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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Wild boars dug up 21 mortar shells from World War Two that had been buried in a Polish forest. The unexploded ordnance has now been safely removed without harm to either the animals or humans.
Police in the town of Słupsk on Poland’s northern Baltic coast announced on Monday that the historical ammunition had been discovered in the nearby village of Bięcino by forest rangers.
Upon visiting the site, officers quickly determined that the shells had been unearthed by wild boars. Police pyrotechnicians then confirmed that the ordnance dated back to World War Two, making them at least 80 years old.
Military sappers were called in and, after arriving a few hours later, safely secured the shells. No further information has been released by the authorities regarding the type of ammunition discovered or its origin.
Unexploded artillery shells from WWII were discovered buried at a primary school in Poland during construction work.
Army sappers were called in and safety removed a total of 72 shells https://t.co/5Efs3MXPKs
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 15, 2023
The discovery of munitions, weapons and other material from World War Two is common in Poland, which saw intense fighting after being invaded and occupied by both Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939, beginning almost six years of war.
In July 2023, workers carrying out renovation at a primary school in central Poland discovered dozens of unexploded artillery shells from the war.
The following month, nearly 14,000 people were advised to leave their homes in the city of Lublin while army sappers removed a 250kg aerial bomb discovered during construction work.
Following the latest discovery, the Słupsk police reminded the public that they should immediately report the discovery of suspicious objects. In another incident in 2023, an 11-year-old girl was hospitalised after her brother accidentally shot her with a World War Two rifle he had found in a forest.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: KMP w Słupsku and Jakub Hałun/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY 4.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
