NEW BURIAL OF THE SECOND HALF 10th — EARLY 11th — CENTURY NEAR ST. SOPHIA CATHEDRAL OF KYIV

Abstract

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.