The archaeological discovery was made at an undisclosed dig site near the town of Kostrzyn in east Poland. Archaeologists from the Kostrzyn Fortress Museum have kept the dig site’s location under lock and key to ward away illegal treasure hunters. But the researchers revealed the gruesome treasure trove of artefacts uncovered from the ancient cemetery.
Two key discoveries were made at the dig site: 2,000-year-old cremation urns and 12 burial pits dating back to the first century BC.
The cemetery would have most likely been used by local Germanic tribes who used it to bury their warriors and women.
Kostrzyn sits just to the east of Poland’s modern-day border with Germany and historians recognise this part of Europe as being historically diverse.
According to the lead archaeologist Krzysztof Socha from the Kostrzyn museum, the discovery proves local tribes had an assortment of various burial practices.
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The archaeologist told the Polis Press Agency (PAP): “What is interesting, is different funeral rituals were practised.
“Some of the dead were burned and their remains were placed in ceramic urns or directly in pits, some were buried without cremation.
“It was the discovery of the skeletal pits that was surprising to us.”
In a bid to keep the discovered urns intact, the archaeologists employed the aid of a local veterinarian in the town of Dębno.
The veterinarian X-rayed the urns to reveal the secrets lurking inside, without cracking their seals.
One of the urns was found to contain the cremated bones of an ancient warrior.
It was the discovery of the skeletal pits that was surprising to us
Krzysztof Socha, Kostrzyn Fortress Museum
The remains were interned with a spearhead, shield fragments and other metallic trinkets that could have once formed a dagger.
Mr Socha said: “The X-ray examination will allow us to plan the process of emptying the urns and the conservation of the artefacts found inside.
“We have also learned very precisely how the bones and items were placed inside the urn.”
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This year alone, archaeologists in Poland have discovered 100 treasure troves of metallic trinkets buries alongside the dead.
The dead were most commonly buried with metallic brooches used by both men and women to hold their garments together.
Mr Socha said: “They can be compared to today’s safety pins.”
Archaeologists also frequently discover decorative spearheads with the dead.
But many of the metallic trinkets and were not made locally.
Instead, the researchers have found they have been imported from the Roman Empire.
And many of the buried were not necessarily warriors themselves.
Mr Socha said: “This was not a necropolis used to only bury warriors.
“There are burial sites with equipment suggesting they belong to women or people not involved in warring.”
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