Nearly 400 objects, including jewellery, gold ornaments, silverware, watches, Judaica and foreign currency, have been discovered during construction work in Włocławek, Poland.
A remarkable collection of almost 400 historical objects has been uncovered at a construction site in the Polish city of Włocławek, offering archaeologists a new glimpse into the lives of residents around a century ago.
The hoard, containing gold and silver objects as well as dollars and roubles, was discovered during building work near the intersection of Tumska and 3 Maja streets.
Although the discovery was made in April 2026, details were not publicly disclosed until 21 September while officials dealt with legal requirements and arranged professional conservation of the finds.
Among the objects recovered are jewellery, gold ornaments, cutlery, watches, fragments of silver candlesticks and Judaica associated with the city’s Jewish community. Archaeologists estimate that the collection comprises nearly 400 individual pieces.
The artefacts have yet to undergo full professional conservation, meaning researchers expect to learn considerably more about their origins, age and former owners as work progresses.
Dr Jadwiga Lewandowska, who is leading the archaeological research, said the scale of the discovery had taken the excavation team by surprise.
“This discovery really surprised us,” Lewandowska said. She described the work to recover the artefacts as an intensive collective effort, with researchers attempting to reconstruct the history of Włocławek’s inhabitants from about 100 years ago.
She said the discoveries were revealing an exceptionally rich and multicultural period in the city’s past and that the wider archaeological investigation was presenting Włocławek’s history in a new light.
Medieval remains also uncovered
The treasure is not the only significant discovery to emerge from excavations in the area.
Archaeologists have also uncovered structural remains, wooden wells and pottery during the work. Research into preserved timber has produced dates associated with the city’s second foundation following 1339, potentially providing evidence about Włocławek’s development during the medieval period.
Lewandowska said the extensive excavation had demonstrated how unpredictable urban archaeology can be, with researchers initially having little indication of what might survive beneath the modern city.
The newly revealed treasure appears to belong to a much later chapter of Włocławek’s history, however, with researchers linking the collection to inhabitants of the city roughly a century ago.
Treasure could eventually return to Włocławek
Officials delayed announcing the discovery for several months while addressing legal and administrative matters surrounding the find and selecting specialists capable of conserving the large and varied collection.
Lewandowska said she hoped that, once conservation work was completed, the treasure would return to Włocławek for local residents to see. She also expressed hope that the archaeological research would eventually be published.
Under current regulations, the recovered objects belong to Poland’s State Treasury.
Professional conservation and further study will now be required before archaeologists can establish a more complete picture of the collection, including precisely when it was assembled, why it was concealed and who may have owned it.
Together with the medieval structures discovered during the excavation, the treasure provides researchers with evidence spanning very different periods of Włocławek’s history — from its medieval development to the multicultural urban community that inhabited the city centuries later.
Sources : Wloclawek Naszemiasto
