Magnetic survey of the abandoned medieval town of Nieszawa

• Main Authors: Marcin Jaworski, Piotr Wroniecki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences 2015-01-01
• Series: Archaeologia Polona
• Subjects: medieval town; aerial photography; magnetic method; heritage protection
• Online Access: https://journals.iaepan.pl/apolona/article/view/288

New Nieszawa was a 15th century medieval urban settlement, covering approximately 22 hectares on the Polish–Teutonic border. The exact location of the town was forgotten until its discovery through aerial prospection in 2006. In just 40 years the town grew into an important economic entity, competing for trade on the Vistula river until its relocation (1460–1462) during the Thirteen Years' War. The site is unique in that it has not been overbuilt by later structures as is common with medieval foundations. It is located in a flood plain approximately 2 km from the urban center of Toruń. Regular non-invasive surveys have revealed the spatial organization of the town in its untouched state from 550 years ago. The Łódź branch of the Scientific Society of Polish Archaeologists carried out three consecutive projects of non-invasive prospection in 2012–2014, using a Bartington Grad 601-2 instrument (0.5 m x 0.25 m sampling) to cover an area of almost 40 ha stretching for more than 1.6 km. The magnetic survey revealed anomalies located on the spot of observed crop marks, and extending far beyond the area open to aerial observation. It verified the existence of subsurface magnetically susceptible deposits indicative of a typical medieval town plan in Poland