History

The prehistoric flint mines in Krzemionki near the village of Magonie, north-east of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, were discovered in 1922 by the outstanding geologist and palaeontologist, Jan Samsonowicz (1888–1959). Samsonowicz prepared a geological map of the Opatów County and conducted field research. He worked in cooperation with archaeologist Stefan Krukowski on the northern edge of the Holy Cross Mountains. In 1923, the mines were inspected by S. Krukowski and Zygmunt Szmit. In September 1925, the first archaeological research in Krzemionki was conducted by Józef Żurowski, State Conservator of Prehistoric Monuments of the Western Lesser Poland and Silesian Districts. He explored several underground workings and identified the entire exploitation field. A year later (1926), Mieczysław Radwan, a metallurgist, historian, and researcher of the historical industry, proposed the creation of an archaeological reserve and a research facility in Krzemionki. The next archaeological research was conducted in 1926 by Zygmunt Szmit and in the years 1928-1932 by S. Krukowski. The latter published the first monograph of the site in 1939, entitled „Krzemionki opatowskie.” The author of the photos included in this work was the famous architect, regionalist, and photographer from Ostrowiec, Tadeusz Rekwirowicz (1895–1962).

In 1928, the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw, which took over the care of the monument from the State Group of Conservators of Prehistoric Monuments, engaged a warden to protect the reserve in Krzemionki. For many years, this function was performed by Julian Pachniak (1897–1977).

The period of war and occupation caused the suspension of all research and conservation work in the Krzemionki area. During the Nazi occupation period, the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw was transformed into the Staatliches Archäologisches Museum, an institution subordinate to the German authorities of the General Government (i.e., the Department of Science and Education of the Warsaw District Governor’s Office). The museum protected the mines in Krzemionki, which during the occupation was a Staatliche Shutzgebiet (state protection area). Julian Pachniak, employed as a warden, continued to protect the reserve. In May 1942, Kazimierz Salewicz, an archaeologist working at the Staatliches Archäologisches Museum in Warsaw, travelled to Krzemionki to protect the prehistoric mines. He received a special pass for this purpose from Dr. Werner Tschaschel from the Liquidation Commission of the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment at the Office of the Head of the Warsaw District. However, no research or conservation work was undertaken in the Krzemionki area. In 1944, German troops dug trenches in the reserve, which were part of the defence line.

In 1945 and 1948, archaeologist Michał Drewko documented wartime destruction in the mining field, cleared part of the galleries of three mines, and prepared the necessary drawing documentation. The reconstituted State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw once again took over the care of Krzemionki after the end of the war. Archaeological work was resumed in Krzemionki only in the 1950s by engineer, architect, and archaeologist Tadeusz Żurowski, who explored the mining field until 1967. The director of the State Archaeological Museum, Zdzisław Rajewski, planned to establish a research facility for the museum in Krzemionki, which would fulfil research and conservation functions. However, this concept was not implemented, and in January 1953 Krzemionki came under the direct care of the Ministry of Culture and Art.

Since 1955, the Commission for the Protection of Monuments of the Ostrowiec branch of the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society (PTTK) has played an important role in the protection of the reserve in Krzemionki. Its member was a well-known Ostrowiec physician, social activist, and monuments lover, Dr. Eugeniusz Dziewulski (1913–1976), who in 1966 spoke at the 3rd Congress of Polish Culture in Warsaw, presenting the state of research and the importance of the mines in Krzemionki. He then drew attention to the need to protect this priceless monument and to the possibility of adapting it to the needs of science and tourism, emphasizing its scientific and educational value as well as its tourist potential. Dr. Dziewulski was the author of an original, comprehensive concept of an underground tourist route in Krzemionki, which was to run parallel to the Neolithic corridors. He postulated the opening of a well-organized museum in Krzemionki. He was also a tireless promoter of knowledge about prehistoric mines. He organized trips to Krzemionki and disseminated knowledge about this extraordinary monument of prehistoric mining. He took many valuable photographs of prehistoric shafts.

