Wooden spades from a 18th-century latrine

Archaeological investigation of a 18th-century latrine located by a former fencing school led to discovery of two wooden spades used for practice.

The wooden spade (by TVN24)
The wooden spade (by TVN24)

Wooden weapons probably came from Gdańsk Fencing School, which existed since 16th century near the Zbytki and Za Murami streets. The state of preservation of the weapons is good, possibly due to the anaerobic atmosphere of the latrine, in which they spent last 300 years. Such objects are considered to be unique, as they were made of impermanent material and were produced in small quantities, in comparison to real weapons.

Wooden spades found in the latrine (by TVN24)
Wooden spades found in the latrine (by TVN24)

Both spades have already underwent conservation works, which included drying the soaked wood. The artefacts will probably be put on display in the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk in near future.

(after TVN24 & Dziennik Bałtycki)

2 Comments


    1. // Reply

      Our pleasure, Keith. Thanks for sharing.
      All the best.

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