Overview
- Archaeologists with the Relicta Foundation reported new survey results this week that reveal a six-hectare site with earthworks and a moat matching the long-lost town of Stolzenberg in northwestern Poland.
- Drone LiDAR scans in 2025 mapped more than 1,500 subsurface anomalies, and recent drilling confirmed cultural layers over two meters deep that outline a market square and a main street leading to a gate.
- Radiocarbon samples date the core occupation to the late 13th or early 14th century, aligning with hundreds of finds from 2020 and 2021 that include coins, brooches, belt fittings, and a denarius linked to Pomeranian Duke Barnim II.
- The town plan fits settlements founded under German town law, a medieval model that set a central market with rectilinear plots for burghers and guided street layouts within defensive works.
- Researchers are weighing rival origin theories tied to the Margraviate of Brandenburg or a local bishopric, with outlets splitting on which is more likely, and the team will continue non-invasive work funded with support from Poland’s culture ministry.