The original settlement of Gdańsk appears to have been around the area to the north of the current ‘Old Town’ close to the Covered Market Hall (Hala Targowa) and the Dominican Church of St. Nicholas. Archaeologists had long suspected that the area would hold some clues as to earlier settlement of the area and were particularly keen to see if they could find evidence of the first Dominican church. Having come up with a blank in previous digs they finally hit gold in the area between the Covered Market Hall and the current church in 2005 when they discovered the foundations of the original church as well as vaults which were still in remarkably good condition. After years of work it is now possible to venture down into the vault which it is believed was used by monks at meal times while a fellow brother read passages of the Bible to them. Of particular note is an ossuarium, a vault containing hundreds of bones from graves which had been cleared at some point in the past to permit expansion of the church. Also keep an eye out for the ancient brick in the vault with a cross carved into it. Ask the friendly lady on duty to put the English soundtrack on for you as you take the 20-30 minutes necessary to look at the vault and some of the relics discovered there. Tours take place every 30 minutes in groups of up to 10 people.
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