Stone Walls as a Characteristic Feature of the Cultural Landscape of the Izera Mountains, southwestern Poland

Abstract

This paper is the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary presentation of stone walls in the Central European mountains from the perspective of landscape archaeology based on field surveys and analysis of cartographic and LiDAR data. The stone walls in the Izera Mountains of southwestern Poland are the largest ones in the region, as they represent a rare case of fully enclosed fields in the Sudetes. The niches constructed within the walls are not found anywhere else. The paper discusses the origins, functions, chronology, construction techniques, spatial distribution, and diversity of stone walls and also their significance for the cultural landscape, which was subject to substantial land abandonment after World War 2. Stone walls marked field boundaries, protected arable lands from erosion and their niches provided storage places, and provisional dwellings. Nowadays they are spectacular remnants of past land-use and unique features of the regional cultural landscape.