Problems of Forensic Sciences 2019 Vol. 119 (CXIX) 211-224
EXAMINATIONS OF THE CONTENTS OF THE RELIQUARY OF SAINT LADISLAUS I, KING OF HUNGARY
Andrzej CZUBAK, Jolanta WĄS-GUBAŁA, Janina ZIĘBA-PALUS, Maciej ŚWIĘTEK
Institute of Forensic Research, Kraków, Poland
Streszczenie
Examinations of the contents of an old wooden reliquary found in a Jesuit church in Pułtusk are described. It was supposed that the reliquary contains the remains of the jaw bone of Saint Ladislaus I, a Hungarian king living in the XI century, which was donated in 1585 by the Polish queen, Anna Jagiellonka, to the Jesuit college in Pułtusk. The sample consisted of seven small fragments of bone(s), which were very old and heavily degraded, so genetic examinations were not possible. Physicochemical and anthropological analyses were performed. The results obtained did not confirm the hypothesis that the bones came from Saint Ladislaus` skull; however, they did not contradict it. The morphology of the bones pointed to the jaw of an adult man. Other bones from the reliquary were younger and belonged to several people of different ages and were parts of different skeletons.
Słowa kluczowe
Bones from reliquary; Anthropological examination; Physicochemical identification of materials.