In 2008, a series of aerial photographs, mainly of the stronghold clearly legible from the air, were taken. Further research related to the settlement complex in Przytok has not been carried out until 2016. They were part of a project funded by the National Science Center. Magnetic analysis of the stronghold were carried out then, phosphorus content analyzes and small test excavations verifying geophysical research were also carried out. Thanks to the excavations, Edward Dąbrowski’s results concerning primarily the chronology and function of site 1, were verified, as the lack of publication of sources certainly caused considerable difficulties in evaluation of previous results, especially about the existing of the stronghold and settlement. Filling this gap is therefore the primary goal of this publication.
Beside the analysis of archival finds, enriched by the results of specialist research, the book also presents the results of research on the reconstruction of the basic natural environment in the vicinity of the stronghold and settlement, as well as the settlement complex in Przytok against the background of a wider settlement context. An important part of the publication is also the presentation of issues related to new chronological findings, obtained thanks to the comparative analysis of pottery verified by age determinations using the 14C method.
The stronghold and settlement in Przytok are, next to the settlement in Klenica and the settlements in Stożne and Zawada, another archaeologically recognised sites from the early Middle Ages in the area of the middle Odra river valley.
Early medieval settlement in the vicinity of Przytok was not intensive and probably this condition is not the result of insufficient archaeological recognition of this area, because it is an area thoroughly examined by surface survey and identified by a series of aerial photographs regularly taken for about 10 years. Beside the settlement on the site 2 we know also the settlement in Stożne located about 1600 m northwest of the settlement, site 2, from 6th/7th-7th century and in Zawada from the mid 9th-11th/12th century. Both sites were excavated. These two sites were also recognized by surface survey: in Jany, site 9 where 8 fragments of ceramics were found and in Jany, site 4 where 6 fragments of vessels were obtained, whose chronology was determined to the early stages of the early Middle Ages. Due to the lack of detailed research, the chronology of burial mounds located southwest of the stronghold in Przytok (sites 4 and 5 in Przytok) is problematic.
The current shape of the stronghold is similar to an oval with a diameter of about 70 m. In the terrain, as well as in aerial photographs and DTM, an omnidirectional moat is clearly visible, especially visible from the south, west and north. However, the relics of the rampart are difficult to read.
On the opposite side of the river bed, northwest of the stronghold, about 200 m from it, an older settlement was located, which occupies a slightly elevated dune among the wet and partly bogged valley of the Odra and Zimny Potok, which have springs around the settlement complex. The LIDAR image shows the supposed range of the settlement, which was surrounded by slight elevations (earth moulds?). In the 1960s, small excavations were carried out on the site. Two features were discovered then, one of which was the remains of a residential building. Fills of features were heavily saturated with burning.
Juliusz Twardy and Jacek Forysiak presented a detailed description of the location of the stronghold and settlement in Przytok in the geographical and geomorphological aspect. Both the stronghold and the settlement lie within the floodplain terrace of the basins. The relief of the area of the direct hinterland of the sites is not very varied. In the north and east flows the Odra, which at the beginning of the 18th century meandered on the entire width of the valley. Numerous paleomeanders, currently cut off from the main Odra riverbed due to its regulation, are visible in the trace of the former course of the river. The bend of one of these paleomenadres is occupied by a settlement (site 2), which is separated from the stronghold by a valley about 40 m wide, now a wetland with an unnamed stream. To the north of the settlement, a fragment of the paleomeander now occupies the stream of Zimny Potok, whose source is located on the wetland west of the settlement.
The current landscape is the result of a significant transformation of the area by man, especially in the last 150 years (since the start of drainage of the Odra valley). In addition to open areas, mainly meadows, pastures and arable fields, the landscape is diversified by numerous forest communities in the alluvial type and small clumps mainly of oaks.
The area south of the sites changes into a high terrace and a zone of frontal moraine hills, now covered with pine monocultures and occasionally with mixed forests.
Non-invasive geophysical surveys were carried out on both the settlement and the stronghold. In the first case they brought the discovery of magnetic anomalies, which, due to the verrifying excavation trench, can now be quite clearly interpreted as relics of small rampart surrounding the stronghold, made of earth and wood. On the stronghold courtyard few traces were recorded, requiring excavation verification. At the current stage of research, it is difficult to clearly determine their origin.
Research on the remains of the settlement brought the discovery of numerous magnetic anomalies of varying origin. They allow to draw several hypotheses regarding the shape and function of the settlement. However, full understanding of the obtained results requires invasive verification excvations. This will allow for a more accurate recognition of the nature of the features and archaeological layers located on the site. Excavations may also provide answers to a number of more detailed questions, especially regarding the time of construction and functioning of the settlement.
In the stronghold, analyzes were also made of the phosphorus content in the soil. The analysis did not document the increased content of phosphorus in the soil within the outlines of relics of the fortified settlement in Przytok, which could constitute a geochemical trace of intensive settlement and economic activity in the past. The spread of the highest, but also sporadically recorded, values ​​covers areas adjacent to the site from the south. The obtained results of geochemical prospectus may suggest the refugial nature of the object. At the same time, it should be emphasized that, carried out in recent years, surrounded by castle strongholds located at the bottom of the Warta, Luciąża and Warsaw-Berlin valleys, tests of phosphorus content in the ground have resulted in the registration of a generally poor geochemical record in the surroundings of the features.
