Herodotus

Tom Holland ‏@holland_tom posted this cartoon featuring #Herodotus by @ZachWeiner : pic.twitter.com/AsYiDm8jeY https://twitter.com/holland_tom/status/405440531590705153 

18th Century Sex Toy Found in Gdansk Latrine

Eight-inch, 250-year-old sex toy ()

A 250-year-old sex toy has been found by archaeologists during a dig of an ancient toilet in Poland.

The eight-inch leather dildo with a wooden head was discovered during an excavation at an old school of swordsmanship in the coastal city of Gdansk. A spokesman for the Regional Office for the Protection of Monuments in Gdansk, said: 'It was found in the latrine and dates back to the second half of the 18th century. 'It is quite thick and rather large, made of leather and filled with bristles, and has a wooden tip that has preserved in excellent condition. It was probably dropped by someone in the toilet 'Whether that was by accident or on purpose is anyone's guess though.' Archaeologists at the site earlier discovered old swords leading them to suspect that the place was once a school of swordsmanship. The artifact has now been taken away for preservation work.

Kate Pickles, 'Leather sex toy from the 18th Century is discovered by archaeologists at ancient Polish training arena for swordsmen' Mailonline, 15 April 2015

Bronze Hoard Discovered in Poland

(Fot. D. Szuwalski)

'Bronze Hoard Discovered in Poland' Tuesday, February 17, 2015:

RZEPEDZ, POLAND—At a remote site in the Bieszczady Mountains, beyond the Carpathian Mountains, Polish archaeologists have uncovered a hoard of bronze artefacts including a pickaxe, and a necklace and bracelet hidden inside a clay vessel. According to Science & Scholarship in Poland, the find was originally made by an amateur who saw the axe sticking out of the ground and immediately alerted the local museum. "For me, as an archaeologist, it is very important that after finding one object the discoverer did not explore the place further himself, but reported the discovery and waited for specialists,” says Sanok Museum archaeologist Piotr Kotowicz, adding, “We do not yet know who and why had hidden the treasure so carefully.”  

Aerial Archaeology in Poland, Bibliography

An oldie, and needs updating, but somebody might find this useful:
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL AERIALPHOTOGRAPHY IN POLAND - AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

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.