Honeycombs, honey remains and even bee carcasses. All this was preserved in the bee's nest found by the creators of the Bee Culture Museum in Augustów (Podlaskie). The nest was inside an oak trunk that had been cut at a sawmill. It turned out to be from around 680 AD and is most likely the oldest discovered bee nest in the world. Scientists are now studying them. In the museum we can see the trunk.
The discovery was made near Leżajsk in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. While removing sand from the gravel pit, an oak stump was extracted. Like other trunks, it was transported to a nearby sawmill, where – after drying – it was to be used to make boards. The trunk lay there for several years. Only after cutting it, it turned out that there was a bee nest inside.
– The beehive (i.e. a chamber hollowed out by man for the purpose of breeding bees, inside a growing tree – editor's note) was completely overgrown and was not visible from the outside. Someone probably stopped using this nest, so the hole became overgrown over time, says Piotr Piłasiewicz, president of the Bartne Brotherhood.
A bee nest was found in the trunkMuseum of Beet Culture in Augustów
The nest is perfectly “preserved”
He adds that later the tree may have fallen into the river (e.g. it could have broken due to old age) and in this way the bee nest was “preserved”.
– We suspect that this was the case, because gravel pits – as the name suggests – are located in places where gravel accumulates. And it usually gathered in the area of former riverbeds – explains the president of the brotherhood.
The nest is in excellent condition. There are combs, honey remains and even bee carcasses.
From almost 14 centuries ago
– A huge thank you to the sawmill owner who contacted us. He is also a beekeeper himself. At first he thought it was a wasp nest. However, he soon realized that it was a bee's nest – Piłasiewicz.
Only later did it become clear what an important discovery had been made. Examination of the trunk showed that the tree stopped growing almost 14 centuries ago. Specifically, around 680 AD. The nest also comes from the same period.
– This may be the oldest preserved bee nest in the world – Piłasiewicz points out.
Research is ongoing
While the trunk can be seen in the Beekeeping Culture Museum in Augustów, which was established on the initiative of the brotherhood, the biological material (i.e. bee carcasses, combs and honey remains) is currently being examined by scientists.
Dr. Michał Kolasa from the Institute of Zootechnics of the National Research Institute in Krakow said during a conference organized by the brotherhood that Central European bees (a subspecies of honey bees) used beehives.
The beehive was completely overgrown and was not visible from the outsideMuseum of Beet Culture in Augustów
– We want to know, among other things: what is the genetic similarity between these ancient bees and the lines we protect today. Because we have entire combs, we can reconstruct what bees ate before the development of large-scale agriculture, he said.
The oldest sample tested so far dates back to the 19th century
He also stated that he had also checked the literature to find the oldest specimens of honey bees that had been genetically tested.
– I found two publications. One boasts that it studies bees from 1977, and the other a sample from 1879, he said.
As for the beehive, it is in the Museum. Jan Dzierżoń in Kluczbork we can see one of the oldest beekeeping monuments in Poland and Europe, the so-called Odra beehive – a fragment of a bee tree extracted from the bottom of the Oder, dating back to the 10th century.
You can see the trunk in the museum Museum of Beet Culture in Augustów
They want to show the nest. For now, you can see the trunk
The Bartne Brotherhood would like to create an exhibition in which it will be possible to see not only the trunk, but also combs and bee specimens.
– We are collecting funds for this purpose. To prevent the slices from falling apart, the temperature in the display cases must be kept low enough. Bees must also be protected. However, we hope that we will be able to show in the museum what an important discovery we are dealing with – notes Piotr Piłasiewicz, quoted earlier.
Main photo source: Beekeeping Culture Museum in Augustów