This article is devoted to an analysis of burials with weaponry from the Ostriv graveyard near the River Ros', about 100 kilometres to the south of Kyiv in the Middle dnieper area, excavated during 2017 and 2018. Weapons (axes, pila, sword pommels) were discovered in 11 burials, representing approximately 20% of the total number of burials, and about 60% of all male burials investigated in the graveyard. An analysis of the material from the graveyard (weapons and jewellery) refers burials to West Balt migrants: Old Prussians, Curonians and Skalvians. They probably protected hill-forts of Kyivan Rus' in the Ros' region. The archaeological finds were supported by historical sources: chronicles of Kyivan Rusʼ. They evidence about the activities of Yaroslav the Wise aimed at reinforcing the southern borders of Kyivan Rus'. But it is hard to say exactly when Yaroslav relocated West Balts to the region of the River Ros'. nevertheless, according to written sources and archaeological material, it could be dated from 1030 to the middle of the 11th century.
In 2017 the new burial ground on the right bank of Ros river between Puhachivka and Ostriv villages, in Rokytne district, Kyiv region was discovered. During 2017—2019 67 burials have been excavated there. Diverse and spectacular archaeological objects discovered during excavations — the spiral torques, cross-bow ladder fibulae of type Bliujiene V, penannular brooches with rolled terminals, poppy-head terminals, funnel-shaped terminals, star-shaped terminals and widening terminals, bracelets with zoomorphic terminals, chains, temporal-rings and rings — all these grave goods are typical to Western Baltic tribes (Old Prussians, Curonians, Skalvians). The burial assemblages with weapons compose the notable number. Buried men were equipped with axes, spears, pila. As M. Plavinsky stated using of the pillum was the feature of Baltic military-technic tradition. In generall the weapons discovered in the Ostriv burial ground points to the prevalence of infantry in that community. This allows suggest that people buried in the Ostriv burial ground were the warriors of Ros defensive line. From historical point of view archaeological finds well illustrate and prove the chronicle evidences about activity of first Kyiv princes, first of all of Volodymyr the Great and Yaroslav the Wise, directed to the strengthening of the southern borders of Kyiv Rus. The lands of Ros basin historically were the border with steppe and the Ros river was a proper, natural defensive factor, the frontier between the world of settled farmers and steppe nomads. Kyiv princes traditionally placed here their military forces, defending the capital of Rus from nomadic charges. We believe that the Ostriv burial ground could be associated with the garrison of Stari Sukholisy hill-fort consisted of Western Baltic people.
In the continuation of the paper on a funeral rites of the Ostriv graveyard the features of burials without grave goods, burials in coffins fastened with nails, burials with buckets and the accompanying items of male burials are considered. Burials without grave goods, as well as burials in dominiums fastened with nails and burials in which buckets were placed, can be interpreted with great care as an indicator of the worldview of a community that was at a certain stage of Christianization. Regardless of Christian ideas about the equality of everyone in the afterlife, there was no imperative prohibition on burial with objects. After Christianization, individual objects took on new functions and became a part of the so-called Arma Cristi (instrument of the Lord’s Passion — tools for fight against Satan) and already in this capacity are used in the funeral rite. Male burial assemblages in general have much less ethnic indicators than female ones. Rather, their grave goods point not to a specific ethnic group but to a specific macro region of the origin of tradition — Scando-Baltic and Northern Rus as well as to a social focus on military subculture. This is evidenced by the presence of weapons, certain types of fibulae, details of the belt set, which have a lot of parallels just in the North of Europe and sharply dissonant with the antiquities of Southern Rus. The presence of weapons was typical for male burial assemblages of the Ostriv graveyard. The main type of weapon the battle axes can be considered of so-called IV type according to A. Kirpichnikov, most of which were placed near the right knee with the handle up but other weapons were also discovered — axes of type III according to A Kirpichnikov and type M according to Y. Peterson and lancet-shaped spear-heads. In the burials the elements of a belt set — buckles and portupey rings — were found. At the same time the absence of other details of the men’s belt set, first of all, the applique plates for status belts which have been worn according to the Orient tradition and became widespread in the Eastern and Northern Europe during the Viking Age draws attention. It is notable that living on the border with the steppe led to the appearance in the burial practice of certain objects inherent in the material culture of nomads, first of all, primarily the single mouth-piece bit.
The article is devoted to sacred areas located in the south-eastern part of Old-Rus Podil district. This area has remained poorly investigated for a long time compared to other areas of this OldKyiv region. Archaeological researches of period 2007–2015 greatly expanded our understanding of the south-eastern part of old Podil. In this paper, we tried to reconstruct the sacred loci of this territory.In the tenth century, Kyiv consisted of a populated town – a large coastal area – Podil and of small sacral-administrative part – Detinets on Zamkova Hill and the necropolis on the Old Kyiv Hill. Due to active development of a new city in the days of the reign of Vladimir son of Svyatoslav and his son Yaroslav the Wise, inhabitants of Podil, now Christians, have had to look for another place to bury their dead. They were forced to look for areas in the territory without mass urban development.Henceforth cemeteries are beginning to play a significant role in shaping the structure of the medieval town of Kyiv-Podil. Several cemeteries were located at the extreme points of the settlement area, which, due to waterlogging and flood threats were unsuitable for life. It was proposed to use the term to define such cemeteries in the structure of ancient Podil – “outlying cemeteries”. Three of these cemeteries and one single burial excavated in the south-eastern part of ancient Podil. Cemeteries found on the Naberezhno-Khreschatytska, 1-а str. and Naberezhno-Khreschatytska, 9 str. belong to the earliest Podol burial grounds, their active functioning on the XI century.The cemetery opened in 2015 at the Postal Square and burial of women (Petra Sagaydachnogo str., 6-в ) belong to another chronological period. They date back to the XII – the first half of the XIII century. Recent studies have shown that a sufficiently large area in the south-eastern outskirts of Old-Rus Podil were unsuitable for settlement and so they are often used for a cemetery.
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