2,000-year-old warrior graves discovered in Poland

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 20, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Poland

Warrior graves dating back 2,000 years have been found by archaeologists near Bejsce in the province Swietokrzyskie. The cremated remains were accompanied by weapons: iron swords and spear or javelin heads. According to the archaeologists, the newly discovered cemetery covers around 1 ha.

Credit: Jan Bulas

The remains of the cemetery are in an arable field, therefore the graves in which the cremated dead are buried are heavily damaged. In the spring of this year, archaeologists discovered numerous fragments of urns. This took place during surface surveys, which consist in walking through arable fields in search of artefacts lying on their surface. The number of shells and burned bones surprised archaeologists, so it was decided to start excavations.

“We do not know exactly how many graves were in the cemetery, because our research is still at an initial stage, the graves are destroyed and often spread over a large area of the field,” says research project leader Jan Bulas from the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University.

Credit: Ekspedycja Rzemienowice

However, the results of August excavations give an idea of a high density of graves. At least 20 burials were discovered in a 200 sq m area. These are only researchers` estimates, because some of the graves discovered during excavations are also heavily damaged. Just like their equipment, which has undergone analysis and conservation in recent months.

“Heavily corroded and seemingly shapeless objects turned out to be fragments of swords or iron fibulas,” the researcher says. During the first season of excavations, archaeologists managed to find a total of four swords from about 2,000 years ago.

Credit: Ekspedycja Rzemienowice

“For comparison, we know two swords from the largest known in this region and fully studied necropolis from this period in nearby Michalowice. Meanwhile, our research is just beginning,” the researcher notes.

Nine spear or javelin heads were also found in Bejsce. In total, archaeologists counted nearly 200 metal artefacts and their fragments after this year`s research. There are also bone, stone and clay items.

Credit: Ekspedycja Rzemienowice

During excavations, archaeologists came across the remains of mysterious square structures. They have a square plan and most often triangular cross-section.

“Similar structures, so-called grooved objects, are known from other cemeteries from this period in southern Poland, but their function is still unclear. In Bejce, they contained fragments of ceramic vessels as well as metal objects,” he says. Interestingly, they are all oriented by cardinal directions. According to the archaeologist, they may be related to the designation of space in cemeteries for individual families.

Credit: Ekspedycja Rzemienowice

It is not clear which communities should be associated with the deceased buried in the cemetery. Based on discovered vessels and other items, archaeologists identify this group as members of Przeworsk culture. Bulas thinks that they could have been representatives of the Lugii tribal union, a political entity made up of peoples of various origins. The texts of ancient historians are very ambiguous in this matter, scientists say.

Archaeologists say they are now planning further excavations in Bejsce.

Author: Szymon Zdzieblowski | Source: PAP - Science in Poland [November 20, 2019]

Massive Neolithic ritual site in Poland built before 4800 BC

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 12, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Poland, Ticker

The neolithic structure named ‘Roundel’ in Polish because of its shape resembling a saucepan, was discovered in 2017 in New Objezierz (West Pomeranian Voivodeship). But now researchers have discovered that it was built before 4800 BC and functioned for about 200-250 years, a lot longer than archaeologists thought.

Looking like crop circles the remains of the roundel was first spotted by a paraglider in 2015 [Credit: Anna Cebula/PAP]

"This is quite sensational, given the fact that it coincides with the dating of structures located on the Danube, considered the oldest. It seems equally important that the four ditches surrounding the central area of the structure probably did not function simultaneously, but every few dozen years, a new ditch with an ever larger diameter was dug," said the project leader, Professor Lech Czerniak from the University of Gdansk.

He added that dating more than a dozen further samples should allow to specify how often the ditches were renewed. Thanks to this, it will be possible to determine the "ritual calendar", according to which the object was used. "It is worth realizing that many so-called pre-literate communities celebrated the most important holidays once in a few, or even a dozen or so years, but very intensely,” he said.

