SAEDNEWS: A team of museum staff and volunteers gathered on the lawn of a historic building in Poland with a straightforward mission: conduct ground-penetrating radar scans and carry out a small test excavation. What they uncovered, however, turned out to be far more remarkable than anyone had anticipated.
According to Saednews, Archaeologists have uncovered a small 16th-century metal instrument—believed to be a compass or surveying device—in the garden of the former residence of the renowned astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus in Frombork, northern Poland.
According to Science in Poland, the discovery was made after a team led by staff from the Nicolaus Copernicus Museum conducted ground-penetrating radar surveys of the garden. The scans revealed several underground anomalies, prompting archaeologists to begin excavations.
Copernicus lived and worked at the residence for nearly 30 years during the 16th century. Historians have long suspected that he may have built an astronomical observation platform in the garden, although no physical evidence of such a structure has ever been found.
During the excavation, researchers uncovered the small bronze instrument, which resembles some modern compasses. Similar devices were commonly used in the 16th century for astronomy, geometry, and land surveying.
Museum expert Zorjana Polnik said the object's age and the location where it was found suggest it could have been associated with Copernicus himself. However, the research team emphasized that there is currently no definitive evidence to confirm that connection.
The find is considered particularly significant because artifacts of this type are extremely rare. According to Science in Poland, only two similar compasses have previously been discovered in Poland, including one unearthed in another garden in Frombork in 2016.
The excavation also revealed the entrance to a partially collapsed storage cellar and another unidentified group of ruins. The brick-built cellar appears to be relatively well preserved.
The Nicolaus Copernicus Museum hopes to add the newly discovered 400-year-old instrument to its permanent collection.
Nicolaus Copernicus is best known for developing the heliocentric model of the solar system, which placed the Sun—rather than the Earth—at the center. His revolutionary theory transformed astronomy by challenging the long-held belief that the Sun, Moon, and planets revolved around the Earth.
Frombork is a historic town on Poland's northern Baltic coast, approximately 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of Warsaw.
