10 Małgorzata Doroz-Turek, Andrzej Gołembnik, Justyna Kamińska, Kamil Rabiega
used for the construction of the chancel. This hypothesis
will however require future validation.
There are no remaining traces of the medieval choir
partition in the currently accessible area of the Church
of St. James. However, its existence may be speculated,
considering the Dominican regulations
4
, as well as the
conventional customs prevalent in monasteries during the
mid-13
th
century (Szyma et al. 2021, for instance). The
ceramic details originating from the 13
th
century which
still exist today serve as an additional rationale as they
are dicult to associate with other preserved locations
within the church or monastery grounds. Michał Walic-
ki (Walicki 1971, 216) had already anticipated the pres-
ence of ceramic, unidentied decorative pieces from the
choir screen. Zoa Gołubiew and, subsequently, Jerzy
Pietrusiński hypothesised that the preserved ceramic fea-
tures similar to those present in the main portal may have
originated from the analogium, an antealtar dividing wall
(Gołubiew 1975, 65, 66; Pietrusiński 1993, 142). Jur-
kowlaniec combined the rood screen removed in modern
times with a ceramic capital decorated with a crowned
head, discovered in 1907 and lost after 1968 (Jurkowla-
niec 2021, 228, fn. 17)
5
, as well as numerous other ceram-
ic elements that are currently preserved in the Diocesan
Museum in Sandomierz. It is probable that the ceramic
tile, a piece of which was discovered in the excavation,
initially constituted a part of the rood screen of the Church
of St. James. Nonetheless, this will require verication in
the subsequent stage of research.
An additional structure, which could also potentially
date back to the medieval period, was a stone foundation
(k. 3) intended for an unidentied construction. Perhaps,
it should be associated with the destroyed, initial Martyrs’
Chapel, referred to in written records and earlier research
6
,
as well as indicated in illustration records from the early
20
th
century at the rst span of the northern aisle from
the east (Wojciechowski 1910a, plan of the church depict-
ed on p. 209). Alternatively, this wall could be connected
4
The obligation to erect rood screens in Dominican churches was
established in 1249 by the General Chapter’s directive, which stipulated
that the friars must remain unseen to the secular individuals while
transitioning in and out of the choir – refer to (Meersseman 1946, 163;
Sundt 1987).
5
Gołubiew believed that this component originated from the portal
jamb; however, there is in fact no unoccupied space where it could
possibly be accommodated (cf. Gołubiew 1975, 34, 195).
6
Rev. Melchior Buliński postulated the presence of a pre-existing
chapel situated at the terminal end of the northern aisle of the church,
which, in his opinion, was erected to pay tribute to the Martyrs from
Sandomierz: […] even though it might not have constituted a full
chapel,
there was, at a minimum, a distinct rise in the form of a rotunda
positioned over the roof of the corresponding nave, with the observable
remnants over the vault remaining visible to this day (Buliński 1879,
293). Similar assertions were made by Wojciechowski, possibly draw-
ing from Buliński’s narrative: In 1600, the Martyrs’ Chapel was con-
structed by Teol Semberg, the castellan of Kamieniec, replacing the
pre-existing chapel carrying the same name located on the northern
aisle (Wojciechowski 1910a, 209). In another place, the architect noted
that, as early as the 16
th
century, a chapel characterised by a “at, dome
vault” was situated at the terminus of the northern aisle (Wojciechowski
1910b, 688). Wojciechowski noted the presence of the domed vault on his
designed plan of the church.
Apart from these elements, three additional, irregularly
shaped stone plates were uncovered 11 cm above (coor-
dinates +170.16, +170.18). These elements were arranged
loosely, serving as lling (k. 5, I–IV); one featured a dis-
tinctive circular indentation (Fig. 10). Marek Florek re-
vealed similar plates during his archaeological works car-
ried out inside the church between the years 1991–1992.
Three usable levels of ooring were identied at the time
at excavation site number 4 – apart from the contemporary
and “late Romanesque” (dating back to the period when
the church was constructed, second quarter of the 13
th
century, situated directly on the pillar foundation), also
the modern one (originating from the 2
nd
half of the 17
th
century, around 1670, preserved as a stone slab and bricks
with traces of engove on the pillar’s eastern face) (Florek
1993, 136, 127, 132). Stone slabs were also uncovered at
excavation site 9, documented 17 cm below the current
ooring’s level (the researcher believes the ooring dates
back to the 2
nd
half of the 19
th
century, supplemented with
early 20
th
-century llings) (Florek 1993, 131, 133, 135).
Several fragments of medieval and modern pottery
were also discovered in the excavation (including a piece
of a 17
th
-century glazed strainer), as well as fragments of
glass and brick, con nails, and other small iron items.
Conclusions
The correlation of the layers documented in the exca-
vation does not create a coherent sequence, thus it cannot
serve as a basis for denitive chronological determina-
tions. The sole legible joints include: the perimeter of the
construction trench beneath the foundation mass k. 41/42,
and the excavation under the partially deteriorated tomb
pit, visible in the virgin soil by to the southern edge of
the probing site (k. 35–36) (Fig. 4b). Preliminary dating
must therefore be based on the correlation between the
walls and the dimensions of the uncovered bricks, where-
as the conclusions presented below should be perceived
as an initial recognition. The unearthed brick structures,
architectural detail, and evidence of numerous excava-
tions indicate that the examined section of the church has
undergone a number of changes throughout the ages and
was also intensely used for burial purposes.
It is plausible that the presence of a choir partition was
related to the initial phase of the functioning of the Do-
minican church. Perhaps a fragment of this construction
(in the foundation section) was identied on the eastern
side of the excavation at the intersection of the main nave
and the chancel (k. 43/44). The positioning along the line
beneath the chancel arch could serve as a proof of such
a role (moreover, it would prove dicult to justify the
construction of a wall at this spot during each of the sub-
sequent reconstructions of the church). Conversely, the
rationale for assigning an early date to the structure (at
around mid-13
th
century) stems from the fact that, based
on stratigraphy, it had been constructed before the foun-
dation of the pillar which holds the weight of the arch ar-
cade; the excavation also aected the burial sites in this
area. The hypothesis is further substantiated by the con-
gruence of the dimensions of the exposed bricks and those