The circular structure has a diameter of 110 meters and consists of four ditches and three palisades [Credit: Marcin Bielecki/PAP]

Measuring 110 m in diameter, the structure consisted of four circular ditches with a central part protected by three palisades. Three gates led into the interior.

Since September last year, interdisciplinary research has been carried out using the latest methods to determine the function of the structure and provide information on the lives of communities living in its vicinity.

Almost 1,000 pieces of ceramics, as well as flint and stone objects, shells, dye (ochre) and a fragment of quartzite have been dug up [Credit: Marcin Bielecki/PAP]

This year, scientists conducted two types of research. They used non-invasive method to study the eastern part of the object and areas located north, south and east of it. Excavations were conducted around the so-called south and west gates.

"In the excavation within the west gate, we revealed the remains of four ditches. Their depth was from 1.3 to almost 2 m. Similarly to the other two gates, we also found remains of the triple palisade," Dr. Agnieszka Matuszewska from the University of Szczecin told PAP.

Pottery sherds found at the site [Credit: Marcin Bielecki/PAP]

According to Matuszewska, during this year`s research archaeologists found numerous fragments of ceramics, flint and stone products, animal bones, as well as several lumps of pugging, shells, dye (ocher) and a fragment of quartzite.

"Compared to previous seasons, we have more bone (472 fragments) and ceramic remains (nearly 1000 fragments of vessels)," the researcher noted. Bone deposits will be analysed by archaeozoologists, and then some of them will serve as samples for radiocarbon dating at the Poznan Radiocarbon Laboratory.

Fragment of a stone axe [Credit: Agnieszka Matuszewska/PAP]

According to the researchers, the radiocarbon dates obtained so far (eleven datings) are the most important findings. They set the object`s functioning time quite precisely at around 200-250 years, and they put the construction of the object before 4800 BC.

According to Dr. Matuszewska, palaeoenvironmental research carried out on site and in its vicinity are a very important part of the project. They are expected to allow to determine the environmental impact of the communities using the roundel in the first half of the fifth millennium BC.

Entrance at the "west gate" [Credit: Lech Czerniak/PAP]

"But the primary focus of the project are questions about the social aspects of the functioning operation of roundels, including what prompted the inhabitants of a given region to make a huge effort in building and maintaining the roundel, where the idea and knowledge necessary to build this object came from, and how often and for how long the object was used," said Professor Czerniak.

Researchers explain that roundels were of particular importance to local communities because of their structural and ritual connections with cosmic forces. This is indicated by azimuths that can be determined between the central point of the object and its gates.

What the roundel may have looked like in its prime [Credit: Anna Cebula/PAP]

It is puzzling that they functioned in a fairly limited area (today`s Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Poland) and for a relatively short time between 4850 and 4600 BC. However, similar objects in terms of function, and to some extent also form, were built in different eras and regions of Europe. The most famous such object is Stonehenge.

In the third season of research of the object in New Objezierz, researchers (archaeologists and researchers specialising in other disciplines) from Gdansk, Poznan, Szczecin and Warsaw, as well as students participated. The research is financed by the National Science Centre.

Author: Elzbieta Bielecka | Source: PAP - Science in Poland [November 12, 2019]

Ancient warrior grave unearthed in western Poland

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on October 16, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Poland

Archaeologists are working to uncover the secrets of a burial ground hidden in a forest in western Poland.

Credit: Tempelburg Historical and Cultural Association and Kostrzyn Fortress Museum

To the ordinary observer, the site looks like a forest, somewhere in the area around the town of Gorzow Wielkopolski in western Poland.

The trees are relatively recent: they were planted in the 20th Century, during the communist era. Before that, the site was used as farmland.

There is more to the forest than meets the eye, as a strong wind in 2017 revealed. The wind knocked down a tree, bring spearheads to the surface. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be part of a warrior’s grave.

Now, with the help of volunteers, archaeologists are trying to understand who used the burial ground. They also want to find its boundaries to determine where the burial ground ends.

