Kontekst środowiskowo-kulturowy stanowisk archeologicznych na obwodnicy Kazimierzy Wielkiej, woj. świętokrzyskie / Environmental and cultural context of archaeological sites on the Kazimierza Wielka bypass, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship
by Radosław Czerniak 
, Tomasz Kalicki
DOI: 10.33547/ODA-SAH.13.Kaz.2
In: Małgorzata Byrska-Fudali, Radosław Czerniak, Paweł Jarosz (eds) 2024. Archeologia na obwodnicy Kazimierzy Wielkiej: od śladów wczesnych rolników po starszą epokę brązu w dolinie Nidzicy (Ocalone Dziedzictwo Archeologiczne 13), pp. 29–44. Pękowice – Kraków: Wydawnictwo Profil-Archeo.
The town of Kazimierza Wielka, the seat of the municipalityand district, is located in the southern part of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Poland). The constructionof the Kazimierza Wielka bypass, located on the eastern side of the town, mostly passed throughundeveloped areas used for agricultural activities. In terms of physiography, this area is part of theProszowice Plateau (fig. 2), which is the part of the Nidzica Basin macroregion on the Małopolska Uplandin the Polish Uplands province (Andrejczuk et al. 2021). This area, due to its loess substrate, ischaracterized by a specific landform with fluvialdenudationorigins. The investment is located onvarious-aged terraces of the Nidzica Valley, coveredby loess, where chernozems have developed. Itlies within the catchment area of the Dopływ spod Cudzynowic and Małoszówka tributaries of the Nidzica River, and in the southwestern part, with in the catchment area of the Dopływ spod Odonowa tributary of the Małoszówka. The varied, upland terrain causes significant topoclimatic and mesoclimatic differentiation. Significant elevation differences in the area of the bypass result also in mesoclimatic differentiation, which conditions thermal and humidity relations (Hess et al. 1975). In course of the fieldwork, an area of over 3.2 hectares was examined. During the excavation research, three multi-cultural archaeological sites (Kazimierza Wielka, sites 3, 5, and 13) and evidence of prehistoric settlement (Kazimierza Wielka, zone V) were discovered. These sites are located in different ecological niches, on various-aged terrace levels or erosional remnants in different mesoclimates. As a result of the research, seven prehistoric settlement phases were discovered. The oldest were represented by communities of the Linear Band Pottery culture and the Malice culture (Kazimierza Wielka, site 13). During the Eneolithic, communities of the Corded Ware culture (Kazimierza Wielka, sites 3, 5, 13) and the Bell Beaker culture (Kazimierza Wielka, Site 3) lived in the area. In the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, the Mierzanowice
and Trzciniec cultures were represented. The chapter attempts to reconstruct the evolution of the relief, as well as the mesoclimatic differentiation during the period of the activity of the above-mentioned communities.