POZNAŃ, POLAND—The First News reports that researchers led by Jakub Affelski of PA-K "SZPILA" have uncovered massive fortifications made up of three joined rings and ramparts made of wood, sand, and stone in the city of Poznań. The presence of wood in the defensive walls allowed researchers to use tree ring data to determine that they were built between A.D. 968 and 1000. “Until now, we believed that Poznań was a settlement of secondary importance,” said archaeologist Antoni Smoliński. The city is now thought to have served as a strategic center and Poland’s first capital, rather than the nearby city of Gniezno, as had been previously thought. To read about burials of medieval knights that were recently uncovered in Poland, go to "Viking Knights, Polish Days."
