Stone Circles at Węsiory

In a pine forest by Lake Długie, about 1.5 km south of the village of Węsiory in Kashubia, lies a burial ground with stone circles, barrows and standing stones almost two thousand years old. It was founded in the 70s–80s AD, and archaeologists link it to the Goths, who according to tradition came to Pomerania from Scandinavia. It is one of the most atmospheric archaeological sites in Poland, and its excavation inspired a novel by Zbigniew Nienacki.

History: the Goths by Lake Długie

The cemetery was in use from around AD 70–80 until the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The people buried here belonged to the Wielbark culture, associated with the Goths – called Gutones in written sources and described by the 6th-century chronicler Jordanes as a people who set out from Scandza under King Berig. The site was first described in 1938 by G. Petsch, an amateur ethnographer who published local legends about the stones.

Excavations were carried out in 1955–1963 by a team from the University of Łódź led by Jerzy Kmieciński, who uncovered almost the entire cemetery. Unlike other Pomeranian sites of this type, the circles at Węsiory were used for burials. The finds went to the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk.

What to see

• Stone circles – three circles and part of a fourth survive; they are the oldest structures on the site. The largest is 26 m across.
• 20 barrows of stones and earth, each with one to three graves, reconstructed after the excavation.
• Stelae – large upright boulders that marked some of the graves.
• In total researchers recorded 110 burials, both cremations and inhumations; cremation graves lay about 0.5–1 m deep, inhumations about 1.5–2 m.

Did you know?

Zbigniew Nienacki wrote a report on the Węsiory excavations for the Łódź weekly "Odgłosy" in 1958, and it became the basis of the novel "Skarb Atanaryka" (Athanaric's Treasure), published in 1960. He dedicated the book to Jerzy Kmieciński, the expedition leader. Węsiory lies on the Stone Circles Trail.

Tripto tips

Entry to the stone circles is free and the site is accessible around the clock. Parking is paid in the summer season. The cemetery is in the Sulęczyno municipality on the northern shore of Lake Długie; a short forest path leads from the car park. Allow 45–60 minutes to walk around the circles and barrows, ideally in the morning or towards evening, when light filters through the pines. This is a protected archaeological site: do not move the stones, do not climb the barrows and stay on the paths. Bring insect repellent against mosquitoes and ticks, as the area is wooded.