Skeletal evidence of a post-mortem examination from the 18th/19th century Radom, central Poland

• Skeletal evidence of a post-mortem examination from Poland is reported.
• The calotte of an adult male has been detached from the rest of the cranium.
• The procedure was probably carried out by the Austrian military physicians in Radom between 1795 and 1809.

The paper presents a post-mortem examination performed on an adult male from the town of Radom in central Poland. The calotte of this individual had been surgically opened after death with a saw. Based on the archaeological context, this was most probably a Radom resident. The stratigraphy, archaeological artefacts and written historic sources indicate that the post-mortem examination was most probably conducted by the Austrian military physicians between 1795 and 1809. This post-mortem examination is the first published example from the territory of Poland and most probably in the whole of Eastern Europe for the period from the late 18th and the early 19th century.