4,000-year-old burial site discovered during road construction in Poland, photos show

An ancient burial site filled with human and animal bones was recently unearthed in Poland, officials said.

The site was found during road construction in Srebrzyszcze, a village along the Poland-Ukraine border, according to a Feb. 15 news release from the Polish roadway authority.

The graves constituted a series of shallow, rectangular pits, one of which contained the skeletal remains of a child in a shrunken position, officials said.

The child was likely around 7 years old at the time of death — and their remains were preserved in good condition, officials said in a separate news release.

In a second pit, the remains of two sheep and eight cows were found piled alongside each other.

And in a third pit, the skeletons of at least a dozen wild pigs were found, officials said.

A cache of artifacts was also uncovered, including two ceramic containers, two flint axes, and an ornament fashioned from amber.

The complete funerary complex is believed to date to sometime between 2500 and 2000 B.C., making it at least 4,000 years old.

It’s not clear under what circumstances the remains were entombed, though the shape and contents of the site led archaeologists to associate it with Neolithic people.

Numerous artifacts and remains have been unearthed during construction projects in Poland, including a pair of ancient vessels that were recently discovered in Świdnica, according to previous reporting from McClatchy News.

Google Translate was used to translate a news release from the Polish General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways and a news release from the Lublin Provincial Conservator of Monuments.

This story was originally published February 16, 2024 at 2:40 PM with the headline "4,000-year-old burial site discovered during road construction in Poland, photos show."