Archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków have uncovered a forgotten First World War cemetery in the village of Szczawne, southeastern Poland, revealing the remains of around 50 soldiers who died during fighting in the Carpathian campaign of 1914–1915.
The burial ground, located in the Subcarpathian (Podkarpackie) region, contains more than 20 graves holding soldiers from the Austro-Hungarian, Russian and German armies. Until recently, the cemetery’s existence had been lost to history.
“Only a few years ago, we had no knowledge of this cemetery,” said Dr Marcin Czarnowicz of the Institute of Archaeology at the Jagiellonian University, who leads the excavation.
The breakthrough came after volunteer researcher Grzegorz Gąska uncovered the original plans for the cemetery while examining records in the Lviv Oblast Archives as part of the War Graves and Cemeteries in the Country project, funded by Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Using the archival documentation, researchers carried out LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) surveys around the site of a former Orthodox church that was destroyed by fire. The scans revealed a series of subsurface anomalies that matched the layout of the historic burial ground.
Subsequent excavations confirmed the presence of more than 20 burial pits containing the remains of approximately 50 soldiers. Artefacts recovered from the graves indicate that the cemetery was used to bury casualties from multiple armies involved in the fighting.
Among the most unexpected discoveries was evidence of German troops. Historians had previously believed that the German Beskid Corps operated primarily in what is now Slovakia. However, archival records combined with the latest archaeological evidence show that heavy fighting also took place around Szczawne and nearby Rzepedź on 9 and 10 May 1915.
According to Dr Czarnowicz, more than 100 soldiers from the Königlich Preussisches Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 9 were killed during the fighting. The regiment included men from towns such as Kołobrzeg, Stargard, Koszalin and Świdwin.
Several burials also displayed clear evidence of medical treatment and surgical intervention before death. Researchers believe this could represent the first physical evidence that military cemeteries established along the strategic railway linking Przemyśl and Lviv with Budapest via the Łupków Tunnel were also used to bury soldiers who died while being evacuated to hospitals deeper within the Habsburg Empire.
Excavations produced a range of military artefacts, including fragments of an Austro-Hungarian officer’s uniform and elements of German military headgear. Following conservation, the objects will be displayed in the Memorial Room operated by the Komańcza Community Cultural Centre in partnership with the Institute of Archaeology at the Jagiellonian University.
The project also resolved a long-standing local mystery. For many years, forester and regional historian Edward Orłowski had maintained that a wartime cemetery existed in the area. Researchers now believe the location he identified was an earlier temporary burial site established immediately after the 1915 fighting within the parish cemetery, rather than the formal military cemetery later created by the Austro-Hungarian burial service.
Alongside the cemetery, archaeologists uncovered the foundations of an earlier Orthodox church, believed to have been consecrated around 1875. Burnt deposits preserved in the soil indicate that the building was destroyed by fire.
At the same time, the investigation was ongoing at a nearby battlefield, where archaeologists found personal belongings of the soldiers including spoons and exposed the preserved floor of a trench containing 111-year-old straw. Researchers have been able to reconstruct the routes taken by opposing forces during the First Carpathian Offensive in January 1915.
Now discussions are being carried out with the Podkarpackie regional authorities to preserve the cemetery. There will be crosses and plaques put on the graves and further archival studies will be carried out to trace the soldiers buried at the site. A memorial service will be held later this year by a local Orthodox priest.he site. A memorial service led by a local Orthodox priest is also expected to take place later this year.
The excavation was carried out by the Jagiellonian University in collaboration with the Komańcza municipality, the GAJA Workshop, and volunteers from the Guardians of Bieszczady History Foundation and the South Search Group.
Sources : PAP
