A metal detectorist in eastern Poland recently uncovered a religious artifact that experts believe dates back hundreds of years. Experts said the cross icon is likely a relic of the Orthodox communities that continued to practice after a series of reforms split the Russian church in the middle of the 17th century, and an example of the kinds of symbols that were outlawed during a later monarch's reign.
The cross, made from copper alloy, was flagged by a metal detector in Niedrzwica Duża, a commune roughly 100 miles outside of Warsaw, according to the provincial government's monument conservation office, which said in a statement that it received the item last week. The relic was found buried in soil by Jacek Zięba, a metal detectorist who searched the area with permission from the office.
