Archaeologists Dug Under an Ice Cream Parlor—and Found a Medieval Knight's Skeleton
Crews in Poland found a 12th century church last year before the discovery of a knight buried around the turn from the 13th to the 14th century.
The burial site is at a popular intersection in Gdansk that once housed an ice cream parlor.
A carved image on the tombstone shows a knight in full armor, complete with a shield and sword.
When archaeologists discovered an intricately carved tombstone under a former ice cream parlor in Gdansk, Poland, they were obviously excited. But what lay beneath it was even more surprising: a full skeleton buried inside a rectangular arrangement of 23 stones.
It all belongs to an unknown medieval knight, marking the first discovery of its kind in Poland.
At a popular street corner in Gdańsk, where the now-closed Mis ice cream parlor operated over 60 years, archaeologists explored the site before construction crews could start. In 2024, they found the remains of a 46-by-46-foot wooden church built in 1140—the oldest ever discovered in the city. Nearby, they located more than 200 medieval graves. But the most mind-blowing find came just recently, when researchers discovered a carved tombstone likely dating to the late 1200s or early 1300s, according to a translated statement from Poland's national heritage agency.
It was this tombstone that helped tell the story of a knight.
The stone itself, made from expensive Gotland limestone, featured a carved image of a knight covered head-to-toe in chain mail, complete with a shield and sword, according to a translated report from the city of Gdansk's official website.
About a foot under the tombstone, crews discovered the remains of a coffin holding a full skeleton. Aleksandra Pudlo from the Archaeological Museum in Gdansk told the city that the skeleton was once a strongly built man over 40 years old, likely around 5'9' in height.
Researchers are 'almost certain of the knightly status of the man buried here' thanks to the tombstone, the only of its kind found in Poland.
'This was likely a leader or someone who enjoyed special recognition and respect,' Sylwia Kurzynska from ArcheoScan Archaeological and Conservation Laboratory told broadcaster TVN, according to Notes from Poland.
The project started after the site of the former Mis ice cream parlor was sold to a developer. Before construction could begin, the developer was required to fund an archaeological excavation. The team from ArcheoScan uncovered the remains of a wooden church first, followed soon after by a medieval cemetery.
The limestone cracked in multiple places, so crews moved it to the Archaeological Museum in Gdansk for reconstruction and preservation.
Unfortunately, the coat of arms on the tombstone's shield has worn away, so researchers weren't immediately able to pinpoint who the knight served. The city reports that Gdansk was ruled by the Teutonic Knights in 1308, but the buried knight could also belong to a range of additional rulers, whether a Pomeranian Prince, the Sobieslaw dynasty, or a German house.
At least the mystery of the medieval knight of Gdansk has a sweet story.
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