Burial crypts in solid rock – a geophysical case study of a small church with a unique polychrome in Szydłów (S Poland)

Lesser Poland (Malopolska) is a historic region of Poland. The presented case study was undertaken in the All Saints’ Church in the town of Szydlow, in which conservation and restoration works were carried out to preserve Gothic wall paintings by identifying and eliminating the causes of their degradation, and these efforts were supported by geophysical surveying. The conducted studies constitute a step not only to determine the age of the construction of the Szydlow temple, but also to improve knowledge of medieval architecture and mural paintings in Lesser Poland. The geophysical research with application of GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) helped to locate previously unknown structures under the temple floor. This survey indicated four, possibly connected, structural objects clearly visible in GPR profiles. Carried out works confirmed that anomalies visible on radargrams mark two crypts. This discovery of the hidden construction elements emphasizes and strengthens the earlier suppositions of the unique character of this temple.