Biskupin Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Biskupin
History
Reconstructed gateway at Biskupin
Location in Poland
Location	Biskupin, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
Coordinates	52°47′18″N 17°44′40″E / 52.78833°N 17.74444°E / 52.78833; 17.74444
Type	Settlement
Material	Wood
Founded	c.747–748 BC
Site notes
Condition	In ruins, partially reconstructed

Invalid designation
Designated	1994-09-08
Reference no.	M.P. z 1994 r. Nr 50, poz. 412

Biskupin is an amazing archaeological site in north-central Poland. It's like a time machine! Here you can see a life-size model of an ancient village. This village was built during the late Bronze Age.

Today, Biskupin is also an archaeological open-air museum. It helps us understand how people lived thousands of years ago. When it was first found, people thought it was a Slavic settlement. But later, experts learned it belonged to the Lusatian culture. This culture lived here around the 8th century BC.

Finding and rebuilding this ancient village was very important for Poland. It helped people feel proud of their country's long history. The museum is on a marshy piece of land in Lake Biskupin. This is about 90 kilometers northeast of Poznań. It's also 8 kilometers south of the town of Żnin.

Biskupin is so important that it's one of Poland's official Historic Monuments. It was given this special title in 1994.

Discovering Ancient Biskupin
Life in the Biskupin Settlement
How Old Is Biskupin?
The Biskupin Museum Today
- Reconstructing the Past
- Biskupin as a Filming Location
Gallery
See also

Discovering Ancient Biskupin

How Biskupin Was Found

In 1933, Polish archaeologists made an exciting discovery. They found the remains of an old fort or village. This was in the Wielkopolska Region of Poland. News of the discovery spread very quickly.

Starting in 1934, a team from Poznań University began to dig. The main archaeologists were Józef Kostrzewski and Zdzisław Rajewski. Their first report about Biskupin came out in 1936. By 1939, they had dug up a large area.

Biskupin Becomes Famous

Biskupin quickly became very well-known. Many important people came to visit the site. This included government officials and church leaders. The site became a symbol for Polish people. It showed the amazing achievements of their ancestors.

People started calling it the "Polish Pompeii" or "Polish Herculaneum". These were famous ancient Roman cities. Biskupin was seen as proof that ancient "Poles" were strong. They could defend themselves against invaders long ago. The site even appeared in paintings and popular books.

What Happened During World War II

When German forces took over Poland in 1939, they renamed Biskupin "Urstädt". German archaeologists continued the digs until 1942. When these forces had to leave, they flooded the site. They hoped to destroy it.

But this flooding actually helped! It kept the old wooden structures very well preserved. After the war, Polish archaeologists returned. They continued their important work until 1974.

Life in the Biskupin Settlement

Layout of the Ancient Village

Biskupin had two main periods of settlement. They happened one after the other without a break. The village was built on an island in the middle of a lake. Today, it's on a peninsula.

Both settlements had a rectangular plan. They featured eleven streets, each about 3 meters wide. The older village was from the late Bronze Age. It was built on a slightly wet island that was over 2 hectares in size.

Houses and Homes

The village had about 102 to 106 houses. They were made from oak and pine logs. All the houses looked very similar. Each one was about 8 by 10 meters in size.

Each house had two rooms and an open entrance area. About 10 to 12 people could live in one house. There was an open fireplace in the center of the main room. There were no bigger houses, which suggests everyone lived in a similar way. Because the ground was wet, the streets were covered with wooden planks.

Defending the Village

The settlement was protected by a tall wooden wall. This wall was also called a palisade. It was built on a rampart made of wood and earth. The rampart was made from oak logs filled with earth.

This defensive wall was more than 450 meters long. There was also a wooden breakwater in the lake. This helped protect the village from water. Building the rampart used a huge amount of wood. It took about 6,000 to 8,000 cubic meters of wood!

How Old Is Biskupin?

Interior of the Archaeological Museum next to the reconstructed settlement

The Biskupin settlement belongs to the Hallstatt culture. This was a time from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. It dates from about 800 BC to 475 BC.

Scientists used different methods to figure out its age. One method is called radiocarbon dating. This method gave some dates for Biskupin. For example, the first settlement was dated to around 720 BC.

A more exact way to date the wood is called dendrochronology. This method studies tree rings. It showed that the oak wood used for building was cut down between 747 BC and 722 BC. More than half of the wood was cut during the winter of 748/747 BC. This tells us exactly when the village was built!

The Biskupin Museum Today

Reconstructing the Past

In 1936, the first life-size model of the village was built. This was the start of the open-air museum. Sadly, German forces destroyed it on purpose at the end of World War II.

But after the war, it was rebuilt. The ramparts and a full street with houses were added again. This lets visitors see what the ancient village looked like.

Biskupin as a Filming Location

In the 2000s, a "medieval" timber castle was built. This was for a film. It was constructed on part of the original site. So, Biskupin is not just an ancient site, but also a place for movies!