Waterworks and artefacts discovered at town square

Archaeologists uncovered 18th century well and waterworks containing once-lost artefacts during excavations at Kalisz’s town square, western Poland.

Waterworks discovered in Kalisz (by Tomasz Wojtasik)

The main find consists of wooden remains of a water pipeline, buried at the depth of 4.5 metres. Oldest known waterworks in Kalisz are said to date back to 16th century, but were located more shallow at a depth of around 1.5 metres. These new remains were not documented in any historic sources. Moreover, they are constructed out of U-shaped oak logs and not hollowed logs, like previously found. The channel was also covered with a wooden plank and plastered with clay.

Part of a knight’s pin (by Tomasz Wojtasik)

Remains of a gutter were also found. It was V-shaped and buried about 2 metres deep. Another find is what was initially thought as a well, but since it lacks a bottom and any inner structures, it is considered a technological reservoir in case of fire hazard or for washing. It’s surrounded by a brick wall dated to the 18th century. Among the smaller finds are artefacts belonging to the past inhabitants of Kalisz, like a small clay whorl, bronze part of a knight’s pin, miniature clay vessel, an iron spur, and an adornment with Christ’s depiction. Local officials decided to exhibit the discovered structures in the near future at their place of discovery at town square.

Adornment with Christ’s depiction (by Tomasz Wojtasik)

(after Tomasz Wojtasik, Interia & Nauka w Polsce)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.