In January 1968, the Minister of Culture and Art established a local branch of the State Archaeological Museum in Krzemionki. The reserve once again came under the supervision of the State Archaeological Museum. The Krzemionki Branch was officially inaugurated on 12 June 1969. An exhibition was opened in the reserve, and a popular science session was held in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. Ownership relations in the reserve were sorted out, and previously examined shafts were secured. An exhibition pavilion and a workshop pavilion were built. The idea of establishing a research facility in Krzemionki and conducting extensive archaeological research in the prehistoric mining field raised by Prof. Z. Rajewski did not come to fruition. In the years 1969-1970, J. Kowalczyk, B. Balcer, and Z. Krzak conducted further archaeological research in Krzemionki on behalf of the State Archaeological Museum. At the same time, work was underway on the development of Krzemionki. Further facilities were built in the reserve at that time. In 1970, the Ostrowiec branch of the PTTK took over the care of tourist services in Krzemionki.

The Regional Museum in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (since 1986: Historical and Archaeological Museum in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski) took control of Krzemionki by decision of the Minister of Culture and Art in 1978. The archaeological reserve in Krzemionki passed from the care of the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw (PMA) to the care of the Ostrowiec Museum as a result of the actions of director J. W. Kotasiak. The State Archaeological Museum (by the concept of the reserve manager, Dr. J. T. Bąbel) was to supervise the research and exhibition activities. In 1979, a new archaeological research program was launched in Kraków with the participation of the State Archaeological Museum, the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw, the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Regional Museum in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, and specialists from the Lublin Coal Basin. In the years 1979-1984, the research of the PMA expedition from Warsaw in the reserve was led by J. T. Bąbel. At that time, a large part of the mining field was examined (traces of hearths, flint workshops, and unknown mine workings were discovered), and the first radiocarbon dating in the history of Krzemionki was carried out. Many underground mining facilities and surface facilities were examined. It became possible to make the underground mines accessible to tourists. The Mining Works Company in Łęczna and the Association of Mining Works and Shaft Construction Companies in Katowice also participated in the work. In 1984, the State Archaeological Museum established The Committee for Ancient Mining Research, which included Sławomir Sałaciński, Marek Zalewski, Wojciech Borkowski, and Witold Migal.

In the years 1985-1986 and later, further studies of mines and adjacent waste dumps were conducted in various places of the exploitation field. Research work conducted in the 1980s and 1990s concerned both the underground parts of the mines and the surface of the mining field. They brought new information on the exploitation of striped flint in the distant past and resulted in new publications. In the years 1995-2000, research and conservation work was carried out in the mining field, especially in the shafts adjacent to the tourist route. In the first decade of the 21st century, the area of the so-called “Wielkie Komory” and numerous mines in the exploitation field were studied. Conservation works in this area were carried out with the participation of the company “Geohydrowiert- Kielce.” Conservation and mining work continued in the years 2006-2009. In 2008, Artur Jedynak and Kamil Kaptur conducted archaeological research of Neolithic mines and underground waste dumps on behalf of the Historical and Archaeological Museum in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. J. T. Bąbel also participated in the works. In 2012, a new building of the Museum in Krzemionki was opened. In the same year, the Archaeological Museum and Reserve Krzemionki were honoured with an award in the Region Leaders competition in the CULTURE category. In October 2012, the Museum was awarded the “Laurel of Polish Tourism.”.

The exhibition entitled “Flint in Nature and Culture” was opened in the museum pavilion in Krzemionki in September 2013. The exhibition introduced visitors to the origins and history of the use of flint by humans. In 2013, a scientific and conservation conference was held in Krzemionki, related to the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the discovery of the prehistoric mines, entitled “The prehistoric mine Krzemionki Opatowskie—a Monument of History, in the background of the problems of research, protection, and development of prehistoric flint mines in Poland and Europe”. The conference was attended by researchers from Poland and other countries. Its outcome was the publication „Mining from the Stone Age: Krzemionki—Poland—Europe: on the 90th anniversary of the discovery of the mine in Krzemionki,” published in 2014.

In 2014, limited archaeological and conservation works were again carried out under the direction of A. Jedynak and K. Kaptur in the area of Great Chambers. Parts of mining galleries and prehistoric tools were discovered. On September 19-21, 2019, an international scientific conference was held in Krzemionki entitled “The flint mining studies: archaeological excavations, extraction methods, chipping floors, and distribution of raw materials and workshop products.” The conference’s subject concerned research on prehistoric mining. Its main organizer was the International Union of Pre- and Protohistoric Sciences. In 2019, Krzemionki, together with the Krzemionki Prehistoric Striped Flint Mining Region, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. A cultural park is to be created here soon, encompassing the areas of several neighbouring municipalities.

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