Credit: Tempelburg Historical and Cultural Association and Kostrzyn Fortress Museum

For now, not much is known about the site. It may have been a village earlier – a few days ago, a 4,500-year-old vessel was found on the site.

It seems that people started being buried there later. Archaeologists suggest that the site was used as a burial ground by the inhabitants of another village, although it is unclear which one.

Since this year’s research began last month, the team has already found a few graves. “In previous studies, we found warriors’ graves here, this time we also found two graves of ordinary people.

Credit: Tempelburg Historical and Cultural Association and Kostrzyn Fortress Museum

“This confirms that this area must have served the inhabitants of a nearby settlement centuries ago,” the archaeologist overseeing the research, Krzysztof Socha, who works at the Kostrzyn Fortress Museum in western Poland.

Some of the bodies were cremated: the researchers found an urn containing burned bones and milk teeth, which appear to have belonged to a child who was around 8-19 years old.

They also found items including a necklace of glass beads from around 2,000 years ago and, in other graves, ceramic vessels and a bronze ring.

Credit: Tempelburg Historical and Cultural Association and Kostrzyn Fortress Museum

Marcin Gojtka from the Templeburg Association which is involved in the work said: “This is a great adventure and a unique history lesson for us.

“We are constantly working under the supervision of an archaeologist and we learn a lot. It is a great satisfaction to be able to discover something that has been in the earth for thousands of years.”

The exact location of the site is being kept a secret to keep intruders away.

Author: Anne Chatham | Source: The First News [October 16, 2019]

Neanderthal stone tools found in Polish castle cave

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on August 08, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Poland

Over 200 Neanderthal tools have been discovered by archaeologists in caves beneath a medieval castle in Silesia.

View of the 13th century castle in Olsztyn [Credit: Jerzy Strzelecki]

Now a scenic ruin, the castle in Olsztyn near Częstochowa was one of the defensive fortresses known as Trail of the Eagles' Nests guarding Poland’s borders built along the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland in the 14th century.

The discovery was made during excavation works on the castle whilst manually rinsing sand and soil from the cave floor.

The discovery was made during excavation works on the castle whilst manually rinsing sand and soil from the cave floor [Credit: Mikołaj Urbanowski]

Among the rare items discovered were flint knifes and arrow heads from a time when Neanderthals walked the Earth alongside Homo Sapiens, before disappearing completely.

Dr. Mikołaj Urbanowski from the Przyroda i Człowiek Foundation (Nature and Man) who oversees the excavations told PAP: “We found out that the cave didn’t serve only as the renaissance castle pantry. Earlier, Neanderthals used it as shelter.”

Among the 40,000 Neanderthal tools was this double sided Levallois flint [Credit: Mikołaj Urbanowski]

Archaeologists also came across a fragment of a giant pillar which supported the cave and the upper castle standing on it.

Said Dr. Urbanowski: “It was connected to an over a meter thick wall closing the cave, with both structures reaching high up, in case of the pillar even several dozen meters.

The archaeologists also discovered a 15th century metallurgical furnace in the cave [Credit: Mikołaj Urbanowski]

“The cave buttresses’ builders were probably worried about the castle stability, due to the empty space below it.”

He added: "The builders of the buttresses in the cave were probably worried about the stability of the castle due to the empty space below it. Therefore, it was decided to strengthen the cavern vault and at the same time support the walls of the upper castle."

A fragment of a stone pillar which supported the cave and the upper castle standing on it [Credit: Mikołaj Urbanowski]

The technique and clay mortar used suggest the castle’s was built in the 13th century.

Another of the cave’s uses was discovered last year. The scientists came across a 15th century metallurgical furnace, with several kilograms of post-production waste – the alloys indicating it was used to produce bronze.

Urbanowski said: "The location of the furnace, which generates huge amounts of heat and toxic fumes, in a cave is a phenomenon at least in the case of Poland. Perhaps someone wanted the oven to stay out of sight, if the production served illegal  purposes, e.g. counterfeiting of coins. But at this stage it is only speculation.”

