Mythology Armed with a Shovel, or Is Archaeology of the Supernatural Possible?

Abstract

The article analyzes the grounds on which archaeologists draw conclusions about the connection of certain finds with Slavic paganism. It is demonstrated that the conclusions of archaeologists are directly influenced by their ideas about paganism, which are hypothetical in nature and can easily be questioned. As a result, interpretations of archaeological finds turn out to be very subjective. A large number of dubious guesses blur the line between scientific and non-scientific views on Slavic paganism. The author believes that subjectivism cannot be excluded from historical science, but there is a way to reduce its influence on the formation of a scientific picture of Slavic paganism. When creating reconstructions of Slavic paganism, archaeological materials should be taken into account, but archaeologists should not take into account such reconstructions when interpreting archaeological finds.