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Astronomer Copernicus believed excavated in Polish cathedral

ramonmercado

ramonmercado

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Astronomer Copernicus believed excavated in Polish cathedral



Human remains excavated in a cathedral in northern Poland are very likely those of the Renaissance astronomer Nicolas Copernicus, archaeologists working in the cathedral said.

The remains of a 70-year-old man were dug up near the altar of the cathedral in Frombork where Copernicus held the office of canon.

A police laboratory in Warsaw used the skull to make a virtual reconstruction of the man's face which resembled portraits of Copernicus, a key figure in the scientific revolution of the 17th century with his heliocentric theory of the solar system.

Archaeologists said a scar on Copernicus' head visible in a portrait corresponded to a mark near the eyebrow on the skull.

"It is very likely that it is the skull of Nicolas Copernicus," said Jerzy Gassowski of the Institute of Anthropology and Archaeology in the central Polish town of Pulutsk, who is directing excavations in the cathedral.

"Our starting theory, according to which canons were buried at the time near the altar of their church, has been confirmed," Gassowski said on Polish television.

Copernicus, who lived from 1473 to 1543, developed the heliocentric theory which took account of the orbit of planets round the sun.

His best known work, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, was published a few days before his death and in 1616 was condemned by Pope Paul V as being contrary to the Biblical Scriptures.


http://www.physorg.com/news7869.html
Click to expand...
 
Buriel site of Copernicus found

Polish archeologists have discovered what they claim to be the final resting place of astronomer Copernicus. It is apparently in a church in the town of Frombork. They are 97% sure that they are correct and have even produced an image of what they believed he looked like at the age of 70.

The article is in Polish but obviously you need to see the source.
http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1,53600,2998283.html

Here are a series of photos showing the reconstruction of the face. Click on the number in the top left hand corner to go through the pictures or click on 'następne' in the top right corner.
http://serwisy.gazeta.pl/fotografie/5,35076,2999168.html

A little bit pointless but here is the text from the story anyway. I'll try and find an English version somewhere.
Naukowcy przekonani, że odkryli grób Kopernika

Frombork, 03.11.2005 Rekonstrukcja prawdopodobnego-przyżyciowego wyglądu na podstawie czaszki
Rekonstruował: Nadkom.mgr Dariusz Zajdel Zespol Badan Antroposkopijnych Centralnego Laboratorium Kryminalistycznego Komendy Głównej Policji Wszelkie prawa zastrzeżone



Poszukiwania grobu Mikołaja Kopernika we Fromborku
Fot. Przemysław Skrzydło / AG

Maciej Sandecki, Gdańsk 03-11-2005, ostatnia aktualizacja 04-11-2005 09:38

Sensacja archeologiczna! Naukowcy odnaleźli szczątki Mikołaja Kopernika i zrekonstruowali jego 70-letnią twarz. - Jesteśmy przekonani na 97 proc., że to kości astronoma - mówią


To najbardziej spektakularne odkrycie archeologiczne ostatnich lat w Polsce. - Kiedy ponad rok temu biskup warmiński Jacek Jezierski zwrócił się o odnalezienie grobu Mikołaja Kopernika, wydawało mi się, że to niewykonalne. Odmówiłem - przyznaje prof. Jerzy Gąssowski, szef wydziału antropologii Wyższej Szkoły Humanistycznej w Pułtusku i grupy naukowców poszukujących grobu. - Ale ksiądz biskup ciągle namawiał i uległem.

Kopernik urodził się w 1473 r., a zmarł w 1543 r. Grobu słynnego astronoma poszukiwali już Niemcy w latach 30., aby uświetnić odkryciem obchody 400-lecia jego śmierci. Potem robili to polscy naukowcy - na 500. rocznicę urodzin. Bez efektu. Ponowne poszukiwania rozpoczęto rok temu. Archeolodzy wiedzieli, że grób Kopernika mieści się gdzieś w katedrze we Fromborku, prawdopodobnie pod ołtarzem św. Krzyża, był tam ołtarz kanonika Kopernika. Kanoników zwyczajowo chowano pod ołtarzami, którymi się opiekowali. Posadzkę katedry prześwietlono georadarem, dzięki czemu uzyskano obraz wszystkich grobów. Pochodziły z różnych wieków, a kości były ze sobą wymieszane.

Skąd więc wiadomo, że odnaleziono szczątki Kopernika?

• Bo należą one do mężczyzny zmarłego w podobnym czasie co Kopernik.

• Bo Kopernik żył 70 lat, co jak na jego czasy było rzadkością, a zachowane kości należały do człowieka właśnie w takim wieku. Pod ołtarzem św. Krzyża archeolodzy znaleźli jeszcze tylko drugie szczątki człowieka w podobnym wieku, ale należały do Andrzeja Gąsiorowskiego, o czym głosiła nagrobna płyta.

• Trzecia wskazówka - czaszka, a szczególnie nos są zdeformowane. - Z zachowanych portretów Kopernika można wyczytać, że miał złamany nos i lekko zdeformowaną lewą stronę twarzy - mówi prof. Karol Piasecki, antropolog prowadzący ostatni etap poszukiwań. - Możemy nawet stwierdzić, że Kopernik między siódmy a dwunastym rokiem życia uległ jakiemuś wypadkowi.

