Plant worker Paweł Gontarczyk, operating a wheel loader, spotted human bones and pieces of military footwear just below the soil surface, immediately halted work, and called law enforcement.
Under the order of the Gorzów Wielkopolski district prosecutor's office, urgent archaeological research and exhumation measures promptly began at the site. Specialists excavated the shallow mass grave.
As archaeologists stated, this mass burial site had not previously appeared in any accessible historical archives or military documents of the time.
In a thorough clearing of the site, researchers found valuable artifacts, including military identification tags that will help them identify at least one of the deceased. In addition, an item with the clearly engraved German name "Dechrist" was found among personal belongings, which will also significantly help identify the other people buried there.
According to preliminary expert estimates, the burial dates back to the final months of World War II, when the front line passed through this region during a massive Soviet offensive deep into German territory.
The leadership of the archaeological team expressed official gratitude to the district prosecutor's office for their assistance and praised the conscientiousness of the quarry worker, whose actions saved the historical site from complete destruction by heavy machinery and allowed it to be properly investigated. The recovered remains and artifacts were sent for detailed examination to establish the exact circumstances of the soldiers' deaths.