2,300-Year-Old Celtic Skull‑Surgery Tool Unearthed at Łysa Góra — Rare Iron Trepanation Scalpel Found

Rare iron surgical tool found at northeasternmost Celtic site

Archaeologists working at Łysa Góra in the Mazovia region of central‑eastern Poland have uncovered a rare iron instrument likely used by the Celts for cranial surgery roughly 2,300 years ago. The handheld implement was excavated in spring 2025 in the same sector where a thin‑bronze Celtic helmet was recovered during earlier work.

Trepanation — from the Greek word meaning "to bore" — is a form of cranial surgery practiced in many cultures for millennia. Evidence shows trepanation occurred in regions as diverse as Spain, Israel and Bolivia, and continued in some places into the early 19th century. Studies indicate the Celts most often used a scraping technique for trepanation, while drill‑based procedures were less common.

"The technique and precision of the iron object's manufacture indicate Celtic metallurgy," said Bartłomiej Kaczyński of the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw, adding that the implement was likely used to trepan a human skull.

The instrument resembles an ancient scalpel: its blade narrows into a spike and it was probably originally attached to a wooden handle. Kaczyński noted that only a handful of comparable surgical tools have been recovered from Celtic sites, making this discovery especially rare. Although the tool hints at medical or ritual practice at Łysa Góra, excavators have not yet identified any human remains at the site that show signs of having undergone trepanation.

Łysa Góra is notable for being the most northeasterly Celtic site identified in Europe to date. Kaczyński and his team returned to the site after initial excavations in the 1970s and have been digging there for two consecutive seasons. In 2024 they recovered hundreds of objects, including a rare thin‑bronze Celtic helmet. During the 2025 season they found brooches, a spearhead, an iron axe, and numerous metal items associated with horseback equipment.

Archaeological evidence indicates the location had fortifications before the Celts arrived in the fourth century BCE. After the Celts settled, traces of bronze and ironworking, unusual imported goods, and fragments of bronze and amber point to Łysa Góra's role as a regional trade hub. Amber, highly prized in the Mediterranean world at the time, suggests the settlement may have been fortified to protect its place on an "amber trail."

Context and significance: The iron trepanation scalpel implies the community could support specialized practitioners — whether medical or ritual — and the blacksmiths who made their instruments. Together with other rare finds at Łysa Góra, the discovery expands our understanding of Celtic metallurgy, trade networks, and the geographic reach of Celtic cultural practices.