 In 1823 the organization was discovered by Russian authorities led by Nikolay Nikolayevich Novosiltsev.After a trial that lasted several months, in 1824, 108 people were convicted of membership in this or related organizations; 20 members of the Philomaths or related organizations were sentenced to imprisonment or "katorga" and exiled to Siberia; over a dozen faculty members were dismissed (including historian Joachim Lelewel).Adam Mickiewicz, one of the Three Polish Bards, convicted of being a Philomath member and exiled into Russia, later described his experiences in that period in the third part of a major work, "Dziady" (Forefathers' Eve).