Kenneth Glad
An old story shared for decades by a family has turned into an unexpected historical discovery after amateur searchers uncovered buried tank parts beneath a garden.
Residents in the village of Świerczów had long heard claims that pieces of a Soviet military vehicle were hidden on private land.
Many dismissed the account as local folklore. Recent excavations, however, appear to have confirmed the story.
The discovery was first reported by Polish history outlet Zwiadowca Historii, which said members of the exploration group “Nietoperze” began investigating after being contacted by Patrycja Suchorska.
According to her family’s account, Suchorska’s grandfather had spoken for years about a Soviet tank that broke down on the property during the 1950s.
Unable to move the heavy remains, he and other family members reportedly buried the parts in the garden.
Decades underground
Mariusz Kłakulak of ‘Nietoperze’ traveled to the site with a metal detector after hearing the family’s story.
By the time he arrived, two local teenagers, Antek and Patryk, had already spent hours digging through the area after identifying signals beneath the ground.
As excavation work continued, searchers uncovered increasingly large pieces of metal hidden below the soil.
According to the history outlet, the recovered items include a gearbox with an axle, four wheels, gears, bearings, sections of track and several smaller unidentified components.
The parts are believed to belong to either a Soviet T-34 tank or an IS-series vehicle, though experts may still be needed to confirm the exact model.
The remains have most likely been underground for around 70 years.
Local myth proven true
Over time, the family’s story became known locally as the tale of the “tank in the garden.” Many residents reportedly treated it as an exaggeration rather than a real historical event.
The excavation changed that perception almost immediately once physical evidence began emerging from the ground.
Kłakulak credited the discovery largely to the persistence of the two teenagers who helped locate the buried remains.
He told Zwiadowca Historii that the two teenagers ‘tirelessly dug through the soil’ and helped identify the correct location
The exploration group says work at the site is continuing because more pieces may still be buried nearby.
According to the family story, additional sections of the vehicle, possibly including the turret and gun barrel, could remain underground somewhere in the area.
For local residents, the find has transformed what was once treated as village folklore into a confirmed piece of Cold War-era history.
Source: Zwiadowca Historii
