Obsidian Trade in Poland Dates Back At Least 20,000 Years

According to a Science in Poland report, obsidian was used for making tools and weapons in what is now Poland at least 20,000 years ago, even though volcanic glass is not known to occur naturally anywhere in the country ('Obsidian Trade in Poland Dates Back At Least 20,000 Years', Archaeology Friday, February 22, 2019)

“People [have] always paid special attention to exotic products and raw materials from distant lands,” said Dagmara H. Werra of the Polish Academy of Sciences. “It must have been similar with shiny obsidian.” During the Paleolithic period, Werra explained, obsidian was probably imported in the form of finished tools from what is now Slovakia [...] analysis of obsidian samples revealed some of them originated as far away as southeastern Turkey. [...] Werra added that few obsidian processing sites have been found in Poland, but there is some evidence that raw obsidian may have been imported during the Neolithic period and fashioned into tools locally.

Cold War Sites Investigated in Poland

(Grzegorz Kiarszys)

According to a Live Science report, archaeologist Grzegorz Kiarszys of Szczecin University has examined declassified CIA satellite images and employed remote sensing techniques to study three Soviet facilities in west-central Poland ('Cold War Sites Investigated in Poland', Archaeology Monday, January 21, 2019). Built in the late 1960s, the buildings were concealed from view, not recorded on maps, and described in Soviet documents as communication centers. Kiarszys’ research, however, suggests the buildings housed military personnel and nuclear warheads. “The power of warheads varied from about 0.5 to 500 kilotons,” he said. “Those warheads were to be used in the so-called Northern Front, for invasion of the northern part of western Germany and Denmark.” Each of the sites consisted of three zones, including a restricted area where warheads were likely kept, a garage area, and housing for Russian troops. Nuclear physicists did not detect any lingering radiation at the sites.

Neanderthal Child’s Finger Bones Identified in Poland

Science in Poland reports that two tiny 100,000-year-old finger bones of a Neanderthal child were identified among a collection of animal bones unearthed in deep layers in Ciemna Cave, which is located in southern Poland ('Neanderthal Child’s Finger Bones Identified in Poland', Archaeology Tuesday, October 9, 2018)

Paweł Valde-Nowak of Jagiellonian University and Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in St. Louis said the poorly preserved finger bones belonged to a child who was probably between the ages of five and seven at the time of death. The porous surface of the bones suggest they may have passed through the digestive tract of a large bird. The only other known Neanderthal remains to have been found in Poland are three molars from Stajnia Cave, estimated to be about 50,000 years old. However, thousands of Neanderthal tools, dating back some 200,000 years, have been recovered from across southern Poland.

The spread of the Black Death in Europe (1346-53)

 
Map showing the spread of the Black Death in Europe (1346-53) 

In the case of Milan, the authorities seem to have taken drastic isolation measures so there were fewer infected. For Poland, hypothesis are formulated here https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/47644/PDF/1/ …

Fragments of Thutmose I Temple Discovered in Storage

Egypt Thutmose I Temple Fragment Name (J. Iwaszczuk)

Thousands of stone blocks being kept in storage near Luxor turn out to be remains of the temple of the 18th-Dynasty pharaoh Thutmose I (r. ca. 1504-1492 B.C.), according to a report from Science & Scholarship in Poland. Egyptologist Jadwiga Iwaszczuk of the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences first identified some of the fragments, which were housed in a tomb that is used as a storage facility by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities. The fragments were excavated in the 1970s, and at the time were thought to belong to a temple built during the reign of Hatshepsut, who was Thutmose I’s daughter. In fact, that temple was discovered in recent years in the Ramesseum, the memorial temple of Ramesses II. Iwaszczuk identified the fragments as belonging to the temple of Thutmose I because the temple’s name appeared on some of them. Iwaszczuk and her team have now identified thousands of stone blocks that are part of the temple.

Source: 'Fragments of Thutmose I Temple Discovered in Storage ' Archaeology Magazine  Friday, June 30, 2017

Late medieval longsword found in Polish peat bog

In late May, excavator operator Wojciech Kot, engaged in drainage excavations in a peat bog in the municipality of Mircze, 12 miles south of the town of Hrubieszów in southeastern Poland, dug up an intact late medieval longsword. The next day the digger driver contacted the local museum in Hrubieszów and the day after that he took the sword to the museum in person. He soon after showed the museum experts the exact find spot (this is not being revealed to keep treasure hunters from despoiling it).

Wojciech Kot at the discovery site

The two-handed sword is 120 cm, long and dates to the 14th century. It is in excellent condition and does not show any signs of having been deliberately discarded due to damage. Bartłomiej Bartecki, the museum director says: “The place where the discovery was made is a wetland and a peat bog. It is possible that an unlucky knight was pulled into the marsh, or simply lost his sword"

The sword

Archaeologists plan to return to the find site to do a limited excavation. They’re hoping to find additional artifacts or information related to the sword, perhaps even other pieces of the knight’s equipment. [...] After conservation and study [in Warsaw], the sword will return to Hrubieszów where it will go on display at the museum. They expect it to be back around November. “This is a unique find in the region. It is worth pointing out that while there are similar artefacts in museum collections, their places of discovery is often unknown, and that is very important information for historians and archaeologists” – [Bartecki] noted. Information nobody would have if it weren’t for the quick thinking and responsible actions of Wojciech Kot. Because the finder was so diligent in giving the sword to the museum and noting the find spot, museum staff will apply to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage to grant him a reward or at least official thanks and recognition of his “exemplary attitude.”

Source:  Late medieval longsword found in Polish peat bog  The History Blog June 20th, 2017.

Video here:  https://lublin.tvp.pl/32833868/wykopalisko-miecz-rycerski-z-xiv-wieku [in Polish]

The reporting of accidental finds like this is obligatory under Polish law.

Medieval Nieszawa

Aleksander Andrzejewski and Piotr Wroniecki 'Discovering a Lost Medieval Town in Poland', February 24, 2016