Execution sites, such as gallows, are a paramount area of research because they represent a tangible connection to historical legal systems and social attitudes towards crime and punishment. They contain valuable information about judicial practices, social stratification, and cultural beliefs about death and punishment. Although stone- and brick-built gallows were prominent elements in the topography of Early Modern towns and villages in Lower Silesia (approximately between AD 1500–1800), these sites are under-represented both archaeologically and in heritage inventories, despite their historic significance.
An archaeology project led by researchers from University of Wrocław and University of Gdańsk aims to identify the precise location of eight execution sites that are no longer discernible in the modern landscape. Daniel Wojtucki, Bartosz Świątkowski, Karolina Wojtucka and Dominika Leśniewska published a description of their research project in “Antiquity” in March.
Evolution of Silesian execution sites
As researchers point out, execution sites constitute significant historical and archaeological resources that face threats from modern development. They frequently contain burial grounds and structural remains that can reveal valuable information about historical judicial practices.
In the territories of nowadays Poland, wooden gallows were replaced with stone or brick structures starting in the late 16th century, with examples at Chełmsko Śląskie. The shift to permanent structures corresponded with legal reforms, which standardised punishments. As researchers point out, “changes in criminal law in the first half of the sixteenth century created the role of a professional executor of judgments and provided a place where legally valid court judgments were enforced.”
Hanging was primarily used for property crimes, theft, robbery, rebellion, and treason. The families of convicts and suicides had no rights to claim their bodies, so the areas around gallows became burial grounds for the executed, managed by local authorities. By the early 19th century, gallows fell out of use due to penal reforms. As researchers note, “convicts, for whom the only punishment at the beginning of the eighteenth century would have been death, were now imprisoned or sentenced to hard labour.” Executions became limited to homicide cases only. While most gallows were no longer needed, some were converted into scaffolds for alternative execution methods.
Researching the past
Formal archaeological investigation of execution sites began in Switzerland in 1987 and has expanded across Central Europe, including Poland.
Studies of historical execution sites in Silesia are based on 18th-century hand-drawn maps by Frederick the Great, which are an invaluable resource for researchers. Two additional resources created by Christian Friedrich von Wrede and Ludwig Wilhelm von Regler were also available. These maps do not meet modern cartometric requirements (i.e. they were not created based on detailed geodetic measurements) and need to be matched to contemporary maps for effective analysis.
For this purpose, researchers use what is known as GIS (Geographic Information System) software. This is a system that enables the collection, storage, analysis and visualisation of spatial and geographical data. It is a tool that allows working with maps and data linked to specific locations on the Earth’s surface.
The key takeaways
Beyond the imprecision of old maps, other difficulties encountered by scientists include the absence of visible traces (gallows were dismantled), problems with interpreting geophysical research results, and the threat to sites from contemporary construction and agricultural work. In their search for maps, scientists utilise non-invasive geophysical techniques – measuring soil resistivity and magnetometry – to detect hidden remains of gallows. In places where instruments show anomalies, excavations or control drilling are conducted.
The study compared Wrede and Regler’s 18th-century maps, with Regler’s maps proving more accurate in showing execution sites, as confirmed by field research. Maps of mountainous areas and forests, where measurements were difficult to make, had the worst accuracy. Although executed individuals were often buried at execution sites, researchers did not discover any graves.
Researchers emphasise that the study proved that old maps, after being matched to modern ones in GIS software, are very useful for finding traces of history that have disappeared from the earth’s surface. Thanks to this method, it was possible to locate the gallows in Chełmsk Śląski and find an iron clasp from a gallows beam in Głogówek.
More:
- Wojtucki D, Świątkowski B, Wojtucka K, Leśniewska D. Searching for the remains of gallows in Lower Silesia (Poland). Antiquity. Published online 2025:1-8. doi:10.15184/aqy.2025.6
