A group of amateur metal detectorists based in the central Polish city of Kalisz has uncovered a trove of ancient riches during a summer-long search across the Polish countryside, including a clay pot packed with coins and artifacts and a gold necklace weighing about 222 grams. The discoveries came as the group, Denar Kalisz, expanded its hunt from modern-era targets to the distant past. Their leader and organization president, Przemysław Kurowiak, said the finds were not planned but rather emerged during their routine explorations, and that the group treats history as a hobby rather than a job.
The first major find occurred on June 7 when a group member, Hubert Piasecki, unearthed a clay pot described as filled with coins, ornaments and silver ingots from the early Middle Ages, totaling 631 artifacts. The items included cross denarii and foreign coins from England (including issues associated with King Harold I), as well as German, Hungarian and Czech coins among others. A few weeks later, on June 28, another member, Michał Makuch, found a second pot believed to contain silver coins, according to CT scans conducted on the vessel. In a later discovery, the team came upon an extraordinary find: a gold necklace weighing 222 grams of pure gold, dating to the Roman influence period and estimated to be as old as 1,800 years. The broader finds surfaced as the group continued its summer dig, with the new treasure described as an archaeological sensation in Poland.
The discoveries were made during a collaboration between the detectorists and professional archaeologists. Kurowiak said the group cooperates with experts during excavations, and all artifacts are handed over to Poland’s Conservator of Monuments and, ultimately, to the Museum of the Kalisz Region. He noted the finds have attracted an international following, including American observers and fans who follow the group’s work online. The group’s members emphasize that their work is about uncovering history and preserving it for future study, not merely trophy hunting.
The Denar Kalisz discoveries come amid a broader wave of archaeology-related finds across Poland. In Gdańsk, archaeologists recently uncovered an elite knight’s burial beneath a former ice cream parlor, and in Krakow, excavators at Wawel Royal Castle reported the discovery of a remarkable ring from centuries past. Polish archaeologists and museums say such finds help illuminate complex trade routes and cultural exchanges that shaped the region over many centuries, even as hobbyist detectorists continue to push the boundaries of what is found in the ground.
The group’s members describe their work as a way to connect with history and share discoveries with the public and researchers. Beyond personal interest, Kurowiak said the team’s discoveries reinforce public interest in archaeology and help expand knowledge about early medieval and Roman-influenced periods in central Europe, with the artifacts already set to be studied further by scholars and preserved for posterity. The blend of hobbyist enthusiasm and professional safeguarding underlines a growing trend in cultural heritage work across Poland, where citizen scientists often play a supporting role in uncovering artifacts that might otherwise remain buried for decades or longer.
In the longer term, authorities say such finds can contribute to our understanding of regional economies, migration patterns and cross-cultural contact across medieval Europe. As the artifacts are cataloged and preserved, researchers will analyze the composition and provenance of the coins to map trade networks and monetary systems of the era. For Denar Kalisz, the experience marks a transformation from rocket-hunting to treasure-hunting, but with the same underlying aim: to uncover and share history that might otherwise vanish beneath the earth.
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