On June 14th-15th, 2024, the latest edition of the European Days of Archaeology, coordinated by the National Institute of Heritage, took place at Westerplatte. As part of the sixth edition of the event, the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk prepared a series of free activities under the theme: ‘Archaeology of Westerplatte: From Research to Museum’.
Three areas currently under archaeological research were made available to participants:
- Trial archaeological excavations conducted as part of the search for the place where the defender of the Military Transit Depot (MTD), Legionnaire Mieczysław Krzak, died (the area of the ‘Fort" outpost – small arms shooting range of the MTD, excavation near the historic breakwater);
- Archaeological excavations at the site of the planned fire road construction as part of the Museum of Westerplatte and the War of 1939 (viewing of architectural relics);
- An archaeological excavation aimed at finding the position of the Polish 76.2 mm field gun.
On the first day, school groups participated in the activities on the Peninsula. Archaeologists presented and explained the specifics of the research teams' work at the excavation sites. Students listened to stories related to the investigated locations and viewed artifacts recovered during the excavations. They also learned about the methods used in the conservation and preservation of artifacts. Additionally, archaeological lessons were organized in the office-social base of the Power Plant.
