Grave of Vandal warriors discovered in southern Poland

Two cremation graves of Vandal warriors have been discovered at a previously unknown archaeological site in the town of Glinka in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in southeastern Poland. They contain the charred remains of iron weapons and armor. Based on these items, the graves date back to the late 3rd or 4th century AD.

The graves were discovered by accident while working in the fields. The landowner stumbled upon an iron sword, shield and spearhead and reported it to the provincial office for the protection of monuments, which sent an archaeologist and a licensed metal detector operator to survey the site. The metal detectors found a second set of iron weapons, and the excavation revealed a sword, shield, spearhead and a pair of scissors. Fragments of burnt pottery and charred bones were also found.

All of the iron objects bore signs of fire, evidence that the weapons were burned on a pyre along with the pottery jars and the bodies of the deceased. After the fire was over, the remains were placed in shallow pits. Both swords were deliberately bent before cremation, a ritual to “kill” the weapon so that the deceased could take it with them to the afterlife. This practice had the side benefit of deterring grave robbers from desecrating the tomb and stealing the precious swords.

The cremation pit graves and curved swords suggest the dead belonged to the Iron Age Przeworsk culture, which is related to the Germanic Vandals, who occupied much of modern southern and central Poland, but only a few warrior burials have been found in the Sandomierz Upland region, making the two burials particularly significant.

Excavations are currently on hold because the fields are already planted with crops, but archaeologists will use non-invasive methods such as geophysical surveys to map the site for subsequent excavations, which they hope to uncover Vandal cemeteries from throughout the Roman Empire.

The artifacts found in the two tombs are currently being restored. Several museums have expressed interest in exhibiting them once the restoration is complete, including the Ostrowiec Museum of History and Archaeology and the Sandomierz Castle Museum.