The remains of a victim of the Lithuanian invasion of 1354 discovered in the "Pompeii of Warmia"

Science in Poland ^ | September 7, 2018 | Marcin Boguszewski, tr. RL

[SunkenCiv]

Archaeologists conducting excavations near Barczewko discovered the skeleton of a man killed in 1354 during the Lithuanian invasion. This place is called the "Pompeii of Warmia" because the ruins of the city destroyed during the invasion are preserved intact.

According to Dr. Arkadiusz Koperkiewicz from the University of Gdaƒsk, who leads the research at Barczewko, the find is yet another confirmation of the unique nature of this archaeological site, which is an invaluable source of knowledge about the beginnings of colonization in Warmia.

The skeleton of a man who died almost 700 years ago during the destruction of one of the oldest cities in Warmia was discovered in the basement of a building burnt down in the 14th century. Due to the conditions in the ruins, the remains were preserved in very good condition.

This is the fourth season of archaeological work in a place where, during the colonization of the southern part of the Warmia Dominion, Bishop Eberhard of Nysa attempted to build the city of Wartenburg around the year 1330. It was the first location of today`s Barczewo.

Scientists call it the "Pompeii of Warmia" because the city was completely destroyed at an early stage of development in 1354 by a cataclysm, in this case the invasion of the Lithuanian army of princes Kiejstut and Olgierd. The place has never been inhabited again, and the ruins of the young colony have survived for centuries in an unchanged form.

[SunkenCiv]

Skeleton found during archaeological excavations in the 14th century settlement near Barczewko, called the "Pompeii of Warmia". Photo: PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk 27.08.2018

[SunkenCiv]

[Red Badger]

Warmia?

Shouldn’t it be ‘Coldia’?................

[SES1066]

Always helps to place these articles in a geographic context.

According to what I read about this period, this was a century after the Crusade to Christianize the pagan Prussians, led by the Teutonic Knights. Within the next century, this area would be included in the Hanseatic League, the dominant maritime power of the era's Baltic Sea.

[BenLurkin]

A “man-made disaster”

[TXnMA]

"The skeleton of a man who died almost 700 years ago during the destruction of one of the oldest cities in Warmia was discovered in the basement of a building burnt down in the 14th century. Due to the conditions in the ruins, the remains were preserved in very good condition. "

1. Ashes = the source of lye

2. lye = high pH (alkaline) soil

3. Alkaline soil = good bone preservation...

~~~~~~~~~~

That is a very well-preserved skeleton -- with an apparently-crushed skull....

[SunkenCiv]

:^) I can't believe I missed that opportunity. ;^).

[SunkenCiv]

I was a bit gobsmacked as a kid to see a map kind of like this in an atlas of Euro history my oldest sib had:

[SunkenCiv]

https://i.redditmedia.com/yHjni4s97a04iWHxFa_qX9RoQ8jYVHr7FyKCK2Fb4zg.jpg?s=9d5eed49f84004e14b8b798fb8bc611c

[SunkenCiv]

Yeah, forget the long count, he’s not gettin’ up.

[BenLurkin]

Heh!

[dsc]

So much history, so little time.

[SunkenCiv]

So much history, then *we're* history. :^)