The elaboration of the results of archival research concerned both movable artefactss, mainly fragments of vessels, wooden items, animal bones and artefacts made of stone material, as well as analysis of the relics of the rampart and the few features that are remains of the structures of the stronghold courtyard and the nearby settlement.
In the case of wooden artefacts, attempts were made to recognize the type of artefacts, the way they were made, the nature of deposition, the specifics of the selection of wood raw material, as well as  environmental conditions and potential directions of logging. The analyzed samples came from  moat and were mostly waste generated during carpentry works related to the construction of wood and earth rampart of the stronghold in Przytok.
Assemblage of the stone artefacts from Przytok is an example of a typical set of everyday items, often obtaines during the research on sites from the early Middle Ages. Regarding the use of raw materials, selection in terms of rock hardness and technical properties is clearly visible. None of the tested products was made of weathered rock, which proves the correct selection of the right raw material from glacial material.
Pottery analysis especially, supported by radiocarbon dating results, allowed the chronological considerations to be verified. Currently, dating of the stronghold functioning can be determined in the second half of the 8th-first half of the 9th century. In contrast, the settlement may be even older. Fragments of pottery discovered there allow to date the settlement to the end of the 7th-8th century.
The analysis and publishing of this publication were possible thanks to the co-financing of research by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, under the Protection of Archaeological Monuments program and the Archaeological Museum of the Middle Odra river Area in Zielona Góra and funds from the City of Zielona Góra. Part of the research results presented in the publication, including geophysical, phosphoric, 14C dating of wooden rampart and excavations carried out on the stronghold in 2016 were completed and financed due to the National Science Center grant FUGA 4 (UMO-2015/16/S/HS3/00274), Early medieval settlement in the middle Odra river basin until the mid-11th century in archaeological studies.

Over 50 years ago Edward Dąbrowski ended few seasons excavations of the stronghold in Połupin. From that time it is one of these early medieval sites located in nowadays Lubuskie voivodship, around which quite large literature has grown (see below), and at the same time much controversy connected especially with stronghold chronology and origin of the famous, bronze, small plate. Verification of Edward Dąbrowski’s conclusions  was seriously impeded by the lack of full study and publishing of the sources discovered there. The filling of this gap was therefore the main aim of of this publication. Besides of the old findings analysis, enriched with specialized studies results, in the book we present also the results of studies of the reconstruction of original natural environment of the closest surroundings of the stronghold, as well as the site in Połupin against the broader settlement context. The essential part of this publication were also devoted to the issues connected with the chronology, based on the comparative analysis of the sherds and other artefacts (spurs and beam), and verified by the 14C dating.
The site 2 was discovered in the summer of 1961, during the detailed surface survey conducted by the expedition members, who were excavated the nearby stronghold in Krosno Odrzańskie. This summer from the half of July till the mid of September, Edward Dąbrowski conducted the excavations on the newly discovered site. The research was aimed to answer few questions about function of this feature, its size and chronology. Due to the complete lowering of the rampart constructions, basically it was not assumed that the studied feature might have been the relics of the stronghold.
In total, during three seasons, the area of 2,5 ares in 7 trenches was excavated, recognizing the stratigraphy of cultural layers, mainly in the north-south axis (with circa 10° to the east), what was documented on numerous colour outlines. Available documentation from the excavation is complemented by monochrome photographs, especially of the feature outlines.
Publishing of this book was possible thanks to the financial support provided by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, within the program of the archaeological artefacts protection, priority 5. Part of presented here results, primarily those concerning 14C dating,  was financed within the grant of the National Center of Science.

The importance of interethnic relations topic in different periods of the Central European area history is not a recent interest in historiography, but maybe in the last 15 years, this topic has become extremely debated in the context of regional conflicts that took on ethnic form. Because of these conflict
s the interest in terms of ethnic composition in the Balkan territories increased significantly, which is visible in
publications that are out of print in recent years.
However meetings between specialists, which is specifically dedicated to analysis of particular issues arising from intense commercial and cultural exchanges in Central and Southeast Europe have been and are still very few.
Medieval weapons is an important topic of study, spectacular because of its diversity and symbolism, being one of the most important markers of the Middle Ages, things that fully justifies the organization of an international symposium.
Based on these considerations, the present volume aims to provide a possible way to integrate the results of archeology, history and art history in the wider medieval historiography of Central and South-East European dedicated to military issues.
This volume bring together almost all papers presented at International Symposium Militaria Mediaevalia in Central and South Eastern Europe, October 14-17, Sibiu, which is the 3rd symposium organized under the topic Ethnic Relations
by the Department of Ancient and Medieval History with funding from the Department for Interethnic Relations of the General Secretariat of the Romanian Government.