In the last few years the Department of Underwater Archaeology from Nicolaus Copernicus University conducted a number of projects that had an interdisciplinary approach. On the one hand we tested on shallow waters new techniques like sonar, side scan sonar, ground-penetrating radar surveys, and on the other hand we intensified environmental analyses, including dendrochronological, pollen, macro, geomorphological research and animal bone analyses.
New methods of documentation were also introduced, including photogrammetry and 3D modelling. A significant part of the research was supported by the Polish Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board. Surveys were conducted both on prehistoric – the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age sites – as well as on Medieval ones. The majority of research took place in north-eastern Poland (the Ilawa Lake District).
Probably the most interesting discovery is the submerged prehistoric site on the Lake Gil Wielki. The site is located in the shallow zone of the north-eastern part of the lake. It was occupied a number of times through prehistory, but the earliest settlement developed here probably in the Neolithic. However, the most significant phase should be associated with communities of the so-called Corded Ware Pottery from the transition period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age.