Construction workers believe to have found relics and bodies of soldiers connected with the battle of Żyrzyn in 1863 while conducting construction works of the new S17 road near the Żerdź village near Warsaw, central Poland.
The relics of the battle have been unearthed while moving a monument of the 1963 battle that was colliding with the new express way between Warsaw and Lublin. The battle was a part of the January Uprising – an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire. According to historians, Polish freedom fighters ambushed a Russian convoy killing 181 Russian Imperial soldiers (losing only 10) and confiscating around 140000 Russian rubles. Those who died were buried at the site.
Archaeologists were called to the site to conduct research. At this point it is not yet fully certain whether the discovered corpses are directly linked to the battle but it is highly possible. Experts note that the monument was moved several times over centuries, so only a part of the finds might be connected with the battle site. Among the finds are skeletons of people and horses, but also bullets, weapons, and buttons, which indicate the connection with the 19th century battle.
(after Puławy24, Krzysztof Nalewajko, & Dziennik Wschodni)