The slab was found by researchers from firm ArcheoScan at an excavation on Grodzka/Sukiennicza Street — the former site of a well-known ice cream parlor — where a tombstone depicting a knight was discovered last year.
Archaeologist Sylwia Kurzyńska told Poland's PAP news agency that the newly found slab is likely in situ, meaning it rests in its original position. "We expect that after lifting it, we will discover another burial", she said.
The dig, known as the Śródmieście I archaeological site has been underway since 2023. This season's work is focused on preparations to extract the remains of a wooden church dated to 1140, fragments of which were uncovered in 2024. The Teutonic Knights built a stone castle on the same site between 1335 and 1341; Gdańsk residents demolished it in 1454.
Previous research seasons have produced nine tombstones in total — seven granite, one sandstone featuring an arcade and tracery, and one limestone slab depicting a knight complete with chainmail, a sword and shield, with fragments of a boot and leggings also preserved.
Marcin Tymiński, spokesman for the Pomeranian Regional Monument Conservator, said the Provincial Heritage Protection Council considers the finds significant not only for the history of medieval Pomerania but for medieval European history more broadly — a view that last year prompted the creation of a special expert commission and an expansion of the excavation area to include Sukiennicza Street.
(jh)
Source: PAP