Spindle whorl

A small round object - a spindle whorl made of pink Owrucz slate, i.e. a rock originating from Ukraine, is a part of the collection of relics from the early medieval settlement in Czermno. The mound is a remnant of the historic Czerwień, probably the central town (capital) of the so-called Czerwień settlements. It is estimated that the whole settlement complex of Czermno was about 40 ha in area.

The stone spindle whorl found near the settlement has a slightly biconical profile, with flat-cut surfaces from the top and bottom, and a cylindrical hole. The described spindle whorl is one of twenty-one similar artefacts stored in the National Museum in Lublin, which may have reached it before World War II.

Spindle whorls were used to weigh down spindles and to give them a better whirling motion while spinning thread. They were made of clay, limestone, bone, stone and other materials. The spindles from Czermno were made from pink stone, the largest outcrops of which were found near Owrucz in Ukraine. They are an obvious import of the products themselves or the raw material from the territory of Rus to the area of the Piast state. They are most numerous in the eastern border areas. The phenomenon of the spread of these objects took place from the mid 10th to the end of the 13th century.