Bronze Age urn burial found in north-east Poland

Archaeologists have discovered traces of so-called Bell Beaker culture in the Podlaskie region dating back several thousand years.

Cinerary urn unearthed by archaeologists at Supraśl 
[Credit: PAP/Artur Reszko]

"It's quite a sensational discovery," Dariusz Manasterski, of the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw, said. It had previously been thought that the culture reached no further than what is now southern Poland.

Excavations were carried out over a week at an archaeological site in Supraśl, near Białystok in north-east Poland. Fragments of pottery, human bones and stone tools, for example a hatchet, have been found.

The dig at Supraśl uncovered some interesting fragments. Here we see an axe,
 a dagger and parts of dishes [Credit: PAP/Artur Reszko]

The dig is being led by archaeologists from the University of Warsaw and the Museum of Podlasie in Białystok.

The emergence of the Bell Beaker culture is dated to about 4-5,000 years ago. It evolved in Western Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, and its name is associated with characteristic dishes in the shape of an inverted bell.

Source: Radio Poland [August 14, 2013]