When first discovered it was thought to be early evidence of a West Slavic settlement, but archaeologists later confirmed it belonged to the Biskupin group of the Lusatian culture from the 8th century BC.

[4][5] In 1933 Polish archaeologists discovered remains of a Bronze Age fort/settlement in Wielkopolska Region (Greater Poland) and the discovery became famous overnight.

The site was excavated from 1934 onwards by the team from Poznań University, led by archaeologists Józef Kostrzewski (1885–1969) and Zdzisław Rajewski (1907–1974).

Biskupin soon became famous, attracting numerous distinguished guests, including officials of the Marshal Piłsudski government, members of the military, and high churchmen such as the primate of Poland.

The site soon became part of Polish national consciousness, the symbol of achievements of the Slavonic forebears in prehistoric times.

When the Germans were forced to retreat they flooded the site hoping to destroy it, but—ironically—it led to very good preservation of the ancient timbers.

The older settlement from the late Bronze Age was established on a slightly wet island of over 2 hectares (4.9 acres)[10] and consisted of around 102-106 oak and pine log-houses[11] that were of similar layout, measuring ca.

The settlement was surrounded by a tall wooden wall, or palisade, set on a rampart made up of both wood and earth.

[16][17] In 1936 the first life-size model (open-air museum) was built on the peninsula, but it was intentionally destroyed by retreating Germans near the end of World War II.