Researchers say that the faces of fighters from the 1410 Battle of Grunwald could be reconstructed in just one year with the help of modern genetic and forensic techniques.
The scientists from Pomeranian Medical University are analysing skeletal fragments from around 200 people thought to have taken part in one of medieval Europe’s largest battles.
Team leader Professor Andrzej Ossowski from the university’s Department of Genomics and Forensic Genetics, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP): “This is extremely interesting for us. Despite the fact that over 600 years have passed and the poor condition of the remains, modern technologies allow us to learn a great deal about the participants in the battle, including their origins and appearance.”
From tens of thousands of bone fragments, the team has selected three skulls believed to belong to adult men who may have fought in the battle on July 15, 1410, based on injuries and other skeletal changes.
“The teeth from that time show the moment when the population increased its sugar consumption. The older the population, the fewer carious lesions. But you can also see that the teeth are worn, because at that time, flour contaminated with sand was used to prepare meals. Grains were ground with stone millstones, hence the presence of sand,” Ossowski said.
Histopathologists have also identified tuberculosis-related changes in the bones during microbiological examinations.
The main goal is to reconstruct the knights’ faces. “These will not be artistic visions, but faithful reconstructions, based on biological data, reproducing the actual appearance. Our genetic research is well advanced. Our analyses are being conducted in various directions. For example, phenotypic analysis will indicate the eye and hair colour of the battle participants. Professor Ewelina Pośpiech's team is working on this,” Ossowski said.
The research may also reveal the fighters’ biogeographical origins. “We are working to determine the knightly family from which these remains originated. This is achieved through mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome analysis,” he said.
But he added that the work is time-consuming and costly. “We do not currently have separate funding for this project. All research on the remains from Grunwald is being conducted alongside our other tasks. We are still trying to secure funding for the Grunwald research. If successful, we would be able to see the reconstructed faces of the participants in the 1410 battle within one to one and a half years,” he said.
Facial reconstructions are being created using computed tomography and 3D modeling. “We scan the skulls in 3D, creating a model and applying successive layers of ‘tissues’ to the computer model. The reconstructions are very close to the actual appearance because we add a genetic component. No one in the world is conducting research like this,” he said.
The remains were excavated in the 1960s and 1980s from the chapel where fallen knights were buried. In 2021, the material was transferred to the Pomeranian Medical University team by the Museum of Warmia and Mazury and the Museum of the Battle of Grunwald.
The project is part of a broader effort by Pomeranian Medical University to combine modern science with the study of Polish history.
Agnieszka Libudzka (PAP)
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