An integrated geophysical and archaeological approach to the study of the Late Medieval castle in Żelechów in Mazovia, Poland

In this paper, we present the results of the 2016–2019 study of the residence of the noble Ciołek family, in Żelechów (Mazovia, eastern Poland). The complex, located on a marshy and overgrown terrain, was recently discovered through the Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data analysis. The site was surveyed using three geophysical methods: magnetometry (fluxgate gradiometer); electrical resistivity (two level twin‐probe profiling); ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) (450‐MHz antenna). The data allowed to formulate hypotheses on the layout of the complex, its functions, phases and used building materials, which were verified by simultaneously conducted archaeological excavations. Adopted interdisciplinary approach resulted in the comprehensive exploration of the large defensive residence and the reconstruction of its phases with only a minor use of the intrusive archaeological excavation method. The examination of written records and dendrochronological and numismatic analyses allowed to date the complex to the 15th–17th century as well as to verify some hypotheses formulated based on the geophysical data. The presented study gives an impulse for transdisciplinary geophysical, archaeological and historical exploration of rarely identified and scarcely researched noble residences on the border between two medieval administrative regions—Mazovia and Lesser Poland.