As Grodziec Castle reports:
The excavations launch a series of archaeological studies to be carried out within the castle courtyard. The research aims to provide an even better understanding of the history of this place; ultimately, a shrine on a pillar will be installed here.
And adds:
At the same time, workshops by the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław are underway. A group of students, supervised by Jagoda Ciechanowska, an art conservator and academic supervisor of sculpture students, Jagoda Ciechanowska is working on the Wendela Roskopfa portal.
Grodziec Castle Castellan Mariusz Garbera:
We are in the middle of the second season of conservation workshops with the Academy of Fine Arts. We are working on several things that are very important to us. Above all, we are working on the Wendela Roskopfa portal, which is still being uncovered. We are checking what remains of this important structure can still be found at Grodziec Castle. But we are also working on our shrine on a pillar, which has already undergone conservation treatment.
Academic supervisor of sculpture students and art conservator Jagoda Ciechanowska:
This is already the second edition, during which we are continuing work begun last year. The students are conserving three historic objects within the castle. These include a fireplace bearing the coat of arms of the Duchy of Legnica and Brzeg in the Fireplace Room, the remains of the Wendela Roskopfa portal from 1522, and the stone top of a shrine on a pillar, currently located in the courtyard, which we plan to install in the future in a complete display on a reconstructed pillar. There are many stages ahead of us. We plan at least six editions in order to truly complete both the conservation work and move on to restoration. Interestingly, we plan to reconstruct parts of the Wendela Roskopfa portal and, perhaps, if time allows, the polychrome decoration and gilding on the shrine on a pillar.
The archaeological research being conducted may produce very interesting results. The hosts say: – We hope they will help decipher several of the mysteries of the castle on an extinct volcano.
Mariusz Garbera adds:
I would like to sincerely thank Dean Grzegorz Niemyjski, without whom these workshops probably would not have taken place. But above all, I would like to thank Jagoda Ciechanowska, who supervises the group of students carrying out this work. She is the author of the programme and, in fact, the driving force behind these interesting and important workshops. The workshops also aim to install, within the courtyard, our shrine on a pillar – an object that I believe is very interesting for the entire region. Since we will be installing the shrine on a pillar, archaeological research must first be conducted, and this is being carried out by the Archeo Archaeological Foundation. Both Mariusz Łesiuk and Tomasz Stolarczyk are involved in this research. They are excellent specialists, whom I also sincerely thank. This research is a good opportunity to explore, explain and learn more about the mysteries of Grodziec Castle.
Mariusz Łesiuk of the Archeo Archaeological Foundation:
The archaeological excavations are fairly limited in area because they precede the construction of masonry and foundations that will serve to erect the shrine on a pillar – an architectural monument located here at the castle.
And adds:
The method is well known – the excavation method, meaning that we physically interfere with the soil using spades, mattocks and tools that have always served us archaeologists. We remove layers of earth and rubble that accumulated as a result of all the historical activity at the castle.
The excavations have already produced results. As M. Łesiuk notes:
During these two days of work alone, we have recovered several dozen fragments of clay vessels from different periods, including the Early Middle Ages. Architectural fragments have also been found in a secondary deposit; they are made of sandstone (…). As far as the history of the castle hill is concerned, the fragments of vessels, most likely from the Early Middle Ages – most likely because we still need to wash them and examine them more closely – already point to a particular period in the history of the hill when we may be dealing with vessels possibly dating from before the Piast state. This would indicate that the hill was inhabited in some way. Was there a fortified settlement here? We do not know, because the trench itself is small and later construction work transformed the hill.