Megaliths

The megalithic cemetery in Borkowo dates back to the Neolithic period and is approximately 5,000 years old. It consists of three rectangular chamberless tombs and one chamber tomb. Nearby are five burial mounds erected later—during the Bronze Age. The chamberless tombs are the oldest and served as mass graves for people belonging to the Funnel Beaker Culture. The more sophisticated chamber tomb—a dolmen—consists of 12 erratic boulders embedded in the ground and covered by four enormous stone blocks. Initially, it may have belonged to an important figure within the tribal structure. Subsequent generations, or even entirely new cultures, later used dolmens to bury their own dead.

Little is known about the builders of the Bork megaliths. They certainly did not belong to the Proto-Indo-Europeans, that is, the ancestors of today’s inhabitants of Europe. Researchers tend to associate them with the Euro-African branch of the Mediterranean race. They certainly raised domestic animals and practiced primitive agriculture. They also engaged in gathering, hunting, and fishing. They mastered the craft of making tools from flint, stone, bone, horn, and wood, as well as weaving and advanced pottery. The artifacts discovered in Borkowo—four axes, a javelin point, and a smoothing stone from Tomb No. 4, as well as one flint axe from Tomb No. 3—are housed in the Museum in Koszalin.

The Borkowo megaliths are among the most valuable Neolithic historical sites in Poland. There is no parking lot at this location. It is best to park along the main road and walk from there toward the forest to reach this extraordinary site.