Impact of human settlement and economy on the relief of the

Impact of human settlement and economy on the relief of the
western part of the Twardowice Plateau (Silesian Upland)
Dr. Renata Dulias
[email protected]
University of Silesia, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Sosnowiec 41-200, Będzińska 60, Poland
Man engaged in the process of Earth sculpture shaping as far back as about 6000 years ago,
but effects of these activities did not affect the relief until the shift from gathering-hunting
economy to agro-pastoral one. In Poland, that took place about 2000 years ago. The period of
intense anthropogenic transformation of the land sculpture started in Middle Ages, but
maximum changes fell on the 19th and 20th centuries, especially in areas where natural
resources occurred. An excellent example is provided by the Silesian Upland, especially its
central, most industrialized, part called the Upper-Silesian Industrial Region (HORNIG, 1955;
ŻMUDA, 1973 et al.).
In studies on anthropogenic surface features, an important part is played by archaeo-logical
data, historical records and old cartographic publications. They have been used in this paper
to describe the stages of anthropogenic surface shaping in the western part of Twar-dowice
Plateau (fig. 1). The plateau is the central part of Middle Triassic cuesta, which surrounds the
Upper-Silesian conurbation from the north and east. The plateau is mainly formed from
Triassic limestones and dolomites. The Józefka Basin, adjacent to the west, is filled with
Quaternary sediments, which are sandy in their main bulk. Sands also overlay the deep preQuaternary valleys cutting through the Plateau and cover its slopes up to the altitude of about
340 m above s. l. (GILEWSKA, 1963).
Fig. 1. Location of the research area within
geomorphological units of the Silesian Upland
Fig. 2. Sandy-organic deposits in the
Jaworznik valley: 1 - humus horizons
of soils and contemporary soils, 2 sandy deposits, 3 - groundwater level
The research area was penetrated by man as early as the Palaeolithic Age. This is indicated by
the skull of Aurignac man (Homo sapiens fossilis) found in the Jaworznik valley (STĘŚLICKA,
1960). Traces of transitional hunting camps, dating back to late Palaeolithic and Neolithic
Ages, were also found in neighbouring villages – Rogoźnik, Siemonia, Góra Sie-wierska and
Nowa Wieś. However, communities of the stone age did not cause major trans-formations to
the relief. First such changes are related to the Łużyce culture settlement. 137 graves with
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burnt human remains dating back to about 500 BC were found at the foothill of Góra
Siewierska (BŁASZCZYK, 1959). The cultural layer is covered with 0.8-m-thick proluvial
sands. These were probably outwash formed as the result of deforestation and land cultivation
(GILEWSKA, 1963). Such assumptions are confirmed by archaeological findings in Pomłynie,
where traces of the Przeworsk culture were found (150 BC – 450 AD.), e.g. remains of
wooden houses (JAMKA, 1960, 1972).
Major changes in the geographical environment of the research area took place in Middle
Ages. Most villages and farmsteads are first mentioned in historical documents in 12th and
13th centuries. As many as 5 mills operated upon the Jaworznik in 1301 and vast areas were
deforested for land cultivation and building purposes. That started the phase of intense
denudation processes on steep sandy slopes of the Plateau. The range of these processes is
indicated by deposits in the Jaworznik valley which cover the fossil soil, dated at 480  50 y
BP using the C-14 method, with a 2-metre-thick layer (fig. 2).
On the turn of the 16th century, the research area changed into an explicitly agricultural one
and was characterized by high population density – at least 9 manors and 25 feuds existed in
neighbouring villages (CIEPIELA, 1998). As historical documents show, large sandy areas
were uncovered in the Jaworznik valley as early as 17th century. This is when the borders of
the village of Góra Siewierska were described as running along the sands both on the
Twardowice side and on the Rogoźnik and Strzyżowice side (NOGA, 1994). It is not unlikely
that sands were uncovered as the result of a legendary (?) fire during the Swedish invasion.
This way or other, it was 17th century that the mediaeval village of Korzystki, where the fire is
said to have taken place, ceased to exist (Słownik.., 1993).
In 18th and 19th centuries, mass-scale open-pit exploitation of iron ore and fire-clay was
carried out in the Plateau. So created exploitation hollows have permanently marked the
surface features – they are shape of cones and basins, most frequently a few metres in depth
and more than ten metres in diameter. They are scattered all over neighbouring hills – Srocza
Góra, Równa Góra, Buczyna, Śródpole (fig. 3). About 200 of them have been reported there.
Ore was smelted out of the exploitation area, e.g. in forges near Siewierz. Most output,
however, was transported to Bankowa Steelworks in Dąbrowa Górnicza. Major changes in the
surface features of the Plateau were caused by limestone and dolomite exploitation in quarries
in Rogoźnik and Wojkowice.
In the early part of the 20th century, the surface features of the research area had clear
anthropogenic mark pressed on them. Besides the said large quarries and a number of postexploitation hollows, vast area of blown sands in the Jaworznik valley is also noticeable.
J. LEWIŃSKI (1914) calls it a small desert, which is hardly deniable when seeing photo included in the paper. Blown sands remained until 1930s, as they were marked on topographic
maps at that time (Mapa..., 1932/1933) (fig. 4). Causes of that fact should be sought in the
economic condition of local villages. In Góra Siewierska alone, over 500 people lived in
about 100 houses, only less than twenty of them being farmers (KANTOR-MIRSKI, 1931/1932;
Ciepiela, 1998). In the situation of rampart unemployment and poverty, each family tried to
keep at least one cow – there were 70 cows and 36 horses there in 1936 (not counting manor
animals, 150 sheep among them). No wonder grass on all pastures was eaten up to the bare
ground.
