Details about the find

The 11th-century cemetery is located about 80 kilometers south of Kiev. Of the 107 graves, “the majority of the bodies identified were in wooden coffins.” Vsevolod Ivakin and Vyacheslav Baranov, archaeologists of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, explained this in a paper they presented at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Archeology, held January 4-7 in Chicago.

• Among the dead in the cemetery are both men and women.
• Some men were buried with weapons (axes, spearheads, and swords).
• Several women were buried with intricate neck rings. At the time, they were “only found on necks in women’s graves and were apparently a form of social marker” in the region.
• It is thought that some people were buried with wooden buckets at their feet, which may have been part of the burial rituals. Other sites with bucket graves have also been found in the region.
• Archaeologists also found a stone altar, as well as bracelets, necklaces, and food remains such as chicken bones and egg shells, among other artifacts. The altar may be used for Christian or pagan rituals, or perhaps both.

A woman buried with neck rings / Photo: Vyacheslav Baranov

Some artifacts are similar to those previously found in the Baltic StatesTherefore, archaeologists suggest that some of those buried in this cemetery may have come from this region to serve in the armies of Kiev rulers such as Volodymyr the Great and Yaroslav the Wise. The lands ruled by Volodymyr the Great extended to the Baltic region.

According to researchers, at that time people living in the territory of modern Ukraine converted to Christianity when the cemetery was used. Among them was the Byzantine Emperor Alexander II, who abandoned his pagan roots. There was also Volodymyr the Great, who was baptized before marrying Basil’s sister Anna.

One of the corpses in the cemetery / Photo: Vyacheslav Baranov

A bead was found next to the skeleton at the funeral / Photo: Vyacheslav Baranov