14th-Century Skeleton Unearthed in Northern Poland

BARCZEWKO, POLAND—According to a Science in Poland report, Arkadiusz Koperkiewicz of the University of Gdańsk and his colleagues from the University of Greifswald and the University of Klaipeda have uncovered the remains of a man who was killed in 1354 during the Lithuanian invasion and destruction of the city of Wartenburg. The body was found in the basement of a wooden building that had been burned down. Koperkiewicz’s team has also recovered arrowheads, crossbow bolts, silver and bronze ornaments, and fragments of a medieval Christian cross in the well-preserved city. The researchers are still looking for the site of the city’s church, however. Wartenburg’s cemetery has yielded traces of clothing, coins, and pottery. Some of the pottery had been broken, perhaps as a symbol of the fragility of human life, Koperkiewicz said. For more on archaeology in Poland, go to “Off the Grid: Krakow.”