W ostatnich miesiącach odnalezioną czaszką zajmowali się specjaliści z Centralnego Laboratorium Kryminalistycznego Komendy Głównej Policji w Warszawie, którzy na jej podstawie zrekonstruowali twarz starego już Kopernika.

Naukowcy cały czas podkreślają, że nie ma 100-proc. pewności, że szczątki należą do astronoma. Pewność może dać odnalezienie grobu wuja Kopernika, Łukasza Watzenrode, biskupa warmińskiego. Wtedy dałoby się porównać DNA obu zmarłych. - Jeśli będziemy mieli taką pewność, to zorganizujemy Mikołajowi Kopernikowi w katedrze fromborskiej drugi pogrzeb, a grób upamiętnimy stosowną płytą - mówi biskup pomocniczy diecezji warmińskiej Jacek Jezierski.
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Excellent, you've found an English language version. My Polish is a bit ropey at the best of times so it confirms pretty much what I thought it said.
 
And as seen if you had followed the links in the OP but also worth posting, this is what the great man may have looked like:

copernicus.jpg


BBC article
 
Hmmm. He looks like an aged (or to be PC, chronologically enhanced) Christopher Eccleston. Chris for the part in any movie I sez.
 
you're right. Cromwell has the jong face for it. He appeared in a couple of STNG/DS9 episoded as aliens. helps when you have an odd head!
 
The latest, looks promising.

Analysis Of Copernicus Putative Remains Support Identity
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 093631.htm

This Copernicus book in Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University, contained some hairs that were DNA analyzed. (Credit: Marie Allen)

ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2009) — Swedish and polish researchers now publish results from the analysis of the putative remains of Copernicus. A DNA-analysis of shed hairs found in a book from Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University, was one interesting piece in the project.

The efforts to identify the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), found under the cathedral in Frombork, was made in a collaborative project between Swedish and Polish scientists in a team consisting of archaeologists, anthropologists and geneticists. The results is published this week in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

At Uppsala University a DNA analysis was performed of shed hairs found in a book owned by Copernicus for decades, and now kept in Museum Gustavianum at Uppsala University.

"The analysis of several hairs resulted in interpretable profiles for four of the hairs. Of these, two of the hairs have the same profile as the putative remains of Copernicus", says Marie Allen, researcher at Uppsala University.

The Uppsala researchers also made tests of a tooth as well as bone tissue from the putative remains of Copernicus. Results from the analysis of the remains from the Institute of Forensic Research in Krakow and the Museum and institute of zoology in Warsaw and the Uppsala laboratory were identical.

"Although these results points towards the materials being from the same individual, there is a probability of random match", says Marie Allen.

The DNA material in this case was limited and also degraded. Therefore, a so called mitochondrial DNA test was performed, which yields a relatively low evidentiary value. This test is commonly used in criminal investigations, but as circumstantial evidence to strengthen the case.

"The DNA results should be looked at and evaluated in the light of, and together with the information from other disciplines as the archaeological, anthropological and facial reconstruction data", says Marie Allen.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adapted from materials provided by Uppsala University.
Click to expand...
 
The latest, looks promising.

Analysis Of Copernicus Putative Remains Support Identity
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 093631.htm

This Copernicus book in Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University, contained some hairs that were DNA analyzed. (Credit: Marie Allen)

ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2009) — Swedish and polish researchers now publish results from the analysis of the putative remains of Copernicus. A DNA-analysis of shed hairs found in a book from Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University, was one interesting piece in the project.

The efforts to identify the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), found under the cathedral in Frombork, was made in a collaborative project between Swedish and Polish scientists in a team consisting of archaeologists, anthropologists and geneticists. The results is published this week in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

At Uppsala University a DNA analysis was performed of shed hairs found in a book owned by Copernicus for decades, and now kept in Museum Gustavianum at Uppsala University.

"The analysis of several hairs resulted in interpretable profiles for four of the hairs. Of these, two of the hairs have the same profile as the putative remains of Copernicus", says Marie Allen, researcher at Uppsala University.

The Uppsala researchers also made tests of a tooth as well as bone tissue from the putative remains of Copernicus. Results from the analysis of the remains from the Institute of Forensic Research in Krakow and the Museum and institute of zoology in Warsaw and the Uppsala laboratory were identical.

"Although these results points towards the materials being from the same individual, there is a probability of random match", says Marie Allen.

The DNA material in this case was limited and also degraded. Therefore, a so called mitochondrial DNA test was performed, which yields a relatively low evidentiary value. This test is commonly used in criminal investigations, but as circumstantial evidence to strengthen the case.

"The DNA results should be looked at and evaluated in the light of, and together with the information from other disciplines as the archaeological, anthropological and facial reconstruction data", says Marie Allen.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adapted from materials provided by Uppsala University.
Click to expand...
 
In the information I´ve seen, it seems they don´t have his jawbone, just the upper part of the skull. Yet the facial reconstructions seem to have his distinctive chin, how is that meant to work?
 
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