Knight’s Tomb: A Rare Effigy from Medieval Poland

In central Gdańsk, archaeologists have unearthed a remarkable 13th-century knight’s tomb beneath the site of the old “Miś” ice cream parlour on Sukiennicza Street. Gdansk. For decades, locals bought ice cream above what turned out to be a long-buried medieval cemetery – “an absolutely unique find on a national scale”. On July 8, 2025, the team carefully lifted the carved grave slab, noting it appeared “not [to have been] disturbed for more than 700 years”. The discovery has made headlines in Poland and is providing a window into Gdańsk’s medieval past.

Hidden Church and Cemetery

The site has been excavated by ArcheoScan since 2023. So far, the team has exposed remains of a large wooden church structure (dendro-dated to 1140 AD) and an adjacent cemetery with over 200 burials. Eight of those graves had stone markers; among them, the newly revealed slab with a knight’s image is the most intriguing. The slab – carved from light Gotlandic limestone – measures about 150 cm and shows a reclining knight in chainmail and a pointed helmet. In the relief, he holds a narrow shield in his left hand and rests the pommel of his sword against his chest. No heraldic emblem appears on the shield (it may have been painted on), but traces of white pigment remain on the stone, indicating the figure was once colourfully painted.

A Knight of High Rank

Archaeologist Sylwia Kurzyńska (ArcheoScan) notes that such an elaborate tomb implies a very important person. “One thing is certain: it must have been someone significant,” she emphasises. “That gesture of holding a sword indicates someone who had power.” In her view, the expensive chainmail armour and sword suggest “it was probably a commander or a person enjoying special recognition and respect”. In other words, this was no commoner’s burial but a high-ranking medieval warrior.

When the team lifted the slab on July 9, they found a foundation of large fieldstones beneath it and then began digging into the grave. About 30 cm down, they discovered a nearly intact skeleton – quite possibly the remains of the knight depicted on the slab. Preliminary analysis by Dr Aleksandra Pudło of the Gdańsk Archaeological Museum confirms a male, roughly 40 years old and about 170 cm tall. (This was actually about average height for a medieval Gdańsk man.) Kurzyńska points out that burials of this era were very modest: armour and weapons were typically passed to heirs and not buried, so archaeologists do not expect to find jewellery or treasures – only human remains and perhaps fragments of cloth. “Burials from this period contain nothing materially valuable,” she stresses.

Conservators have already begun preserving the stone. The slab’s limestone is fragile when exposed to air – as one local heritage official warned, “Limestone oxidises immediately on contact with air… this slab must be removed and conserved as soon as possible.” Indeed, on July 9, the four large pieces (totalling up to 300 kg) were gently palletised, and even the smallest chips were bagged with care. All pieces were transported to the Gdańsk Archaeological Museum, where Dr Anna Kriegseisen is leading the conservation effort. The team will use 3D scanning and computer reconstruction to digitally “solve the puzzle” of the broken slab, and if feasible, they will reassemble the carved knight into a single exhibit.

Medieval Gdańsk and the Teutonic Knights

This discovery comes in a location rich with medieval history. In 1308, the Teutonic Knights infamously seized Gdańsk from Poland, massacring many inhabitants in the process. The Order then dominated the region of Pomerelia (including Gdańsk) for more than a century. Excavations on this very site have revealed that the Teutonic Knights built a castle here around 1335–1341 – a fortress later demolished by the townspeople in 1454. After decades of war, Gdańsk was finally returned to Polish rule in 1466.

Depending on the tomb’s dating, the knight may be linked to either era. If he died before 1308, he was likely a retainer of the local Pomeranian dukes (the Sobiesławid dynasty), who ruled until that year. If buried after 1308, he may have served in the early Teutonic administration in the newly occupied city. Further laboratory dating of bones, soil and any artefacts is planned to pin down the chronology. In any case, scholars emphasise how rare this find is – an archaeologist notes that a “fully preserved knight’s tomb from the 13th/14th century” is extremely uncommon in Poland.

A special commission has been convened by heritage authorities to decide the site’s fate. Among other options, officials may continue careful excavation or rebury the remains for future study. Meanwhile, experts will continue analysing the skeleton and stone to unravel the knight’s identity and time period. Even the skeleton alone promises to yield fascinating information about life in medieval Gdańsk.