More than 300 archaeological features discovered on Windmill Hill in Puck could include rare fortifications linked to the Thirteen Years’ War
Archaeologists excavating a hill near the historic town of Puck in northern Poland have uncovered more than 300 archaeological features, including what may be the remains of a fortified 15th-century windmill and a later Lutheran cemetery containing around 150 graves.
The discoveries were made by archaeologists from the University of Warsaw during excavations on Windmill Hill, around 300 metres west of the medieval town. Covering more than 5,000 square metres, the investigation revealed evidence that the site was used repeatedly over a period spanning more than two millennia.
Among the most intriguing finds are two large circular trenches surrounding the apparent location of a medieval windmill. Archaeologists believe these may represent defensive moats constructed during a period of conflict in the 15th century.
If that interpretation is confirmed, the structures could represent rare field fortifications associated with the Thirteen Years’ War, fought between 1454 and 1466.
“The verification of these hypotheses exceeded expectations,” Dr Michał Starski of the University of Warsaw told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
“During the excavation of the area, over 300 structures of various sizes were discovered, confirming the long-term use of this area.”
Two mysterious rings around the hill
Historical research conducted before the excavation provided clues about what archaeologists might encounter.
A map dating from 1634 identified the area as Muhlenberg, or Mill Hill, while historical records also indicated the presence of a Lutheran cemetery nearby. Researchers were uncertain whether the name referred to a mill below the hill or to two windmills documented during the 15th century.
Excavation produced much more extensive evidence than expected.
In the central part of the hill, archaeologists uncovered two circular features measuring approximately 30 and 50 metres in diameter.
The trenches were around 1.5 metres deep and between 1.5 and 2.5 metres wide and had been filled largely with sand and clay.
Within the enclosed area, researchers discovered the basement of an unidentified building together with substantial fragments of grooved granite millstones. The technique used to manufacture such stones was employed from the late Middle Ages.
Around a dozen stone cannonballs were also recovered.
Was a medieval windmill fortified?
Starski believes the evidence could indicate that a 15th-century Teutonic windmill mentioned in historical sources once stood at the centre of the site.
No structural remains of the windmill itself have been identified, although fragments of millstones survived. Archaeologists also found evidence of a small neighbouring building, including the remains of a wooden cellar.
The two surrounding trenches raise the possibility that the windmill occupied a deliberately fortified position.
Researchers suggest that the site may have been protected by two rings of moats, possibly accompanied by a small defensive rampart. The defences could have been constructed alongside the windmill or added later when the area faced the threat of military attack.
One possible context is the Thirteen Years’ War.
Puck was the scene of fighting on two occasions during the conflict. In 1460, Teutonic forces captured the town following a short siege. Four years later, forces of the Teutonic Order were themselves besieged there by troops from Gdańsk.
Starski suggested that the position of the hill may have made securing it strategically important during the fighting.
“The favourable terrain conditions required the defenders to secure the hill, including the windmill, which most likely did not survive the two sieges of Puck,” he said.
“If these hypotheses are confirmed, then the first field fortifications from the Thirteen Years’ War have most likely been discovered.”
Evidence stretches back to the first millennium BC
The medieval discoveries form only one chapter in the long history of Windmill Hill.
The earliest structures uncovered during the excavation have been associated with settlement by people of the Lusatian culture, probably during the first half of the first millennium BC.
Archaeologists also identified around a dozen pits dating from the early Middle Ages, providing further evidence that the area was used long before the construction of the suspected windmill.
The character of the site changed again during the 16th century, when a substantial part of the excavated area was transferred to Puck’s Protestant community.
A cemetery was subsequently established on the hill.
Around 150 graves uncovered
Archaeologists identified approximately 150 graves belonging to the cemetery, although the human remains were generally in a poor state of preservation.
Several objects survived alongside the burials.
These include four coins dating from the second half of the 15th and the 16th centuries, as well as a one-piece clay tobacco pipe dating from the 17th century.
Researchers believe the coins could be evidence of the tradition sometimes described as Charon’s obol, in which a coin was placed with the deceased. The clay pipe, meanwhile, may have been a personal possession buried with its owner.
Further analysis will be needed to establish more precise dates for the human remains and to investigate the people buried at the site.
“Further research will allow us to refine our current findings, including more precisely dating the human remains from the graves, and gathering information about the biological condition of the local population in modern times,” Starski said.
The results could also help archaeologists determine whether the large circular trenches really were military defences — and whether Windmill Hill preserves previously unknown archaeological evidence of the fighting that engulfed Puck more than 500 years ago.
Sources : PAP