Author: Joanna Jasinka | Source: The First News [August 08, 2019]

Thousands of 17th century silver coins found buried in Teutonic Knights’ church

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on August 06, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Poland

A treasure trove of 17th century silver coins has been found under the floor of a monastic church. Archaeologists from the University of Gdansk were working in the presbytery of the 14th century Church of the Saint Andrew the Apostle in the town of Barczewo in Poland’s northern province of Warmia, when they discovered a glazed ceramic mug handle filled with nearly 1,000 coins. Coins were also scattered around the vessel.

Archaeologists from the University of Gdansk discovered a glazed ceramic mug handle filled with nearly 1,000 coins [Credit: Tomasz Waszczuk/PAP]

The treasure was hidden underground in the north-western corner of the chancel near what is known as the rainbow arch. Though covered in dirt and needing a good clean after their 400-year hibernation, the experts from Gdansk said that the coins are relatively well-preserved.

The coins are silver and were struck for the Polish royal crown and bear the image of King Sigismund III Vasa’s long reign (1587-1632). The find is made up mainly of lower denomination Polish coins, and includes groschens, 1.5 groschens, as well as 3 and 6 groschen coins. The haul includes many Prussian shillings struck for Prince George Wilhelm Hohenzollern, who was a fief of the Republic of Poland, as well as Lithuanian coins.

The find is made up mainly of lower denomination Polish coins, and includes groschens, 1.5 groschens, as well as 3 and 6 groschen coins [Credit: Tomasz Waszczuk/PAP]

Dr. Koperkiewicz, the archaeologist leading the work, believes that the treasure was placed under the floor in the chancel of the church by the monks themselves. Many of the coins have marks on them suggesting that they were in circulation for a long time. One of them has a hole showing that it could have been worn around the neck.

Dr Koperkiewicz says that the coins were hidden at the time when the Bernardine monastery flourished in the 17th century, when the Order received numerous subsidies from the Warmian bishops. However, it remains a mystery why the coins were placed where they were and why they remained hidden until today.

Dr. Koperkiewicz, the archaeologist leading the work, believes that the treasure was placed under the floor  in the chancel of the church by the monks themselves [Credit: Tomasz Waszczuk/PAP]

Dr Arkadiusz Koperkiewicz said in an interview with PAP: “It is a sensational find in terms of the context of the discovery and the amount of historical information directly connected with the history of the Barczewo monastery and the history of Warmia. It reflects the character of the place and the specificity of the monetary crisis of those times. Its value as a date marker in further conservation work should not be under-estimated.”

The interior of the church is currently undergoing preparatory work to strengthen the earth under the foundations of the church. The Church of St. Andrew the Apostle was built at the same time as Franciscan monastery at the end of the 14th century by the Teutonic Order.

The interior of the church is undergoing preparatory work to strengthen the earth under the foundations of the church [Credit: Tomasz Waszczuk/PAP]

The monastery, like other Prussian monasteries, fell into decline and was deserted during the Reformation in the first half of the 16th century. It was restored thanks to the bishops of Warmia, including Bishop Andrzej Batory, the nephew of the Polish king Stefan Batory, who invited the Bernardine order to settle in the monastery.

The Bernardines remained in Barczewo until 1810, when they were abolished by the Prussian authorities. After World War II, the Franciscans returned to Barczewo and regained the church of St. Andrew the Apostle.

Though covered in dirt and needing a good clean after their 400-year hibernation, the experts from Gdansk said that the coins are relatively well-preserved [Credit: Tomasz Waszczuk/PAP]

The extensive program of archaeological, architectural and conservation being carried out in the church is connected with the ongoing complex renovation and construction work, which will last until 2021.

Przemyslaw Gorek, head of conservation at Gorek Restauro, the general contractor, told PAP: “We will do everything in our power to make sure that the treasure can be exhibited here in the Church in a specially arranged exhibition space.”

