Introduction

For the majority of historical researchers, the manor houses of knights belong to the past and are something that has been and gone forever. For an archaeologist, however, they still exist, albeit in a heavily modified form. Therefore, the basic question is what is the state of the manor house today, or in reality, what are its remains, and how to identify, verify and investigate them? The most common response of the archaeologist to this question is that the designation of a manor house is a fortified residence, that is an archaeological site with distinct land features. In Poland most frequently it is the so-called motte-type residence, in the form of a mound often surrounded with a moat. Another form, typical of more mountainous regions, is the cutting off the end of a headland by a ditch, often referred to as a dry moat. The strict typological classification into upland, headland and lowland etc. fortifications was not successful. In principle we are still using the old nomenclature and saying it is a ring-shaped fortified town if it is surrounded with embankments, or a motte and bailey residence if the courtyard is situated on a raised earthwork. Misunderstandings are sometimes caused by the fact that these terms intuitively have chronological associations, that is ring-shaped fortifications are of early medieval construction whereas the motte and bailey residences have late medieval origins.

The presumption that the seat of the dominant social class, or knights, should stand out against the background of peasant households, is certainly well-grounded. In general it is emphasized that these seats were most frequently fortified. In the case of motte and bailey settlements or residences located on headlands, defence was ensured by the elevated location. In other cases, surrounding embankments or moats formed part of the defence system. It is obvious that sites with distinctive land features are easier to be discovered. Excavations of such sites provide artefacts typical of manor houses that differ from findings discovered within rural settlements in terms of quality, diversity and the high standard of workmanship. This fact supports the classification of such sites as relics of settlements occupied by representatives of the privileged social classes - knights or nobility. However, reliance only on the presence