Krzemionki
Encyclopedia
Krzemionki, also Krzemionki Opatowskie - Neolithic and early Bronze Age complex of mines of the Upper Jurassic
(Oxfordian) banded flints, located in the eastern Poland near Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
. It is the biggest complex of the prehistoric flint mines in Europe . .
The flints were exploitated between 4th millennium – middle of the 2nd millennium BC (3000-1600 B.C. ) in the complex of the underground mines by people of the Funnel Beaker, Globular Amphora and Mierzanowice Cultures . Banded flints from Krzemionki were used mainly for the manufacture of numerous axes and chisels. Abundant quantities of these tools were traded as far away as 660 km from the Krzemionki . Main period of exploitation was 2500-2000 B.C. . The flint mining in Krzemionki began to decline at least since 1800-1600 B.C. .
In next centuries the mining area was only sporadically visited. Village near mines was firstly mentioned in 1509 and owned by Jakub from Szydłowiec. The numerous small quarries of the limestones used for lime production were located on the mining area in first half of the 20th century .
The small groups of tourists visited the Krzemionki since the late 1950s . The Krzemionki mines were opened for mass tourism in 11 June 1985 (so-called Tourist Route no. 1). 10 June 1990 were opened second underground tourist route and open-air archeological museum was opened in 1992 . The underground tourist route is 465 m long and has 11.5 m at the deepest point .
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
(Oxfordian) banded flints, located in the eastern Poland near Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski
Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski is a town in south-central Poland with 74,211 inhabitants .Main industry is metallurgy. Ostrowiec is the capital city of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski County, part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship , previously it belonged to Kielce Voivodeship .- History:The oldest testimonies of...
. It is the biggest complex of the prehistoric flint mines in Europe . .
History of mining
The mining area is 4,5 km long and 25-180 m wide and covered 78.5 ha . There are above 4000 mine shafts with 2 - 9 m depth . Some of the shafts are connected by short adits. Adits are 55 - 120 cm height and their complete length is about 4.5 km . The rare Neolithic pictures occur on the walls of some adits .The flints were exploitated between 4th millennium – middle of the 2nd millennium BC (3000-1600 B.C. ) in the complex of the underground mines by people of the Funnel Beaker, Globular Amphora and Mierzanowice Cultures . Banded flints from Krzemionki were used mainly for the manufacture of numerous axes and chisels. Abundant quantities of these tools were traded as far away as 660 km from the Krzemionki . Main period of exploitation was 2500-2000 B.C. . The flint mining in Krzemionki began to decline at least since 1800-1600 B.C. .
In next centuries the mining area was only sporadically visited. Village near mines was firstly mentioned in 1509 and owned by Jakub from Szydłowiec. The numerous small quarries of the limestones used for lime production were located on the mining area in first half of the 20th century .
History of scientific investigation and tourism exploitation
The mines were discovered in 1922 by geologist Jan Samsonowicz . Archeological investigations headed by archeologist Stefan Krukowski started in 1923 . After Second World War the head of the scientific team was Tadeusz Żurowski who explored the mines in Krzemionki especially in 1958 - 1961. In 1967 the Krzemionki mines were stated as archeological reserve and in 1995 as natural reserve .The small groups of tourists visited the Krzemionki since the late 1950s . The Krzemionki mines were opened for mass tourism in 11 June 1985 (so-called Tourist Route no. 1). 10 June 1990 were opened second underground tourist route and open-air archeological museum was opened in 1992 . The underground tourist route is 465 m long and has 11.5 m at the deepest point .