Author: Stuart Dowell | Source: The First News [August 06, 2019]

1,400-year-old cremation burials found in northeastern Poland

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on July 31, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Poland

The burnt remains of human beings have been found in graves that are around 1,400 years old. Archaeologists made the grim discovery in the village of Wolka Prusinowska in the northern region of Masuria, which is known for its lakes.

Credit: Monika Radzikowska

The four graves also contained a small number of objects. All the bodies were incinerated before being buried. After that, the remains were placed directly in pits in the ground.

It seems that the temperature of the funeral pyre was not too high, given that the bones have survived relatively well for over a thousand years. 

Credit: Monika Radzikowska

Two of the bodies were found buried with objects. Fragments of a ceramic cup were found in one of their graves. The traces of fire on it indicate that it was burnt along with the body.

The other grave contained a clasp, along with a dozen or so beads made of spirally-twisted bronze wire. There were also numerous pieces of melted bronze, which appear to be the remains of decorations. The other two graves only contained burnt human remains.

Credit: Monika Radzikowska

The Polish archaeologists are not the first to investigate the burial grounds. Around the start of the 20th Century, a Prussian team discovered almost two hundred graves there.

"However, despite extensive research, they failed to determine how big the cemetery was," said Iwona Lewoc, a PhD student associated with the University of Warsaw’s Institute of Archaeology who has a longstanding interest in Baltic archaeology, who is leading the research with Kamil Niemczak.

Credit: Monika Radzikowska

In their view, the burial ground was used in the second half of the 6th and 7th Century, when the area was inhabited by descendants of the Baltic population, rather than Slavs.

Following their discovery, the archaeologists hope that anthropological analysis will shed further light on the people in the graves.

Author: Anne Chatham | Source: The First News [July 31, 2019]

Polish man digs up papal seal dating back to Middle Ages in his garden

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on July 21, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Poland

A man doing a spot of gardening unearthed more than the average vegetable when he dug up a rare papal seal dating back to the Middle Ages.

The seal, made of lead, dates back to the times of Pope Nicholas III [Credit: Lubuski Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow]

The coin-like disc of metal, about 3.5 centimetres in diameter, was once attached to a document issued by Nicholas III, who ruled the Holy See from 1277 to 1280. The bulla, to give it its official name, bears an image of Peter and Paul on one side while on the other it carries the pope’s name.

The gardener, only referred to as Mr Józef in the press, was working in his garden in the western village of Kunowice, which lies not far from the Frankfurt-Slubice border crossing, when he discovered the bulla.

Knowing it was something interesting but not sure exactly what it was he enlisted the help of his son, who posted pictures of it on archaeology websites and asked for help identifying it. Once told what it was Józef then took the bulla to the regional conservator’s office.

Credit: Lubuski Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow

“It is interesting that this is the second find of this type of artefact found this year in the Lubskie Voivodship, and the third in recent years,” the conservator’s office stated on its website.

Just how the bulla got into the garden is a matter of speculation. Experts have proposed that it may have ended up there after the destruction and plundering of a Christian shrine which once stood not far away from what is now Józef’s garden. But it could also have just been lost many centuries ago.

Although the gardener may get a reward for his find and his prompt and honest behaviour the value of the bulla seems to be more historical rather than financial.

“Finding of this type, although appearing to be unique happen quite often,” the conservator’s office explained. “In recent decades about 20 similar artefacts have been found.”

Author: Matt Day | Source: The First News [July 21, 2019]

Arabian coins dating back 1,000 years found near Baltic coast

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on July 04, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Poland

A treasure trove of Arab coins dating back some 1,000 years has been discovered in an old German cemetery near the Baltic coast.

Archaeologists have unearthed about a dozen items including one whole coin and many pieces of other coins  [Credit: Stowarzyszenie Eksploracyjne Na Rzecz Ratowania Zabytków im. św. Korduli/Facebook]

Archaeologists unearthed the rare find, which now comes to around 70 items, as they were carrying out routine work on the graveyard near the town of Kamień Pomorskie in north-west Poland, not far from the German border. 

