Living on the lake in the Iron Age: new results from aerial photographs, geophysical survey and dendrochronology on sites of Biskupin type

Abstract

The article publishes new photographs and geophysical survey plans of a series of sites of the Early Iron Age in Poland, and provides new dating evidence from dendrochronology. The island site of Biskupin with its densely planned interior bears an uncanny resemblance to a prison camp. Is it typical of the Iron Age in Northern Europe? The authors here explore neighbouring sites around Poznań using aerial photographs, geophysical survey and dendrochronology – to stunning effect. These low impact methods have given high impact results: dated street plans, some similar and others different from Biskupin, but within the same time frame: almost a repertoire of early urbanism. The authors must also be congratulated on the identification of a new type of Iron Age feature, the ‘open area for spouse avoidance’ defined at Sobiejuchy.