In 2015, during archaeological research conducted around the church in Gniew (Pomerania Province), a small fragment of a metal plate was found. After it was cleaned as part of restoration it turned out to be a cross. The excavation was located outside, near the chancel wall. Research conducted there confirmed the conclusions drawn in previous years, i.e. that the church grounds had been used as a graveyard. The fact that the graveyard had been used for a long time was proved by numerous burials, overlapping grave pits and ossuaries, meaning places where human remains were gathered after earlier burials in the graveyard and the church had been emptied. Devotional items, including medals, crucifixes, scapulars, and prayer ropes, have been long connected with the Christian tradition. The fact that they are found during excavations in churches and graveyards may indicate that they were popular in Late Middle Ages and in the Modern Era. Unfortunately, the cross has not been preserved whole. It is difficult to determine whether the missing loop and two fragments of the horizontal bar were damaged when it was used by its owner or as a result of corrosion taking place after it had been deposited in the ground. The first written sources concerning the medal itself come from an information leaflet dated to 1664. It depicts Saint Benedict in a gesture of benediction and a medal with a characteristic cross and letters. One of the most important works on the Saint Benedict Medal is the work by Prosper Guèranger from 1862. Saint Benedict medals and crucifixes are also known from many inventories of artefacts compiled during research conducted in graveyards, mostly from the Modern Era. Saint Benedict crosses in a form resembling a knight’s cross were found in, among others, Maniowy in Podhale, Gliwice, Lubiń near Kościan, Wrocław, and Częstochowa. Despite the three and a half centuries that have passed since the first information about the medal appeared, and the six centuries since the first mention of its symbolism, it is still very popular among Christians. Most probably, information about the miracles happening thanks to it are no longer the main reason why it is worn but it can be a kind of an amulet protecting against evil. Despite rather scarce literature on Saint Benedict devotional items found at archaeological sites, one should expect that as research progresses, doubts about the manufacturing places or more detailed relationships between the appearance of crosses and medals will be dispelled.

Archaeological explorations carried out inside the crypts of Catholic churches typically deliver a wealth of movable historical artefacts, including numerous devotional objects such as pilgrim souvenirs. During excavation works in the crypts of Końskowola parish church of The Discovery of The Holy Cross and St. Andrew the Apostle, two wooden crosses made of dark wood were found. Looking at the history of devotionalism and the pilgrimage movement, it became possible to define the role of the described objects when they reached Końskowola. Type analysis of the material used in the production of the objects can help in further studies on wooden objects brought to Poland over the centuries.

Numeracy is the ability to understand, manipulate, and make sense of numerical information. It is crucial for everyday decision making that involves dealing with numbers. In this study, we tested whether we can help people make better choices in monetary lotteries by communicating numerical values (i.e., payoffs and probabilities) using visual aids. We also checked whether presenting this information in a visual form reduces math-related anxiety and global affect negativity. Participants (N = 210) made choices in ten monetary lotteries accompanied with visual aids (experimental condition) or without visual aids (control condition). After the lottery task, participants completed questionnaires measuring experienced emotions and numerical skills. We found that in a visual aid condition, participants who were relatively less educated scored significantly higher in a lottery task (made more expected value consistent choices) in comparison to those in the control condition. Moreover, participants in the visual aid condition reported significantly lower intensity of negative emotions after the lottery task than those in the control condition. We argue that visual aids are a promising tool for future learning, and their simplicity and friendly format can positively influence people's decisions in situations involving risk in health, finance, or in a school context.

Research conducted in churches provides more and more information about the funeral culture in the Baroque. The basic elements of a funeral were wooden coffins, in which bodies were buried. They were prepared for the funeral in different ways. The simplest were ordinary boxes made of planed boards. What draws attention, however, are those with additional elements on the outside. This child’s coffin found in the central nave between the chancel and the first pillar was decorated with artificial flowers made of wire imitating golden wire. These flowers drew the attention of the research team to the unique ornamentation of the coffin. The next stage of the work involved cleaning the studs found (three types), and then analysing the unusual structures on their underside. This revealed two types of cloth stuck to metal. All the information gathered allowed to prepare three variants of the appearance of the coffin with the year 1779 studded with one of the stud types. Considering the above, it was concluded that the child’s burial was rich, and that the coffin decorations were exceptionally sumptuous.

Archaeological research in the crypts of the Church of the Holy Name of the Virgin Mary in Szczuczyn has been carried out since 2012. Many years of research have made it possible to identify some of the buried people, including the Piarists who served as the hosts of the church. One of the monks identified was Stanislaw Marszycki, who took the name Simeon of St Joseph after his monastic vows. Identification of the Piarist was possible thanks to the information on the coffin. On the deceased’s vestments rested a wooden crucifix, which can be interpreted as part of the deceased’s individual equipment. The crucifix was subjected to wood species identification using a microscope with transmitted light. This made it possible to determine that it was made from the wood of the common yew tree (Taxus baccata L.). Yew wood is a valuable material and was used to make both large boatbuilding components, furniture, and weapons, and was also readily used in 18th- -century gardens. The yew was also a tree around which there was a great deal of superstition. Because of its toxicity and longevity, it was treated as both a tree of death and life. The cross from the monk’s coffin, according to superstition, might have guarded the deceased against evil, been an individual object with which the deceased was associated, or perhaps was chosen because yew wood was eminently polishable and with a beautiful colouration.