Treasures of Polish architecture from the 17th century excavated from the bottom of the Vistula River.

During the Swedish Deluge, invaders from Scandinavia plundered everything they could in our country. They floated all the loot down the Vistula to the sea, using barges, which were the daily means of river transport. Some of them, as a result of overloading, ended up at the bottom of the river with the entire load. Today, after almost 350 years, scientists from the University of Warsaw have managed to excavate 5 tonnes of looted Polish cultural heritage.

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The excavated objects are the fruit of arduous three-year work under the Wisła 1655-1906-2009 project, supervised by Dr. Hubert Kowalski of the Institute of Archaeology, Warsaw University, Dr. Justyna Jasiewicz of the Institute of Scientific Information and Biological Studies, Warsaw University, and Marcin Jamkowski, an explorer and well-known journalist, author of the book Duchy z głębin Bałtyku [Ghosts from the Baltic Sea Depths]”. These two scientists and the journalist decided to find out how much truth there is in the stories circulating about the sunken treasures from the end of the 17th century.

However, they were not the first. Already in 1906, a group of Warsaw sandblasters were lucky enough to fish out some of the sunken artefacts, as reported in the newspapers of the time. Interestingly, one of the sculptures found at that time came from the Kazimierzowski Palace, the current seat of Warsaw University authorities.

The strangest thing about the story from the early 20th century, was the fact that despite the sandmen’s assurances that the fished out treasures were only a part, of those on the bottom, no further attempts were made to find the looted goods. In their story they also mentioned a magnificent marble eagle sculpture that was so heavy that it broke the ropes and disappeared back into the depths.

Once a suitable site on the river had been selected, the analysis and measurement of the bottom with modern equipment began. In this way a map was created, on the basis of which elements whose origin was questionable and required additional visual inspection were selected.

Unfortunately, one flood wave after another prevented a more thorough analysis, covering everything with a thick layer of sediment every now and then. This situation also had its advantages. When the water level remained high for a longer period of time, it was possible to establish that the objects selected for examination, despite the action of large masses of water, did not change their position.

The next stage of the works required the participation of divers. Thanks to the works carried out, it was possible to bring to the surface the monuments, in the form of a collection of marble elements of sculptural and architectural decoration.

Source: uw.edu.pl
Photo: Marzena Hmielewicz, Marcin Jamkowski