Mass 16th century grave reveals grim remains of over 100 children with coins in their mouths

[Judi Lynn]

HISTORY
STUART DOWELL JUNE 25, 2020

The remains of over 100 children, some with coins in their mouths, have been discovered in south-east Poland confirming local legends of a children's graveyard.

A total of 115 bodies were uncovered by archaeologists after construction workers discovered human bones during work on the S19 road in Jeżowe near the town of Nisko in the Podkarpackie province.

Confirming the discovery, the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways said: “Based on archaeological observations to date, we can conclude that about 70-80 percent of all burials are children.”

When archaeologists looked more closely at the bodies they were amazed to find some of them had coins placed in their mouths.

Katarzyna Oleszek, an archaeologist working at the site, said: “It's certainly a sign of their beliefs. The coins are called obols of the dead or Charon’s obol. It is an old, pre-Christian tradition. But it's been cultivated for a long time, even as late as the nineteenth century, it was practiced by Pope Pius IX.”

More:
https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/mass-16th-century-grave-reveals-grim-remains-of-over-100-children-with-coins-in-their-mouths-13615