Medieval crowns and scepters discovered hidden within the walls of a crypt beneath a Lithuanian cathedral

In the crypts of a Lithuanian cathedral, researchers have discovered a trove of royal treasures: crowns, jewelry and a scepter that belonged to several Lithuanian-Polish monarchs from the 15th and 16th centuries. The regalia had been hidden for 85 years, since they were stored underground Vilnius Cathedral in southeastern Lithuania.

Last fall, experts were invited to explore the underground level of Vilnius Cathedral, where they used an endoscopic camera to look into cracks and holes in the walls of the crypt. In December, researchers opened “a secret hiding place” in the church’s crypts, “where the royal regalia were hidden at the outbreak of World War II in 1939,” as Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius told reporters earlier this week, according to the Polish News Network TVP world.

“The discovered insignia are priceless historical treasures: symbols of Lithuania’s long tradition as a state, symbols of Vilnius as a capital and beautiful works of goldsmithing and jewelry,” Grušas said.

The collection includes a crown of Alexander Jagiellonthe king of Poland between 1501 and 1506. It also contains crowns, chains, medallions, sceptres, orbs and rings belonging to Elizabeth of Austria (also known as Elżbieta Habsburżanka) and Barbara Radziwiłł-the first and second wife of Sigismund II Augustuswho was king of Poland in the mid-16th century.

The Jagiellon and Habsburg dynasties are two of the most powerful families in European history, as Mykolas Sotincenka, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Vilnius, explains. Living Scienceby Kristina Killgrove. These rulers set that of Poland in motion golden age.

Each of these kings also acted as Grand Dukes of Lithuania, as did Poland and Lithuania united between the 14th and 18th centuries.

Among the royal accessories were found badges made for the burial chambers of these rulers. As Grušas said: “These crowns were not worn when the rulers were alive, but were made after their death and were intended to become part of their tombs,” according to TVP World.

In 1931, a flood damaged the cathedral’s crypt, exposing the coffins of the three rulers. The funeral regalia was then collected from the burials, as Sotincenka relates Living Science. The researchers found the accessories wrapped in a 1939 newspaper, tucked away in a cavity under a staircase in the crypt. Historians knew from archives that the stock of regalia existed, but attempts to find it had so far been unsuccessful.

According to a statement from the Vilnius Official Development Agency, the artifacts related to Radziwiłł “add a romantic and legendary dimension to this discovery.” The famously beautiful and witty Radziwiłł, born in 1520, was already a widow in the 1540s, when she became the king’s mistress. Their subsequent marriage caused a scandal: Nobles considered Radziwiłł promiscuous and unsuitable. Over time, she became “one of the most celebrated figures in Lithuanian history,” the statement said.

The treasure has been cataloged and will now be restored before being shown to the public later this year. As Rita Pauliukevičiūtė, director of the Church Heritage Museum, says in a statement shared with CNN‘ Jack Guy: “These symbols are important both for the state and for each of us, as signs of European identity, as a regained identity of the old state, as a sign of the strength of our roots.”