by Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a medieval knight, which is buried under a corrupt ice cream parlor in the Polish city.
Experts have been working in the historical district of śródmieście (city center) in the historic śródmieście (city center) since 2023 and initially unveiled a medieval tombstone that was decorated with the carved image of a knight, as from a explanation of the Polish archeology -Archeoly Archeoskan, which was sent to CNN on Tuesday.
The tombstone was then lifted at the beginning of July and revealed the complete skeleton of an adult man who was assumed that he lived around the 13th or 14th centuries.
The tombstone, shown in situ – S. Kurzyńska/Archeoscan
The find is “extraordinary meaning” and “one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Poland in recent years,” said Sylwia Kurzyńska, archaeologist and director of Archaeoscan, in the explanation.
The tombstone consists of Gotland Limestone, which was highly valued in the Middle Ages, and the relief shows a knight sports chain armor and post -leggings with a sword and a sign.
The plate measures around 150 centimeters (4 ’11’), and important details of the artwork can still be seen, although it is partially damaged.
The knight was far greater than the average person. – S. Kurzyńska/Archeoscan
“The tombstone is remarkably well preserved when you consider that it has been carved out of soft limestone and laid underground for centuries,” said Kurzyńska.
“The knight is shown that stands upright with a raised sword – an attitude that is likely to symbolize authority and increased social status,” she added.
This marks the gravestone from the vast majority of late medieval sep eak chral art, which according to Kurzyńska tends to be limited to labeled epitaphs, heraldic panels or Christian crosses.
“Only a small faction contained representations of the deceased – and among them most simplified engravings on flat plates that were laid out for the church soil,” she added.
The place was part of an early medieval stronghold. – S. Kurzyńska/Archeoscan
It is also unusual that both the artwork and its archaeological context remain intact.
After lifting the stone, archaeologists found the remains of a man, who, according to Kurzyńska, was far greater than the medieval average, much larger than the medieval average.
The bones were of course arranged and confirmed that the tombstone marked the original funeral center and the preliminary analysis shows “excellent preservation,” she said.
“Although no serious goods have been found, all the available evidence indicates that the deceased was a person with a high reputation – most likely a knight or commander who was particularly highly valued and respected,” said Kurzyńska.
The grave was part of a cemetery in which almost 300 burials were connected to the oldest known church in all of them.
The church was built from OAK, which had fallen in 1140 and was in an early medieval stronghold of the late 11th century until the early 14th century.
“This was a place of power, faith and funeral – a space of symbolic and strategic importance in the history of Gdansk,” said Kurzyńska.
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, about medieval funeral traditions and about cross -cultural connections,” 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 scanned 3D to enable the digital reconstruction of a lack of fragments, while the skeleton is subjected to anthropological and genetic analysis to recognize more about the life of the knight, and a facial reconstruction is carried out on the basis of the skull.
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