The Radziwiłł Mausoleum
in Nesvizh.
Research

In 2016 and 2017, anthropologists worked in the crypt of the Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh. The need for research and its course were determined by the following tasks:

• cultural heritage conservation – (1) to evaluate the condition of the burials (the remains, burial items) in the crypt and establish the factors determining it;
• identification – (2) to check if following prior investigations and upkeep of the crypt the sarcophagi remain in their original places, as well as (3) to identify the burial of Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł Sierotka.

To accomplish the tasks undertaken, an appropriate strategy was made use of – to investigate the remains of the members of the nuclear family who had clear family links (i.e. parents and their children) so that it would be possible to ascertain or reject an individual’s identity by means of genetic testing. Biographical data, the history of diseases and injuries in particular, were also of great importance to their identification. Infectious, nutritional diseases or cancer and sustained injuries can leave “scars” on skeletons, therefore information provided by historical sources even about seemingly insignificant colds or injuries provide the “key” to the identification of an individual. Hence, prior to anthropological research, historical research (See more: Historical research report. 2016 (Martynas Jakulis); Historical research report. 2017 (Martynas Jakulis); Nesvizh. Diseases: They Nonetheless are Human Beings) was carried out (by Martynas Jakulis, a historian of Vilnius University).

In total, 11 sarcophagi were opened in the course of research, and the remains of eight males, two females and the remains of one individual of unknown gender (presumably, man’s remains) were found therein. The youngest of them died at the age 16-18, the oldest was over 50. The remains of two of them had turned into skeletons; those of others had become mummified. It is to be noted that the skin and muscles of the mummies “covered” important biological data – the exact age at death, the sustained injuries and signs of particular type of illnesses, i.e. these data are not visible and therefore it is impossible to assess them. Only having conducted radiological examinations of the mummies it would be possible to determine that; unfortunately, there were no such possibilities.

The research carried out in 2016 raised the greatest number of questions about the reliability of the “layout” of the sarcophagi, the inscriptions made on them (wooden epitaphial plates) and, on the whole, about the identification of the remains of the Radziwiłł family. It has been established that the burials (sarcophagi)¹Sarcophagi No 1 and 72 (bothe were attributed to Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł Sierotka), 2, 3, and 5. The numbering of the sarcophagi is hereinafter referred to in accordance with the Inventory carried out by the Department of Cultural Heritage (Lithuania) in 1999, see [Gintaras Kazlauskas, et al.], Kunigaikščių Radvilų mauzoliejaus inventorizacija: [the manuscript; preserved at the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture (Lithuania)], 1999, p. [18] [the scheme]. attributed to Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł Sierotka (1549-1616), his wife Elżbieta Eufemia (1569-1596) and their children Mikołaj Krzysztof (1590-1607) and Albrycht Władysław (1589-1636) do not actually belong to them. The female remains were found in the sarcophagus that was supposedly attributed to a man. The remains of a teenager were found in the sarcophagus attributed to an adult man. These findings confirmed the apprehensions over a false identification of the remains and sarcophagi. The exact burial place (in which of 72 sarcophagi) of the remains of the benefactor of the mausoleum of the Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh, Mikołaj Krzysztof remains unknown (See more: Nesvizh. Unexpectedness; Nesvizh. Identification).

The 2017 research threw light on the issues in question. The sarcophagi of the Lithuanian Great Hetman Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł Rybeńko (1702-1762) and his next of kin were in respective places of the crypt. To give the final answer about their identity it is necessary to conduct genetic testing; however, a primary examination of the remains also provided solid evidence. Their gender and health disorders matched the data obtained during previous investigations. What has been recorded in historical documents was found in the remains.

Justina Kozakaitė