NEW BURIAL OF THE SECOND HALF 10th — EARLY 11th — CENTURY NEAR ST. SOPHIA CATHEDRAL OF KYIV
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37445/adiu.2022.02.19Keywords:
burial, mound, stratigraphy, Sophia of KyivAbstract
In 2021, as part of the «Great Restoration» state program, the cobblestones around St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv were replaced. During these works, the archaeological exploration was carried out with the participation of authors, as a result of which the ancient burial was discovered and investigated.
The dimensions of the burial pit were about 3 × (1— 1.2) m. It had a depth of 1.6 m, and its bottom situated at a depth of 2.4 m from the modern surface.
The remains of a rectangular wooden funeral construction were found below, assembled from boards and fastened with more than two dozen iron nails.
Its overall dimensions are (2.2—2.7) × (0.6—0.64) m and a height of 0.5-0.55 m.
The remains of two transverse wooden supports were recorded under the funeral construction. They had a triangular cross-section and lay edge down. Each of them was 0.7 m long and 0.15 m wide.
The skeleton was lying on its back, oriented with its head on northwest. His bones, except for the skull, were preserved in a satisfactory condition.
The billon jewelry such as the wire rings near the head and a ring on the little finger of the right hand, were found in the burial. The iron a knife with a wooden handle was located near the right knee. Also the two hemispherical bone buttons with carved decoration were discovered on the legs below the pelvic bones. Difference between ornaments, the technique of their execution, sizes and profiles of buttons found nearby Sophia Cathedral testifies to the fact that each of them made by various craftsmen.
The buttons of a similar shape and ornament there are known from mounds in Chernihiv (Ukraine), Gniozdovo (Russia) and Nishapur (Iran).
A segment of the barrow with a width of 1.25 m and a depth of 0.75 m was recorded a few meters from the burial trench. This made it possible to determine
the approximate diameter of the mound above the burial like 5.5-6 m.
Traces of the development of urban development of the beginning of the 11th century are recorded on the site of the mound. The next stage was in the 20s and 30s of the 11th century, when the St. Sophia Cathedral was built, one of the apses of which was covered part of the territory of the mound. At the same time, one of the apses of the cathedral was covered part of the territory of the mound.
Considering the historical context of the development of the ancient Kyiv mound necropolis, the mound discovered in 2021 near the northeastern corner of St. Sophia Cathedral can be dated to the second half of the 10th — beginning of 11th century, and most likely between 970 and 1000.
References
Bobrovskyi, T., Savytskyi, V., Strykhar, M. 2020. Doslidzhennia u sadybi Sofiiskoho soboru u m. Kyievi. Arkheolohichni doslidzhennia v Ukraini 2018 r., s. 45-48.
Borovskyi, Ya. Ye., Arkhypova, Ye. I. 1993. Doslidzhennia «mista Yaroslava» 1984—1989 rr. In: Tolochko, P. P. (ed.). Starodavnii Kyiv. Arkheolohichni doslidzhennia 1984—1989. Kyiv: Naukova dumka, s. 206-216.
Dementeva, A. S. 2014. Kostianye detali kostiuma drevnego naseleniia Gnezdova. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriia 8. Istoriia, 5, s. 121-130.
Ipatevskaia… 2001. Ipatevskaia letopis. PSRL. 2. Moskva: Iazyki slavianskoi kultury.
Ivakin, H. Yu., Bobrovskyi, T. A., Koziuba, V. K. 2015. Novi doslidzhennia khramu XI st. u sadybi Sofii kyivskoi. Arkheolohichni doslidzhennia v Ukraini 2014 r., s. s. 64-67.
Ivakin, H. Yu., Kozubovskyi, H. A., Koziuba, V. K., Poliakov, S. Ye., Chmil, L. V. 1998. Doslidzhennia Mykhailivskoho Zolotoverkhoho monastyria ta prylehlykh ploshch u 1998 r. Arkheolohichni vidkryttia v Ukraini 1997—1998 rr., s. 79-80.
Ivakin, H. Yu., Koziuba, V. K., Poliakov, S. Ye. 2003. Pokhovannia X—XI st. na Mykhailivskii hori v Kyievi. In: Novi doslidzhennia davnikh pam’iatok Kyieva. Materialy naukovoi konferentsii Natsionalnoho zapovidnyka «Sofiia Kyivska» (Kyiv, 22—23 lystopada 2001 r.). Kyiv, s. 93-103.
Ivakin, H., Koziuba, V. 2003. Novi pokhovannia X—XI st. Verkhnoho Kyieva (z rozkopok Arkhitekturno-arkheolohichnoi ekspedytsii 1997—1999 rr.). In: Tolochko, P. P. (ed.). Druzhynni starozhytnosti Tsentralno-Skhidnoi Yevropy VIII—XI st. Materialy Mizhnarodnoho polovoho arkheolohichnoho seminaru (Chernihiv-Shestovytsia, 17—20 lypnia 2003 r.). Chernihiv: Siverianska dumka, s. 38-50.
Karger, M. K. 1958. Drevnii Kiev. Ocherki po istorii materialnoi kultury drevnerusskogo goroda. 1. Moskva; Leningrad: AN SSSR.
Koziuba, V. 2016. Do problemy datuvannia «kyivskoi» keramiky seredyny X — seredyny XIII st. Naukovi studii, 9: Datuvannia — khronolohiia — periodyzatsiia. Rizni aspekty chasu v arkheolohii, s. 292-318.
Koziuba, V. K., 2021. Mikrotopohrafiia yazychnytskoho mohylnyka X st. pid sadyboiu Desiatynnoi tserkvy v Kyievi. Arkheolohiia i davnia istoriia Ukrainy, 1 (38), s. 209-228.
Komar, A. V. 2012. Chernigov i Nizhnee Podesene. In: Makarov, N. A. (ed.). Rus v ІX—XІ vekakh: arkheologicheskaia panorama. Moskva; Vologda: Drevnosti Severa, s. 335-366.
Lavrentevskaia… 2001. Lavrentevskaia letopis. PSRL. 1. Moskva: Iazyki slavianskoi kultury.
Mikhailov, K. A. 2016. Elitarnyi pogrebalnyi obriad Drevnei Rusi: kamernye pogrebeniia ІX — nachala XІ veka v kontekste severoevropeiskikh analogii. Sankt-Peterburg: Branko.
Movchan, I. I. 1993. Davnokyivska okolytsia. Kyiv: Naukova dumka.
Movchan, I. I., Klymovskyi, S. I. 2002. Doslidzhennia «hradu Yaroslava» starodavnoho Kyieva. Arkheolohichni vidkryttia v Ukraini 2000—2001 rr., s. 192-195.
Rybakov, B. A. 1949. Drevnosti Chernigova. Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR, 11, s. 7-102.
Sagaidak, M. A. 1988. O konstruktsiiakh pogrebalnykh kompleksov Kievshchiny i Chernigovshchiny IX—XI vv. In: Tolochko, P. P. (ed.). Chernigov i ego okruga v IX—XIII vv. Kiev: Naukova dumka, s. 127-135.
Sytyi, Yu. M. 2013. Khrystyianski pokhovalni pam’iatky davnoruskoho Chernihova. Chernihiv: Desna Polihraf.
Titmar Merzeburgskii. 2009. Khronika. 2-e izd., ispr. Perevod s lat. I. V. Diakova. Moskva: Russkaia panorama.
Metropolitan… Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ofitsiinyi sait. Rezhym dostupu: https://www.metmuseum.org/ (Data zvernennia 24 travnia 2022).
