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127 Years Ago, a Coffin Fell From the Sky. Scientists Just Solved a Major Piece of Its Mystery.
Popular Mechanics ^ | March 05, 2026 | Elizabeth Rayne

Posted on 03/08/2026 8:15:15 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

...a coffin crashed down from a cliff near the Baltic Sea near the village of Bagicz, Poland, in 1899... Made from the hollowed trunk of an oak tree and exceptionally preserved, it protected the bones of a young woman from the ancient Wielbark culture who was thought at the time to have likely been a member of the social elite. She was buried with a bronze fibula, a necklace of glass and amber beads, a brooch, and bronze bar bracelets; was laying on a cowhide; and had a wooden stool at her feet.

...almost forgotten until the 1980s, when archaeologists rediscovered the partial skeleton with her coffin and grave goods. Even more recent investigations found that... it was unlikely the deceased was a princess or aristocrat... from the Roman Iron Age in Poland. It only appeared that she been buried alone because her coffin had been exposed by coastal erosion...

...By sampling a section that included sapwood (the younger layers of a tree's vascular tissues) and measuring the width of the growth rings, in addition to measuring the total annual growth rings, Chmiel-Chrzanowska and her team were able to date the wood...

the radiocarbon dating of the tooth present in the remains suggested that the young woman had died a century before her coffin was made... One theory is based on the fact that the nitrogen, oxygen and strontium content of her teeth and enamel suggested a diet high in animal protein. If at least some of that protein came from fish, the marine carbon -- which contains lower levels of the carbon-14 isotope -- could have artificially altered her perceived age...

(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientautopsies; dendrochronology; godsgravesglyphs; ironage
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Muzeum Narodowe w Szczecinie - Polska Starożytna, Ossolineum, Public Domain
Muzeum Narodowe w Szczecinie - Polska Starożytna, Ossolineum, Public Domain

1 posted on 03/08/2026 8:15:15 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

2 posted on 03/08/2026 8:16:12 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: SunkenCiv

An alien ship dropped it.


3 posted on 03/08/2026 8:19:36 AM PDT by Codeflier (Don't worry....be happy)
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To: Codeflier

Time storm. Fell off a wagon into a vortex. The cart landed in a field in NewMexico in 1923. The horse’s ass landed in the White House in January of 2021.


4 posted on 03/08/2026 8:27:05 AM PDT by Sirius Lee ("Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.)
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To: Sirius Lee

I keep dropping EVERYTHING!

Frustrating.


5 posted on 03/08/2026 9:05:53 AM PDT by If You Want It Fixed - Fix It
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To: If You Want It Fixed - Fix It

My mother-in-law. Tired of dragging that around.


6 posted on 03/08/2026 9:06:45 AM PDT by If You Want It Fixed - Fix It
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To: Codeflier

“An alien ship dropped it.”

Jerked by headline


7 posted on 03/08/2026 9:09:50 AM PDT by TexasGator (.1II11.X11111.1~I11:/)
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To: SunkenCiv
the radiocarbon dating of the tooth present in the remains suggested that the young woman had died a century before her coffin was made

Wait! What!!??

8 posted on 03/08/2026 9:44:31 AM PDT by John123 (It is Time for Debt Jubilee. Everything is Free)
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To: SunkenCiv

“I’m not dead yet. I feel happy.”


9 posted on 03/08/2026 10:21:30 AM PDT by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all. )
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To: SunkenCiv

“ a coffin crashed down from a cliff”

Headline says it fell from the sky.


10 posted on 03/08/2026 10:58:22 AM PDT by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: SunkenCiv

Not nearly as strange as, “As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner.


11 posted on 03/08/2026 11:24:15 AM PDT by Psalm 73 ("You'll never hear surf music again" - J. Hendrix)
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To: SunkenCiv

Wiel bark for notoriety!

(She’s a hog for fame).


12 posted on 03/08/2026 12:51:21 PM PDT by Beowulf9
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To: SunkenCiv

“...and had a wooden stool at her feet.”

Just more proof that a woman’s work is NEVER done - even in the Afterlife! ;)


13 posted on 03/08/2026 1:01:53 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: John123
Scientists Just Solved a Major Piece of Its Mystery...Wilebark coffins were often made of hollowed tree trunks..By sampling a section that included sapwood..Chmiel-Chrzanowska and her team were able to date the wood to some time between 112 and 128 C.E.

But

Why exactly the radiocarbon dating of the tooth present in the remains suggested that the young woman had died a century before her coffin was made, however, still eluded the archaeologists. One theory is..
Another theory is..

I think "solved" may be premature.

14 posted on 03/08/2026 1:17:38 PM PDT by daniel1212 (Turn 2 the Lord Jesus who saves damned+destitute sinners on His acct, believe, b baptized+follow HIM)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

And she thought she was getting out of work. Ha! 😁


15 posted on 03/08/2026 2:06:59 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: daniel1212; SunkenCiv

Since she lived near the Baltic Sea, fish could easily have been part of her diet. With a different rate of C14 changes in her teeth, it could account for the question of a coffin made a century after her death. Await more study.


16 posted on 03/08/2026 2:40:33 PM PDT by gleeaikin (Question Authority: report facts, and post their links in your message.)
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