Skull found beneath ice cream shop: archaeologists baffled by its origin
In a story primed for enthusiastic pun writers, an important discovery has proved some scoop.
It’s fair to say that I didn’t expect to be thinking about knights while reading about an ice cream parlor, but here we are.
What started as routine archaeological prep work under a former ice cream shop in Gdańsk, Poland, has turned into one of the city’s most intriguing historical discoveries, local news revealed. Beneath the site of the beloved Mis parlor – which served scoops for over 60 years – archaeologists stumbled on a carved tombstone, and just beneath it, a full medieval skeleton arranged inside 23 carefully placed stones. You could say they were ‘just chilling’.
What’s known about the ice-cream knight?
The tombstone, likely from the late 13th or early 14th century, they say, featured a knight in chain mail, sword drawn, etched into expensive Gotland limestone. It screamed status. And it turns out, the man buried beneath it likely had plenty.
The remains of a man believed to have been a medieval knight have been discovered in Gdańsk during excavations at the location of a former ice cream store.
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 14, 2025
The man had an estimated height of 180cm (5'11"), exceptionally tall by the standards of the time https://t.co/ut2pMcoDaE
According to the researchers, he stood around 5’9”, was strongly built, and over 40 years old when he died. The placement of the tomb and the ornate stone point to someone “enjoying special recognition and respect.” Likely a knight, is the assessment, though no one knows who he fought for. The coat of arms on the shield has worn away, meaning the full evidence is somewhat flakey.
How did a medieval knight end up under an ice cream shop?
That’s the question still bugging the team. The area turned out to be the site of Gdańsk’s oldest wooden church, dating to 1140, surrounded by more than 200 graves. But this potential knight’s burial – unique in Poland – suggests something or someone special. Developers had to fund the dig before construction began, a legal formality that’s now rewritten the city’s medieval map.
So, while doubts remain, the value of the ongoing archaeological work is unquestionable. Our history, frozen in time.
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