The Stronghold on St. Peter’s Hill in Radom (Poland). Archaeology, Biography of the Place, and Practices of Memory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15584/anarres.2018.13.15Słowa kluczowe:
Radom, stronghold, archeology, memory, revitalisationAbstrakt
The stronghold called St. Peter’s hill in Radom is located in the centre of the city, in an area severely degraded by the side effects of 19th- and 20th-century industrialisation. The archaeological excavations and paleoecological research carried out in 2009–2013 created a background for studying its complex past and designing the future. The biography of St. Peter’s hill encompasses the early medieval power centre, late medieval urbanisation, nineteenth-century industrialisation, subsequent degradation of material and human resources, and present revitalisation projects. This place is far more than an archaeological site or even a part of archaeological heritage. It is a unique cultural landscape, which emerged as a result of long-lasting mutual relations between man and nature. Its materiality constitutes an inalienable cultural capital, indispensable for the reconstruction of local identities and communities of memory.