Previously Unknown Defensive Tower from Grand Duchy of Lithuania Era Found in Narovlya District
The discovery was made by an archaeological expedition of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, which is currently working in Antonau village, Narovlya district.
During research in Antonau, scientists found stone structures of previously scientifically undescribed fortifications of an incastellated (defensive) court (or castle) from the 16th-17th centuries, belonging to Filon Kmita-Čarnabylski, the Orsha starost and famous polemicist, and his son-in-law, court nobleman Łukaš Sapieha.
On the first relatively detailed Radziwiłł Map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1613, Antonau is characterized as `pagus cum domo nobilis` ('a village with a nobleman's house'), and the symbol of a defensive tower is used for its conventional designation.
As noted by Aleh Dziamianovič, leading researcher at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, during the research, it is likely that the foundation structures of a defensive tower were found, which stood above the Slovechna River and was known from the 1628 inventory. For the construction of the tower, a type of brick (tsyagla-palchatka) common at that time was used, featuring characteristic grooves on its bed (surface).
The hydrogeological problem of the archaeological site is that it is being eroded by the Slovechna River, which once protected the castle. A significant part of the hill with its structures has already fallen into the river. Along with this material, a significant amount of tiles from the late 16th – early 17th century were found on the bank and in the water. Some of these decorative and architectural ceramic artifacts are housed in the museum of Narovlya Secondary School No. 2.
During the expedition, remnants of a defensive rampart were also found. The 'nobleman's court' itself and Antonau village were likely destroyed during raids by Cossack detachments in the mid-17th century.
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