Remarkably, the burial garments, shoes, a bishop’s miter, headgear embroidered with gold thread, and various small items have been perfectly preserved. One crypt housed a sarcophagus, while the other contained two coffins.
Traditionally, the Archbishops of Gniezno held the title of Primates of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland.
“These are the burial places of Archbishops Henryk Firlej, Andrzej Leszczyński, and Wacław Leszczyński. We also found a third crypt - the probable resting place of Primate Jan Przerębski,” said Monika Kamińska, the leading archaeologist.
To the archaeologists’ surprise, the contents were in excellent condition.
“We found a beautiful gold ring with the Wieniawa coat of arms, a cross – probably gold, and four gold pins with rock crystal heads. In the second grave, the person held a cross in his right hand, had a gold ring, and a cross on a chain,” said Kamińska.
The researcher highlighted that the fabrics in the coffins and on the bishops' remains were exceptionally well-preserved. This included gloves, shoes, and a miter adorned with gold thread.
Altogether, the archaeologists discovered four complete sets of vestments dating back several centuries. These will be sent for conservation and are likely to be displayed in the primates' crypts in Łowicz.
“We now have knowledge of how the bishops were prepared for burial, how they were dressed, and what fabrics were used for lining the coffins and making the garments. Knowing the burial date, we can finally assess how the bodies decomposed,” said Łukasz Majchrzak, a bio-archaeologist working in Łowicz.
The team is certain that finding untouched burial crypts that have remained unopened for centuries is a rare discovery. However, the work was extremely challenging, as the archaeologist had to crawl through a hole in the wall measuring only 40 by 50 cm to enter the burial chamber.
The rooms themselves are long, low, and narrow, with a significant portion occupied by coffins and a sarcophagus. Therefore, the researchers worked individually, on their knees, with no chance to turn around or straighten up. A special ventilation system pumped air for them to breathe, yet they worked in special sealed suits and masks to avoid infection from molds and bacteria inhabiting the crypt.
“The Łowicz Cathedral is called the Wawel of Mazovia. The discovery of the crypts of four primates is of great historical value, but for me, it is a discovery of the roots of faith. We are getting to know the Christian culture of our land,” said Bishop Wojciech Osial, the bishop of Łowicz.
Twelve primates of Poland from the 14th to the 18th centuries are buried in Łowicz. Work on examining the crypts of the collegiate church in Łowicz and building an underground tourist route has been ongoing since 2015.
During this time, traces of around 400 burials from the period when the original church was expanded to its current form have been discovered. Soon, the existing 100-meter-long route will be enriched with the latest discoveries. However, the artifacts from the primates’ graves will only be available for viewing after being secured by a conservator.