In 1950s, exploitation of sand in the Jaworznik valley for filling purposes started (fig. 3). Four
huge 20-metre-deep exploitation hollows were created in a few-kilometre-long section. After
exploitation stopped, waste material from stone coal mines was stored in the southern part of
the largest exploitation hollow, and then it was flooded with water thus creating an artificial
reservoir, 32 ha in area. A water reservoir was also created in the southernmost hollow and
two other sandpits were afforested, which significantly decreased denudation pro-cesses on
steep slopes of the sandpits. The river Jaworznik has got a new bed, which runs to the bigger
water reservoir. A quite widespread delta, which is built by the river, starts to emerge from
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water. The high opposite bank of the reservoir, build from said mining waste – sandstones and
coal shales – is intensely cut through by a small stream flowing out of a quite
Fig. 3. Main elements of the anthropogenic relief near Góra Siewierska: 1 – old iron ore postexploitation hollows, 2 – non-operating sandpit, 3 – water reservoirs
Fig. 4. Blown sands in the Jaworznik valley: A – at the beginning of the 20th c. (photo by W.
Strzelecki, published in J. Lewiński’s paper of 1914); B – in 1930s (basing on Mapa ...,
1932/1933): 1 – villages, 2 – roads, 3 – forests, 4 – blown sands, 5 – mills, 6 – springs
abundant karst spring. For the past 40 years, the edge of the scarp has been cut 2.5 m deep and
headward erosion covered the section of over 30 metres in length.
Phases of development of anthropogenic surface features in the western part of the
Twardowice Plateau have been characterized to a high extent basing on various historical,
both written and cartographic, materials. They turn out to contain a lot of precious geomorphological information, which is frequently hard to grasp using traditional methods of terrain
research.
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References
BŁASZCZYK, W. (1959): Badania archeologiczne Muzeum w Będzinie w latach 1955-1958.
Biul. Śląskiego Inst. Nauk., nr 10, Katowice.
CIEPIELA, B. (1998): Góra Siewierska. Sowa-Press. Sosnowiec.
GILEWSKA, S. (1963): Rzeźba progu środkowotriasowego w okolicy Będzina. Wyd. Geol.
Warszawa.
HORNIG, A.: Formy powierzchni ziemi stworzone przez człowieka na obszarze Wyżyny
Śląskiej. W: Górny Śląsk. Prace i materiały geograficzne (Red. A. Wrzosek), Kraków.
JAMKA, R. (1960): Pradzieje i wczesne średniowiecze Górnego Śląska, Katowice.
JAMKA, R. (1972): Związki Zagłębia Dąbrowskiego z Górnym Śląskiem w świetle badań
archeologicznych. Śląski Inst. Naukowy, Katowice.
KANTOR-MIRSKI, M. (1931/1932): Z przeszłości Zagłębia Dąbrowskiego i okolicy.
Sosnowiec.
LEWIŃSKI, J. (1914): Utwory dyluwialne i ukształtowanie powierzchni przedlodowcowej
dorzecza Przemszy. Prace Tow. Naukowego Warszawskiego, nr 7. Warszawa.
Mapa topograficzna 1:100 000 arkusz Katowice. Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny, Warszawa 1932/1933.
NOGA, Z. (1994): Słownik miejscowości księstwa siewierskiego. Katowice
Słownik historyczno-geograficzny województwa krakowskiego w średniowieczu, cz. II, z. 4.
PAN, Instytut Historii, Kraków 1993.
STĘŚLICKA, W. (1960): Homo sapiens fossilis z Siemonii. Prace i mat. Antropol., PAN, 48,
Wrocław.
ŻMUDA, S. (1973): Antropogeniczne przeobrażenia środowiska przyrodniczego konurbacji
gór-nośląskiej. PWN Warszawa-Kraków.
Streszczenie
Wpływ osadnictwa i gospodarki człowieka na rzeźbę zachodniej części
Płaskowyżu Twardowickiego (Wyżyna Śląska)
W pracy scharakteryzowano etapy rozwoju rzeźby antropogenicznej w zachodniej części
Płaskowyżu Twardowickiego (rys. 1) na podstawie analizy przekazów historycznych, starych
opracowań kartograficznych oraz wyników badań archeologicznych. Początek prze-kształceń
rzeźby związany jest z osadnictwem kultury łużyckiej i przeworskiej (pokrywy pro-luwialne
w Górze Siewierskiej i Pomłyniu). Etap intensywnych procesów denudacyjnych rozpoczął się
po średniowiecznych karczunkach lasów pod uprawy rolne (piaszczysto-orga-niczne osady o
miąższości 2 m, powyżej gleby datowanej na
480  50 lat BP, rys. 2).
W XVII w. wielki pożar odsłonił piaski w dolinie Jaworznika - były one lotne do lat 30.
XX w. (rys. 4). Ich zarastanie hamował intensywny wypas bydła. W XVIII i XIX w. na Płaskowyżu Twardowickim prowadzono na wielką skalę odkrywkową eksploatację rudy żelaza
i glinek ogniotrwałych. Na okolicznych wzgórzach naliczono około 200 wyrobisk porudnych
(rys. 3). Wielkie zmiany w rzeźbie spowodowała eksploatacja wapieni i dolomitów w kamieniołomach w Rogożniku i Wojkowicach oraz piasków podsadzkowych w dolinie Jaworznika
(4 wyrobiska).
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