Gdańsk /Archaeologists discovered a sanitary burial and the remains of a French prisoner of war

The Pomeranian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments (PWKZ) announced that archaeologists working at Dominikański Square in Gdańsk have discovered so-called sanitary burials. The exhumed graves contained the remains of, among others, a French prisoner of war. He was identified by his dog tag.

PWKZ spokesman Marcin Tymiński announced on Tuesday that during this year's archaeological work at the renovated Market Hall in the center of Gdańsk, so-called sanitary burials were discovered.

It was a special method of burying bodies used in emergency situations when there was a sanitary and epidemiological threat.

"These are the graves of those who died and were killed during the war in March 1945. They were created after the fighting ended, during the city's cleanup," Tymiński said.

He added that the exhumed graves contained the remains of several dozen people – both civilians and German soldiers. After being recovered, they were subjected to anthropological analysis. The exhumation of the graves was carried out by the Gdańsk-based company Detekt.

"Most of the buried people were killed by explosions. Almost all were in poor health or were sick, as evidenced by the missing molars, even among the young. Personal items were also found with the remains," the spokesman said.

Archaeologists managed to identify one of the victims, who was wearing a dog tag. The conservator's spokesman added that thanks to this, the archaeologists learned his name and surname and determined that he was a French prisoner of war.

Tymiński noted that archaeologists are in contact with the designated representative of the French Embassy in Warsaw. He added that, as agreed, the burial will take place at the French Cemetery in Gdańsk. The date has not yet been set.

The spokesman said that an exhumation was likely carried out at Dominikański Square several years after the war, albeit cursory and inaccurate. The area near the Market Hall was included in a list of such makeshift cemeteries compiled in 1947. It listed dozens of locations across the city.

He recalled that Dominikański Square is the place where in 2005 one of the most interesting archaeological discoveries in Gdańsk was made – cellars that are the remains of a 13th-century Dominican monastery.

The Romanesque Cellar, a branch of the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk, was established at the site of the excavations. Part of the basement exhibition is an ossuary—a place where the bones of the deceased, discovered next to the historic building, were stored.

Tymiński said that during this year's archaeological work, the remaining part of the ossuary discovered at that time was also unearthed. (PAP)

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