During archaeological excavations in burial sites, sometimes stoned organic objects are found, in addition to human remains. Those objects might be of a different origin, depending on various factors influencing members of a community (i.e. diseases, trauma), which provides information about their living conditions. The St. Nicholas Church archaeological site (Libkovice, Czechia) in the 18th century horizon of the cemetery, yielded a maturus-senilis female skeleton with a stone object in the left iliac fossa. This object was an oviform cyst-like rough structure, measuring 54 mm in length, 35 mm in maximum diameter and 0.2–0.7 mm shell thickness. Within the object there were small fetal bones (long bones, i.e. femur and two tibias, two scapulas, three ribs, vertebrae and other tiny bone fragments). Methods utilized to analyze the outer and inner surface morphology of the cyst and its inside, included: X-ray, CT imaging, SEM, histological staining and EDS. The EDS analysis revealed the presence of primarily oxygen, calcium and phosphorus in bone samples, and oxygen and silicon, in stone shell. Based on the length of the femur (20.2 mm) and tibia (16 mm) shafts, the fetal age was determined as being in the 15–18 week of pregnancy. The differential diagnosis was conducted, including for the three most probable cases: fetiform teratoma (FT), fetus-in-fetu (FIF) and lithopedion. The possibility of fetiform teratoma was discounted due to the presence of an anatomically correct spine, long bones and the proportions of the find. Although the low calcium content in the shell (2.3% atom mass), the lack of skull bones and the better developed lower limbs indicate fetus-in-fetu rather than lithopedion, the analyses results are unable to conclusively identify the object under one of these two categories since there are insufficient such cases in excavation material with which to draw comparison.
Archaeological research at Grodno Castle in Zagórze Śląskie from 2017 to 2019Although Grodno Castle (Kynsburg), located in the southern part of the Wałbrzyskie Mountains, due to its turbulent history has been popular since the 19 th century, this fact has never translated into the level of advancement of the scientific studies devoted to it. Until recently, scientific research, especially excavations, was carried out to a very limited extent. The aim of the article is to present and discuss the results of archaeological research conducted in 2017-2019 and its correlation with the knowledge provided to us by written sources. For this purpose, the most important historical events related to the functioning of Grodno Castle are briefly discussed. Then, the results of analyzes of the nature and relative chronology of the stratigraphic layers forming the embankment located on the castle zwinger and lying in the courtyard of the upper castle are presented, along with summarizing the conclusions of the typological, morphological, chronological and comparative analyzes of the archaeological finds discovered dur ing the excavations. As a result of these activities, in the case of the layers forming the embankment located on the zwinger, 6 phases of anthropogenic activity were distinguished, which were related to historical events, and an image of the material culture of the castle inhabitants and the changes taking place in it over more than seven centuries were obtained.
This paper presents forensic, bioarchaeological and historical research on eight human skulls discovered during the 2018 restoration of a nineteenth-century pastor’s tomb in the village of Gostków in Poland (which, until 1945, had been Giesmannsdorf in Germany). Local rumours suggested that the tomb had been used as a mass grave at the end of World War II for the remains either of war-crimes victims or of a murder-suicide incident. The research was undertaken at the request of the Fundacja Anna w Gostkowie (Anna Foundation in Gostków), which maintains the cemetery, and confirmed detailed witness accounts that the tomb contained the remains of two related German families in which some individuals had killed the others, including several children, and then themselves. The authors also discuss the phenomenon of suicides under war conditions and the cognitive, social and ethical problems of researching this topic.
Ar chi tectus", the historical outline of the Grodno Castle and a detailed description of the course of these studies and analyses of the artefacts will be omitted.
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