Archaeologists have discovered two Ancient Egyptian bronze figurines depicting Osiris during excavations in the village of Kluczkowice in Opole Lubelskie County, Poland.
The figurines were found as part of a deposit believed to be from a collection owned by the Kleniewski family, who lived in the Palace of Kluczkowice until the German invasion of Poland during WW2 1. The deposit also contained a third figurine depicting a bust of Bacchus, the Roman equivalent of Dionysus.
The Osiris figurines have been dated to the 1st millennium BC, while the bust of Bacchus has been dated to the 1st century AD and was likely part of a tripod, similar to an example found during the 18th century near Mount Vesuvius in Italy. The discovery is significant because it provides new insights into ancient trade routes and cultural exchange between Egypt and Europe.
According to diaries written by Maria Kleniewska, who lived in the Palace of Kluczkowice, she visited Egypt in 1904 and spent four months in Cairo and visiting Alexandria. It is believed that she acquired these figurines during her travels and brought them back to Poland. What happened to Maria after the war is unknown, her husband died in WW1, whilst her son who inherited the estate was killed in WW2. The researchers suggest that the family may have hidden the artefacts to safeguard them from the German SS in 1942, or just after the war when the palace furnishings and collections were looted and scattered.
Upon discovering the figurines, the Lubelskie Voivodship Conservator of Monuments (LWKZ) said: “The find is so unusual in our area and raised doubts about the authenticity”. The artefacts were sent to the Voivodeship Office for the Protection of Monuments in Lublin for verification, which determined that the two figurines depicted Osiris, the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion.
Working in cooperation with the National Museum in Lublin and the Department of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw, archaeologists are studying these artefacts further. After further study, they will be transferred to be part of collections at National Museum in Lublin.