Excavations of the Crypts of St. Dominic’s Church in Płock as Part of the Project “At the Intersection of Faiths and Cultures – Research on the History of St. Dominic’s Church in Płock” – Report

Abstract

The post-Dominican St. Dominic’s Church in Płock is one of the oldest sacral buildings in the city. Together with the adjacent monastery, it bears witness to the functioning of the so-called “Górki” community, comprising three denominations: Catholics, Protestants, and the Orthodox. The Romanesque complex was erected no later than the third decade of the thirteenth century, and it held significance on the map of medieval and modern Płock. The buildings themselves have undergone little change over the centuries, making the church and monastery locations with great research potential. Regrettably, the building has not yet been subjected to comprehensive archaeological research, preceded by a source query. Rectifying this situation was the primary goal of the project “At the Intersection of Faiths and Cultures – Research on the History of St. Dominic’s Church in Płock” funded by the “Grants4NCUStudents” budget. As part of it, a research team from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń conducted preliminary archaeological research of the crypts under St. Dominic’s Church in 2022. During a series of field trips, numerous boreholes were made in the crypt space as well as in the cellars under the east wing of the monastery. The backfill of the northern entrance hole was also cleared. The preliminary work facilitated further exploration of the strata undisturbed during the cleaning work carried out in the crypt in the twentieth century. The research led to the discovery of the remains of approximately 120 people, with the bones of 16 people deposited in an ossuary made of a wooden box. Artefacts of material culture were also recovered, which allowed to date the moment and sequence of changes occurring in the crypts. The results of the conducted research enabled the precise development of a further research strategy for the post-Dominican complex in Płock.