Katarzyna Ryszewska

The times of the Second Polish Republic were a particularly important period in the development of Polish archeology, because after Poland regained independence, the first state institution was established to organize the protection of archaeological monuments throughout the country. It was the State Group of Prehistoric Monuments Conservators functioning in the years 1920–1928. Their activities in the Kielce voivodeship brought particularly interesting results. Conservators and delegates of the State Group of Prehistoric Monuments Conservators did a lot in the field of inventory and protection of archaeological monuments in the Kielce region, undertaking surface and excavation rescue research, as well as popularizing archeology among the inhabitants of the region. The result of their activities was the registration, discovery, and exploration of many archaeological sites, including such valuable ones as a complex of multicultural sites in Złota near Sandomierz and in Książnice Wielkie, and a unique complex of striped flint mines in Krzemionki near Ostrowiec. The sites discovered at that time in the Kielce voivodeship are still the subject of interest and research to Polish archaeologists.

The article aims to present the multifaceted activity of Józef Żurowski (1892–1936), an archaeologist and conservator of prehistoric artefacts in Małopolska. The study relies on extensive archival material and Żurowski’s numerous publications. In the years 1920–1936, he was the conservator of the Krakow region and later the West Małopolska region, acting successively on behalf of the State Group of Prehistoric Monuments Conservators and the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw. Żurowski’s most outstanding achievements include carrying out the first excavations in the banded flint mine in Krzemionki, conducting research on multicultural sites in Złota, supervising the digging of the monumental Krakus Mound, discovering and interpreting the first burials of the Bell Beaker culture in Poland, as well as examining many early medieval cemeteries. As a conservator, he not only inventoried and excavated many archaeological sites – such as numerous strongholds, barrows, and the caves of the Ojców Jura – but also ensured their protection and preservation. Józef Żurowski died prematurely at 45, yet he is one of the most distinguished Polish archaeologists of the Second Polish Republic.