Documentary presenting the story of discovering one of the most famous prehistoric settlements in Poland and the daily lives of its residents has been prepared by the Biskupin Archaeological Museum to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the start of research in this location. The film is available free on the internet.
In the professionally produced documentary "Biskupin. Monument of history", Wiesław Zajączkowski - the museum director, Prof. Bogusław Gediga of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology PAS and Prof. Wojciech Chudziak from the Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń talk about Biskupin.
The film presents Walenty Szwajcer, local teacher considered the discoverer of the early Iron Age settlement in Biskupin, as well as Prof. Józef Kostrzewski, head of research, which started in 1934. The production contains numerous archival photographs and film footage, including documentation, illustrating the high level of archaeological research already in the interwar period. For example, the researchers took vertical photographs from balloons or specially prepared platforms. Divers from the Navy also joined the exploration of Biskupin. The film also presents Dr. Zdzisław Rajewski, who contributed the most to the popularization of the settlement in Biskupin. Authors of the film put a lot of effort into the preparation of suggestive scenes reconstructing the life of former inhabitants of the peninsula.
The viewer will see that Biskupin was not just the 2.5 thousand years old settlement. Prof. Chudziak talks about much longer history of the settlement, which is documented by excavations, from the Stone Age and to the Middle Ages. The film shows recently completed reconstructions of huts from the Neolithic and the 11th century. The final part of the production presents the latest investments of the Archaeological Museum in Biskupin in the form of the "museologist house" and visitor centre.
The curators encourage to watch the film on the eve of anniversary, 20th archaeological festival in Biskupin, which is one of the largest such projects in Central and Eastern Europe. This year\'s event’s theme is "Stone, Bronze, Iron". The festival began on Saturday, September 13.
The film was made with funds from the Rural Development Programme and the European Union under Axis 4 LEADER. The screenplay was written by Wiesław Zajączkowski, Anna Grossman, Wojciech Piotrowski, Mariusz Kazik and Mikołaj Walenczykowski, who also directed the film. The production can be seen on YouTube at http://youtu.be/pofy4_FZjCo
PAP - Nauka w Polsce
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