Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IAE PAN) have discovered a rare early medieval boat burial during excavations at Chodlik in eastern Poland.
Chodlik is an important early medieval archaeological landscape in the Lublin region, where ongoing investigations are revealing new evidence of funerary practices associated with Slavic communities.
According to the archaeologists, boat burials from this period are extremely rare among the Slavs, with most known examples concentrated around the Baltic region, particularly in Western Pomerania.
A comparable discovery has also been reported from Myszęcin, highlighting the unusual nature of the burial uncovered at Chodlik.
The researchers are currently undertaking a comprehensive programme of analysis to determine the chronology, construction and archaeological context of the burial.
Sediment from the entire feature is being collected for flotation and the recovery of macroscopic remains. This process can identify small botanical material, charcoal and other archaeological evidence that may provide information about the burial environment and associated activities.
The excavation is also being extensively documented using digital recording techniques. Archaeologists are producing planimetric documentation and several dozen three-dimensional models to record individual layers, archaeological features and finds throughout the excavation process.
Following completion of the digital documentation, the team plans to create a detailed 3D reconstruction of the burial.
Additional studies will include anthropological and archaeological analyses, alongside dendrological examination and radiocarbon dating.
The results could provide a more precise date for the burial and help researchers reconstruct the sequence of events surrounding its construction and use.
Boat burials are a funerary tradition in which the deceased was interred within, or in direct association with, a boat. While the practice is widely documented across parts of Scandinavia and the Baltic, examples associated with early medieval Slavic communities are considerably less common.
Researchers have stressed that investigations are still ongoing and that a detailed interpretation of the Chodlik burial will follow once the scientific analyses and digital reconstruction have been completed.
Excavations at Chodlik are being conducted by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, with support from donors and the Karczmiska municipality, which provides the building used as the project’s archaeological research station.
Sources : Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