“After moving some foliage I noticed a grey object sticking out of the ground,” said Tomasz Rindfleiesch, from the team of archaeologists that discovered the treasure. “It turned out to be part of an Arab coin called a dirham. After a moment Mariusz [his colleague] noticed another one, this time in its entirety.

Being silver the coins would have retained considerable value after the original transaction and for this reason many were cut up into smaller pieces to make them handy for day-to-day purchases [Credit: Stowarzyszenie  Eksploracyjne Na Rzecz Ratowania Zabytków im. św. Korduli/Facebook]

“Historians and treasure hunters know very well that one item could be treated as something lost, but discovering two set off warning lights in our heads that we were perhaps dealing with real treasure,” he added.

The team contacted the authorities and got permission to launch a formal dig on the site. So far they have unearthed about dozens items including one whole coin and many pieces of other coins. 

Detail of coin pieces [Credit: Stowarzyszenie Eksploracyjne Na Rzecz Ratowania Zabytków im. św. Korduli/Facebook

It remains unclear how the coins came to be buried in the cemetery but they probably came to the region in the first place as a result of trade between various peoples of Europe and the Arab world.

Being silver the coins would have retained considerable value after the original transaction and as a consequence many were cut up into smaller amounts to make them handy for day-to-day purchases.

The coins from Arabia date back to the times of the Ottoman empire [Credit: Stowarzyszenie Eksploracyjne Na Rzecz Ratowania Zabytków im. św. Korduli/Facebook]

Along with the silver the team also dug up an ancient fragment of pottery with Slavic markings on it, and the remains of a German Mauser rifle dating back to the Second World War.

The coins will now be sent to experts for analysis who will determine their exact age and try and find out where they came from.

Archaeologists discovered the rare find whilst carrying out routine work on the graveyard near the town of Kamień Pomorskie in the north-west [Credit: Stowarzyszenie Eksploracyjne Na Rzecz Ratowania Zabytków im. św. Korduli/Facebook]

The site of their discovery has also been secured and archaeologists are planning to dig deeper to see what else they can find.

Author: Matt Day | Source: The First News [July 04, 2019]

Early 18th century 'hanging chain' found among remains of executed criminals in Poland

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on June 23, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Poland

Archaeologists have unearthed thousands of bone fragments of executed criminals and a chain that was probably used to string some of them up.

Credit: Bartosz Swiatkowski

The macabre discovery was found on a former execution site near Zagan in western Poland. Believed to date back to the 16-18 centuries the human remains also include detached skulls indicating that beheading was also used to despatch the convicted.

Despite the skulls and other bones, it is the discovery of an almost complete chain, and a link of another one, that has got the archaeologists excited.

Credit: Bartosz Swiatkowski

Chains were sometimes used instead of rope to hang people, in part, owing to the practice of leaving the corpse hanging to act as a long-term reminder of the fate that awaits anyone convicted of a capital offence. Rope would have proved unsuitable for this as it may have rotted and decayed.

“One of them is just a link but the second one is probably complete,” Doctor Daniel Wojtucki, head of the research team from the University of Wroclaw, told PAP. “Execution chains are extremely rare finds. So far only two complete items have been found in Poland.”

Credit: Bartosz Swiatkowski

But while the discovery is something of a rarity it also serves as graphic reminder of the brutality of execution hundreds of years ago.

“Chains like this constricted the larynx so it would have been a very painful death,” said Magadalena Majorek from the research team, adding that because of this they were probably used for people convicted of very serious crimes.

Credit: Bartosz Swiatkowski

During the dig archaeologists also found the skeleton of somebody who was beheaded with the skull placed between its feet.

But they also found the remains of those who may have committed suicide. Practice at the time meant that those who took their own lives could not be buried in a graveyard so their corpses, it appears, ended up next to those of criminals although, unlike most of those executed, they were placed in separate single graves.

Author: Matt Day | Source: The First News [June 23, 2019]