Krakow/ Archaeological discovery at Wawel: child burials and a fragment of a weapon

Three child burials and a fragment of a weapon were discovered by archaeologists in the outer courtyard of the Wawel Royal Castle, near the no longer existing Church of St. George.

Works in the area of ​​the Gothic temple, demolished in the 19th century, began in the first half of May. Their main goal is to verify the hypothesis that under the former Gothic church of St. George there may be an early medieval temple of the same name.

The research initially yielded other discoveries. As the director of the Wawel Royal Castle, Prof. Andrzej Betlej, informed PAP, in the area of ​​the church's presbytery, archaeologists found three children's burials, probably dating back to the 17th century. A fragment of a weapon was also found. The object is currently being cleaned, but according to initial hypotheses, it may be a cutlass.

"The work is continuing, we are waiting to see if we can find anything more. There is a good chance that we will actually be able to verify the hypothesis, and maybe find this early medieval church," said Prof. Betlej.

He pointed out that the archaeologists' activities are a continuation of work completed in 1965. At that time, the entire area was not examined, but historic fragments were found that suggested that another building could have existed in this place before the Gothic church was built. Recently, radar research was carried out on Wawel and areas for further work were selected.

These are the latest archaeological discoveries at the Wawel Royal Castle in recent years. In 2023 and 2024, during research preceding the construction of a new underground sightseeing route, a 12-meter section of relics of an early medieval rampart dating back to the 11th century was uncovered, as well as the remains of a hearth, and everyday objects were also discovered – clay pipes, a bird-shaped flute, a collection of coins, parts of clothing, and metal ornaments.

Regular excavations began at the castle in the 1950s. Wawel archaeologists have excavated, among other things, elements of weaponry used by warriors defending the hill, kitchen utensils used by the hill's inhabitants, cutlery, cake tins, shoes, toys, pipes, coins, devotional articles, glass inkwells, compasses and instruments. The discovered artifacts can be viewed at permanent exhibitions: "Wawel Town" and "Międzymurze. Podziemia Wawelu".

Julia Kalęba (PAP)

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