A dog named Kajtuś has found Poland’s largest treasure trove in over a hundred years. The treasures were found by her during a walk with her owner near the city of Walbrzych (Wałbrzych is one of the most important centers of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, the regional center of the Walbrzych district, which was known under the German name Waldenburg before the Second World War). The treasure was buried in a clay pot, and a dog named Kaitus dug it up. Information about this appeared in the Polish media Arkeonews.
A group of scientists from the Archaeological Institute of the University of Wroclaw, led by Marek Kowalski, was sent to the place of the unusual find. Experts discovered that the find is a dilapidated clay pot, which contained medieval bracteates minted in the first half of the 13th century. The name of the coin comes from the Latin word bractea, which means thin sheet metal. The coins themselves are of the usual round shape and have one-sided embossing.
Scientists noted that few such artifacts survived, since usually during use they were changed two or three times a year: old coins were seized and sent for remelting according to new samples. Medieval coins depicted anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures – griffins, mermaids and angels, as well as architectural structures. Archaeologists believe that bracteates were minted in Brandenburg, Saxony and Silesia. According to scientists, this is the largest treasure that has been found in Poland in the last 100 years. After examining the coins, it was decided to continue excavations in this place.
This is not the first time that dogs have found a valuable historical treasure. For example, in 2018, a dog in the Czech Republic discovered the treasures of the Urnopol culture, which included 20 artifacts.