11 New Museums In Poland That Are A Must See

11 New Museums In Poland That Are A Must See For the history buff and the art lover to the casual traveller - Poland is teeming with incredible new museums to discover

Apotropaic burial rites at Drawsko

Apotropaic Practices and the Undead: A Biogeochemical Assessment of Deviant Burials in Post-Medieval Poland Lesley A. Gregoricka, Tracy K. Betsinger, Amy B. Scott, Marek Polcyn Published: November 26, 2014

Apotropaic observances-traditional practices intended to prevent evil-were not uncommon in post-medieval Poland, and included specific treatment of the dead for those considered at risk for becoming vampires. Excavations at the Drawsko 1 cemetery (17th to 18th c. AD) have revealed multiple examples (n = 6) of such deviant burials amidst hundreds of normative interments. While historic records describe the many potential reasons why some were more susceptible to vampirism than others, no study has attempted to discern differences in social identity between individuals within standard and deviant burials using biogeochemical analyses of human skeletal remains. The hypothesis that the individuals selected for apotropaic burial rites were non-local immigrants whose geographic origins differed from the local community was tested using radiogenic strontium isotope ratios from archaeological dental enamel.
 ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios ( = 0.7112±0.0006, 1σ) from the permanent molars of 60 individuals reflect a predominantly local population, with all individuals interred as potential vampires exhibiting local strontium isotope ratios. These data indicate that those targeted for apotropaic practices were not migrants to the region, but instead, represented local individuals whose social identity or manner of death marked them with suspicion in some other way. Cholera epidemics that swept across much of Eastern Europe during the 17th century may provide one alternate explanation as to the reason behind these apotropaic mortuary customs, as the first person to die from an infectious disease outbreak was presumed more likely to return from the dead as a vampire.

Early Medieval Cemetery at Burdąg

BURDAG, POLAND—Nearly 100 cremation burials have been discovered during excavations in Burdąg, Poland by archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Łódź, says a report in Science and Scholarship in Poland. In the graves the team found a surprising number of artifacts both of a more expected sort, such as pottery, as well as some rarer items including tinder and flint with the remains of the fabric they had been wrapped in, a Frankish glass vessel fragment, and several knives with their wooden handles preserved. Team leader Mirosław Rudnicki believes that only 10 percent of the necropolis has been excavated thus far and that the burial site was used by a large population during the sixth and seventh centuries A.D. "The local population probably functioned as part of a tribal structure, distinguished by wealth and extensive contacts. These contacts, evidence of which has also been discovered in Burdąg, included Scandinavian, Frankish, Slavic, and Avar areas,” says Rudnicki.

Bronze Age Ritual Site Discovered in Poland

 
Anon, '4,000-Year-Old Ritual Site Discovered in Poland', Archaeology Tuesday, September 30, 2014

 A 4,000-year-old ritual site has been unearthed on a hilltop in northeastern Poland. Fragments of decorated cups and bowls made by the Bell Beaker culture were found surrounded by burned bones and a fragment of an amber bead. A second amber object was found nearby. “Amber was an exotic and prestigious material for the Bell Beaker communities, and never before found in Podlasie. These discovered ornaments are among the oldest objects of this type in the region,” archaeologist Dariusz Manasterski of the University of Warsaw told Science & Scholarship in Poland. Stone tools, including an adze, a fragment of a curved blade, and fragments of a dagger were found, along with arrowheads and other blades and knives made of flint. “The entire ritual deposit is an exceptional find in central Europe. It contains one of the richest collections of objects usually found in the elite graves in Western Europe from this period,” he added.

Scandinavian Settlement Studied in Poland

(K. Kowalski)

"SUCHAŃ, POLAND—Archaeologists have returned to northern Poland to examine a site that may have been inhabited by Scandinavian settlers 1,500 years ago. In 2006, single-sided coins known as bracteates, metal pendants, and a ring, all resembling artifacts from Bornholm, Denmark, were discovered on the surface of the site. The bracteates bear an image of a rider on horseback and rune inscriptions on the rims. Recent aerial and geophysical surveys suggest that the settlement was inhabited for hundreds of years. “Findings to date suggest a very significant infiltration of Scandinavian elites from the area of southern Sweden and Bornholm to the areas of Western Pomerania in Late Antiquity, which probably were the point of origin of the later Viking influence in these areas,” Aleksander Bursche of the University of Warsaw explained to Science & Scholarship in Poland".

Scandinavian Settlement Studied in Poland Archaeology Friday, September 05, 2014