I will take you today to a unique place that every Polish child learns about at school. Biskupin is a small village where human settlements existed for the last twelve thousand (!) years. It is the most important archaeological site in the country. It is so amazing, that it deserves more than one post. You will not regret it, I promise. So ladies and gentleman - welcome to the Archaeological Museum in Biskupin.
Biskupin lies in the Wielkopolska region. Humans were living here for several thousand years. Therefore, it is possible to visit here villages from different periods.
We will start with a visit to the neolithic village where people lived some six thousand years ago.
They have lived in Biskupin in so-called long houses.
These are called long houses because, not surprisingly, they were up to thirty meters long.
They had the shape of a large trapezium, with the longer edge on the South part, where the main entrance was. This allowed to bring sunlight and warmth into the house.
Inside, the house was really large.
The little holes in the walls allowed to lit the place up. In winter time they were filled with straw to insulate from wind and cold.
On the other hand, the large holes in the floor were used as fridges. They would be covered with earth and experiments show that the temperature in such a neolithic fridge would be close to that in modern fridges we have in our houses.
What is interesting, archaeologists have found in the long houses pieces of ceramics but not fireplaces.
Neolithic humans were sleeping on beds made of branches and grass. Surprisingly comfortable.
And pretty warm if you would cover yourselves with animal furs.
You could also try to weave some linen clothes on those prehistoric looms.
Neolithic humans were hunters and farmers. When they were out of their long houses, they would stay in huts.
They could keep there also their fishing equipment.
What I found interesting is that they were fishing in boats made out of a single trunk of a tree, in which they would pick a whole to sit in.
If you are curious why the neolithic people have chosen Biskupin for their settlement, the main reason is actually water. Or more precisely this spring, which used to be the source of drinking water for inhabitants of Biskupin over severeal millenia. Many of them believed it to be a sacred place as well. So why don't we stop here today to meditate and feel the connection with the nature and our ancestors.
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