Methods

The basic method of carrying out research will be excavation using the stratigraphic method and non-invasive prospecting using geophysical methods, processing of the acquired data (such as plan of the building / or buildings, their location, the exact date when the first building was erected in the northern retentura, changes of its / their layout, function of the rooms), followed comparative analysis with other analogous sites.

1.   Geophysical methods. The area would be covered by non-invasive surveys with the use of georadar and the drone equipped with the infrared camera. The total planned area is approximately 6,000 square meters. After obtaining the image of the architectural remains preserved underground we would select the places for further exploration.

2.   Excavation methods. The basic method applied would be exploration of cultural layers according to their original arrangement, i.e. according interface units where one layer ends and another starts. Such method allows to follow the original shape of a surface in the past and to collect the finds from the separate stratigraphic units. The architectural remains will be documented with their stratigraphic context, to trace their chronology, and all features (pits, kilns, ovens, etc.) will be documented separately. The total estimated area that would be covered by excavations is 400 square meters.

3.     The analysis and study of the finds would be carried out on the site by individual specialists. The study of movable finds would be performed by their classification / typological identification, identification of local and imported products, their function, and their quality. The assemblies collected from individual rooms would be studied additionally as the source of information about the function of the rooms and loci within the building. In the case of some finds such as vessels and amphorae, additional laboratory analyses would be performed to find out their content (chromatographic analysis of lipid biomarkers), thus, the diet of the building’s inhabitants. In case of finding charcoal content (both in vessels, as well as in pits or in layers) the archaeobotanical analysis of plant macroremains (charred seeds and plant fragments) would be carried out. In some cases radiocarbon dating could be additionally applied. The analysis of animal bones (including taxonomy and taphonomy) would produce information on species, age, sex, as well as traces of butchering and meat processing, which would complete the picture of a diet and consumption of presence of local and imported animals.

4.   The earliest layers on the site where the wooden architecture is present must be examined with the use of radiocarbon dating. The analysis of architectural remains based on the results of non-invasive measurements and excavations would be done with the use of computer graphics, including 3D visualization prepared in such and environment as GIS, CAD, Corel, and Blender programmes

The processing of the finds would be done systematically, depending on their quantity and difficulty in carrying out analysis and studies on the site. The most numerous are fragments of tableware and kitchenware, while numismatic finds should be analysed each year (years 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028). The less numerous finds (early and late Roman amphorae, glass finds, animal bones, archaeobotanical macroremains, metal finds) would be carried out in two stages (years 2026, 2028). The least numerous finds would be investigated at the end of the research project (elements of armour, terra sigillata and thin-walled pottery fragments). In the last year (2028) all specialists would prepare their parts of the final study, which would be included into the publications of the results.

Raw data acquired during geodesy and geophysical measurements, as well as drawings of plans and profiles, photographs of the site and photographs of finds would be collected, organized, and examined by one person, allowing to control the proper process of their documentation and storage in the University of Warsaw repository.