The prince’s grave from Szczytna

The prince was buried in a so-called niche grave, the construction of which is based on two principal elements: a rectangular entrance pit (dimensions: 220 × 160 cm) and a niche hollowed out in one of its sides (near the bottom), which served as the burial chamber (maximum dimensions: 330 × 270 cm). The niche was located to the north-west of the entrance pit. Between the entrance pit and the niche there was a corridor, 40–50 cm long, leading into the niche through a threshold approximately 25 cm high. The entrance pit was deliberately filled with a layer of loess, whereas the burial chamber underwent sudden destruction due to the collapse of its ceiling.

At the bottom of the niche, at a depth of 250 cm from the ceiling level, there was a poorly preserved skeleton of a young man (Adultus: 20–30 years old). His body had been placed on its right side, with the legs strongly crouched; the left arm was bent at the elbow at a right angle, while the right arm was also bent and turned toward the face. Several vessels were arranged near the feet of the deceased – an amphora and beakers of various sizes, the largest of which was placed upside down. Behind the back of the deceased, numerous grave goods were recorded, including flint knives, flakes, copper punches, a flint axe, and heart-shaped arrowheads. Snail shells (of the Roman snail), a flat stone whetstone, a bone chisel, and cattle bones were also found. In the area of the head and neck, there was a copper necklace and three copper rings (temple rings?). Near the arm bones, a copper axe ( a unique object on the scale of Central Europe) was discovered.