Rock engravings depicting Nine Men’s Morris boards from Krzyżowa Mountain in the Strzegomskie Hills
Rock engravings depicting Nine Men’s Morris boards from Krzyżowa Mountain in the Strzegomskie Hills

Summary/Abstract: In April 2018, three game board engravings of Nine Men’s Morris were discovered carved into the rocky summit of Krzyżowa Mountain (Strzegomskie Hills, Sudetes Foothills) near Strzegom in Lower Silesia. They had not been previously recorded in academic or regional literature, although they appear in several photographs from the first half of the 20th century. This article aims to determine the time of origin and purpose of these engravings. Several factors suggest their early medieval dating: (1) Silesia and the neighboring Czech lands have the highest number of similar discoveries within the Western Slavic region; (2) the summit of Krzyżowa Mountain (354 m above sea level) was located just 500 meters from a Slavic stronghold that existed from the 9th to the 13th century on the slightly lower Szeroka Mountain (340 m above sea level). The peak of Krzyżowa Mountain, one of the best vantage points in all of Lower Silesia, was undoubtedly used in the past by the stronghold’s garrison. From its summit, old trade routes crossing Silesia from east to west and north to south (including the trans-Sudetic trade route connecting Polish and Czech lands) were clearly visible. The context of the discovery (a steep, exposed rock face and a high concentration of engravings in a relatively small area) suggests that the Nine Men’s Morris boards from Krzyżowa Mountain were symbolic marks intended to bring luck and prosperity.

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