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Medieval Bridges, Artifacts Found in a Polish Lake

Posted on Aug, 12, 2020
Contributed to WCHV by Alex Ellis

According to a report in The First News , archaeologists from Nicolaus Copernicus University and the Museum of the First Piast at Lednica used photogrammetry to map the bottom of west-central Poland’s Lake Lednica. Located between the city of Gniezno, site of the country’s first capital, and Poznań, the seat of the country’s first Christian bishop, the lake is remembered as the site of the Christian baptism of Duke Mieszko I, who ruled Poland from about 960 to 992. The study revealed the remains of wooden shore fortifications dated to the time of Mieszko I, and two medieval wooden bridges. Artifacts discovered under the remains of the bridges include an intact tenth-century sword and remains of its leather scabbard. X-rays revealed that the sword was decorated with a Christian symbol known as the Jerusalem cross. Two axes, a spearhead, arrowheads, crossbow bolts, a sickle, ceramics, and animal bones were also found. One of the axes, resembling a Scandinavian style, was inlaid with silver decorations.

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