Jacek B. Szmańda
Articles
Reconstruction of geodynamic processes on the Vistula riverbank in Medieval Toruń (Poland)
Geographia Polonica (2025) vol. 98, iss. 2, pp. 231-249 | 
Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0301
Abstract
During roadworks on Bulwar Filadelfijski in Toruń, the foundations of a Benedictine monastery and the Holy Spirit Church were uncovered. Geoarchaeological research analyzed fluvial, denudational, and anthropogenic layers in the Vistula riverbank. The aim was to determine the spatial and stratigraphic relationships between fluvial and denudational sedimentsand anthropogenic embankments in the Vistula riverbank zone. Key findings:(1) Early medieval fluvial and denudational processes shaped sediments, with Bronze Age and Roman artifacts redeposited by medieval floods. (2) Late medieval construction (monastery, perimeter wall) led toanthropogenic embankments dominating the area. (3) After the monastery’s mid-17th-century destruction, major floods deposited overbank alluvium. The study clarifies the site’s stratigraphic evolution under naturaland human influence.
Keywords: geoarchaeological reconstruction, fluvial and denudational processes, anthropogenic embankments deposits, medieval town, Vistuli River valley
[jacek.szmanda@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
[piotr.gierszewski@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
[mateusz.kramkowski@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
[karol.witkowski@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Św. Jana 22, 31-018 Kraków: Poland
[sebastian. tyszkowski@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
[michał.fojutowski@twarda. pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
[piotr.kittel@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Lodz Narutowicza 88, 90-139 Łódź: Poland
[mkrapiec@agh.edu.pl], Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection AGH University of Science and Technology Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków: Poland
[wojchud@umk.pl], Institute of Archaeology Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
[rynius@umk.pl], Institute of Archaeology Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
[malgorzata.luc@uj.edu.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Management Jagiellonian University in Kraków Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków: Poland