This paper presents a case study of a place that during one period in history played an important role in the structures of the Piast state, and then, as a result of subsequent historical events, lost much of its significance. In the 14 th century, Santok was already on the margins of 'grand history' and fading into oblivion. This changed as a result of archaeological excavations carried out here for the first time in the 1930s. The narrative adopted in this article is based on a presentation of landscape biography and analysis of spatial sources -namely, historical aerial photographs and ones deriving from airborne laser scanning. This point of view has allowed the authors to pay special attention to previously neglected fragments of the history of the landscape under analysis.

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The article presents the results of interpretation of a part of a brass bowl unearthed in 1958 in the course of millennial excavations in Santok. An engraved ornament is visible on one of the surfaces of the sheet, the most important part of which is an outline of a bust with a head in a hat shown in profile. Three Latin characters allow to identify the image as a personification of Envy (Invidia), while the sheet itself is a fragmented, so called brass bowl representing deadly sins. The vessel were forged in Rhineland and might have been originally used for liturgical ceremonies in St. Andrew’s church and its fragmented part was uncovered in the context of a smithy as a recycled material.

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Santok played a strategic socio‐political role in the Early Middle Ages. It is situated at the confluence of two large rivers (Warta and Noteć) on the boundary of historical regions in north‐western Poland. The stronghold in Santok is located on a sandy elevated floodplain with frequent floods in the immediate vicinity of the morainic plateau. The geological and engineering conditions within the stronghold were complex, making it a very difficult area for construction. The oldest settlement in Santok was established in the 8th century AD as a seasonal exchange point. By the 10th century, a well‐fortified fortress was built as a strategic centre at the border of the first Polish state. Santok's stronghold was maintained for over 600 years, during which the community benefited from its wetland location and useful waterways connecting local and distant territories. The extended use of one location in Santok allowed for investigation of the anthropogenic and natural environmental changes throughout a long time period. Given its past significance, this area has become a key geoarchaeological site to understand human–environment interactions of the western Slavs in the Early Middle Ages.