Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a medieval knight buried under a closed ice cream salon in the Polish city of Gdansk.
Experts have been working on the site in the historic area śródmieście (City Center) since 2023 and originally revealed a medieval tombstone decorated with the carved image of a knight, according to a statement by the Polish archaeological company Archeoscan sent to CNN on Tuesday.
Then the tombstone was raised earlier in July, revealing the full skeleton of an elderly man who is believed to have lived around the 13th or 14th centuries.
The tombstone, pictured in situ – S. Kurzyńska/Archeoscan
The find is of “utmost importance” and “one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Poland in recent years,” says Sylvia Kurski, an archeologist and director of Archeoscan.
The tombstone was made of limestone in Gotland, which was highly valued in the Middle Ages, and the relief depicts a knight sports armor and leggings for mail, with a sword and a shield.
The cry is about 150 centimeters long (4 ’11) and can still see important details about the work of art, despite the fact that it is partially damaged.
The knight was far higher than the average person at the time. – S. Kurzyńska/Archeoscan
“The tombstone is remarkably well preserved, given that it has been carved from a soft limestone and has been lying underground for centuries,” Kurski said.
“The knight is shown to stand up to the sword raised – a pose, probably symbolizing authority and increased social status,” she added.
This marks the tombstone of the vast majority of late medieval tomb art, which is usually limited to the Epitaphias, Heraldic Panels or Christian crosses, according to Kursky.
“Only a small faction included images of the deceased – and most of them were simplified engraving of flat plates designed to use a church floor,” she added.
The site was part of an early medieval fortress. – S. Kurzyńska/Archeoscan
In addition, it is unusual in the work of art, and its archeological context remain intact.
After lifting the stone, archaeologists discovered the remains of a man who stood 170-180 centimeters (5 ‘7’ 11 ’11’) tall, far larger than medieval average, according to Kursky.
The bones were naturally arranged, confirming that the tombstone marked the original place for funeral, and the preliminary analysis shows “excellent preservation,” she said.
“Although no grave goods were found, all the available evidence indicates that the deceased was a high -social person – the most probable knight or commander, held with particularly high respect and respect,” Koarski said.
The grave was part of the cemetery, housed almost 300 burials that were attached to the oldest known church in Gdansk.
The church was built of oak, which was found to have fallen in 1140 and is located in an early medieval fortress occupied from the end of the 11th century to the beginning of the 14th century, according to the statement.
“It was a place of power, faith and funeral – a space of symbolic and strategic importance in the history of Gdansk,” Kurski said.
The latest find “offers an invaluable source of knowledge about the life and death of the military elite of Gdansk in the 13th and 14th centuries, of medieval funeral traditions and of crossed cultural ties,” she added.
Experts are now working on a further analysis of both the tombstone and the skeleton.
The stone slab is cleaned and stabilized so that it can be documented and 3D scanned to allow the digital reconstruction of missing fragments, while the skeleton will undergo an anthropological and genetic analysis to reveal more about the life of the knight and reconstruct the person.
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