"Witnesses of Crossing Borders" "Polish-Lithuanian Delimitations in the Years 1492-1565/1566. Preliminary, Work Organization, And Strategies of Proceedings by the Border Committees" DOMINIK SZULC IThe Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History Polish Academy of Sciences, Rynek Starego Miasta 29/31, 00-272 Warszawa e-mail: rocznik.ltg@interia.pl A cross, even of an unusual shape, always sacralised and protected places and objects like border signs and points against intrusions; a boulder in the village of Branica Suchowolska, 21 November 2015

Description popularizing the research project

Forbidden fruit always tastes the best. One of the biggest temptations is crossing borders, especially the ones you mustn't cross. It does not only mean breaking taboos, or reaching farther than the eye can reach. From the dawn of our species, our human nature pushed daredevils and adventurers to trespass territories occupied and jealously guarded by others. As human communities developed, so did the necessity to mark the territories, where uninvited visitors were not welcome, become more and more important. Since ancient times, the colourful patches marking countries changed like in a kaleidoscope. In the wake of victorious leaders and their armies the countries expanded at the cost of the defeated. As a result of pacts and alliances signed throughout the centuries, new borders were drawn. A dotted line in a map seems to be obvious. Yet, crossing the more obscure one, lying hidden in the landscape, may result in a rain of arrows sent by the defenders. Marking the borders in the landscape is as important as describing them in signed and sealed treaties. When two territories are not separated by a river or a mountain range, it is necessary to mark the border in a different clear way e.g. by placing border stones there.
There are very few such stones left now. Where you find them there are no longer any international borders, swept aside by the winds of history. Today it is hard to attribute them such an important function as they used to play. Only by studying inscriptions and symbols covering them and ancient maps, do they reveal their original role. Many of them disappeared without a trace when neighbouring countries changed their spheres of influence. When after decades nobody realised their historic role, they turned into construction material to pave roads and lay foundations for the future. It makes the stones which survived until our times silently beholding human nature, forever struggling to cross new borders, even more valuable and worth describing.

Abstract

The aim of this project is to reconstruct the process of delimitation of the national border on the basis of the Polish-Lithuanian border in the 16th and 17th century. The process was orga-nized in a systematic way, as it offered a strategy of the border delimitation. In the 18th century, the border stones between the lands of Lublin (Kingdom of Poland) and Brze¶æ (the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) were mentioned several times. The glacial stones offered scriptures and drawings, most of which were destroyed over 100 years ago when the stones were used for paving roads. Owing to their durability they were also used as the border stones. Some other signs such as engraved trees or mounds were frequently destroyed. Rarely can be these signs of material culture found, and those signs which are the subject of my research are the only ones that can be linked with Polish-Lithuanian border disputes. What is interesting is not only their origin and use but also their physical-mechanical features which determined possibility of using them. One of the detailed aims of this research project is documentation (photography and description) of the preserved border stones. So far, four such stones have been found. During my field research, I based my search on written sources and information available from the local community. Registration and description of the stones offers a new insight into the now non-existing border but also can function as a springboard for the creation of a map of such glacial stones. Thanks to my cooperation with the restoring service, it was agreed that a historical analysis of the stones gives grounds for them to be legible for conservation. The cultural significance of the stones came as a surprise for the local community. Research Direc-tor/ Abstract and Photography Author - Dominik Szulc, PhD (the History Institute at the Polish Academy of Sciences)

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