1000th Anniversary of the Nowy Targ Necropolis

The multicultural necropolis in Nowy Targ, Stary Targ Municipality, was discovered by accident in the 1970s. Several hundred finds were registered, including skeletal and urn graves dating back to the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age (ca. 1100/1000 – ca. 350/300 BCE), the pre-Roman period (mainly 1st century BCE) and the Roman influence period (1st half of the 2nd century – 4th / early 5th century CE).

The excavation works resumed at the cemetery in 2011, their goal to find its northern border, which had yet to be defined. Two years later, a sizeable monograph on the subject was published with the support of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The monograph discussed the findings of the 1970s excavation efforts and the 2011 project. The publication of the monograph was a joint effort by experts
from various fields.

Nowy Targ was once again visited by archaeologists in 2022, this time as part of a research project centred around the ancient settlements present in this part of the Iława the Lake Region. The researchers’ main goal was to determine the borders of the necropolis and conduct more in-depth research focused on the local settlement, possibly a manufacturing hub (established in 7/6th century BC), adjacent to the cemetery’s northern part.

This year’s research, financed by the Malbork Castle Museum, began on 3 July. It was a busy several weeks.  We partially determined the eastern border of the cemetery. In the central and north-western sections of the dig site, we discovered another several dozen grave sites from the pre-Roman and Roman influence periods. We are planning to return to Nowy Targ next year to study the remaining sections of the cemetery and the adjacent settlement.