Collection of Baptismal Crosses From the Archeological Site of Kulakovo Iii in the Lower Tom’ Valley

Abstract

The article presents the results of the study on staurographic material of the XVII–XVIII centuries from the settlement of Kulakovo III, a site that can presumably be identified with the village of Korchuganovo marked in the “Drafting Book (Atlas) of Siberia” by S. Remezov. The study introduces a collection of 26 metal baptismal crosses into scientific use; the authors offer a detailed description, typological characteristics and chronological attributions of the Christian cult objects under analysis, as well as identify their analogues in published studies. Most of the crosses discussed belong to type 4 according to the classification developed by V. I. Molodin, which is based on the materials of Eastern Siberia (Ilimsk stockaded town). These are specimens with detailed iconography and elements complementing the outline of the object – rays radiating from the cross bars, twin volutes surrounding the cross bars like a "wreath" or "tongues of flame" along the edges of the lower blade, etc. Morphological and iconographic analysis of the crosses indicates their individuality. The range of analogies to the crosses from Kulakovo III includes materials from northern and north-eastern Russia, which confirms the data from written sources about the initial territories of the migration of the Russian population in the Tom’ region.