Archaeological Discovery: Tombs Unearthed in Medieval Necropolis May Hold Skeletons of Two “Tax Collectors”

[Article publié initialement en août 2024]

Archaeological excavations carried out for four years

Since 2020, the Institute of Archives of the Academy of Sciences of Russia and the Historical State Museum have been carrying out excavations with a medieval necropolis in Gnezdilov, near Souzdal, a city in Russia of around 10,000 inhabitants and 200 km northeast of Moscow.

© Institute of Archives of the Academy of Sciences of Russia

Gnezdilovo cemetery near Souzdal. General view of excavations

According to a press release published by the Institute, (depending on the country's government organization), archaeologists discovered around fifty “intact burials”In the cemetery. This site was discovered in 1851 by AS Uvarov (Russian archaeologist). Fortunately, the excavations of the 19th century did not affect a major part of the cemetery.

Excavations took place in the 19th century, but the majority of the treasures of the necropolis have remained hidden

As the analysis the press release, mounds could have been plowed and would have gone unnoticed in the eyes of the Russian archaeologist and his employees. Between 2020 and 2023, contemporary archaeologists carried out a geophysical study of the necropolis, on about three hectares, in order to determine its spatial structure.

Consequently, archaeologists had the opportunity to discover “prestigious jewelry, coins and weapons”Dating from the 11th century and belonging to a very privileged social category in Northeast Russia.

Two tombs are particularly interested in archaeologists

This year, two areas are subject to special attention to archaeologists:

• The central part of the cemetery, which had been found melted jewelry of the 10th century, indicating according to the Institute that cremations had taken place nearby
• The northeast part of the cemetery, where in 2023 intact burials had been discovered (around 13).

One of these tombs, n ° 59, caught the attention of archaeologists, who found it “The remains of a man aged 35 to 40 with a bronze loop in the shape of a lyre, a knife, a war of war ” who was lying near his tibia. After analysis, this type of weapon was particularly popular in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Another grave, the n ° 49, also presents a “exceptional interest“There are the remains of a man aged 25 to 30 this time, presenting at his belt”A bronze -shaped loop and iron separation rings ”a knife, a combat ax, equestrian equipment … and scales to weigh the pieces.

© From the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Gnezdilovo cemetery. Clearing of the burial 49. At the bottom of the pit, a war ax, stirrups, a bit and a lock are visible at the feet of the buried person.

Burials that detonate others

According to the press release, this burial detonates by its size, which testifies to the high social level of the individual who is there and by the presence of equestrian material, which was not common in the funeral rites of the time.

© Institute of Archives of the Academy of Sciences of Russia

According to the clues collected, these tombs “belonged to people exercising tax functions, which involved the weighing of coins collected as taxes”, According to the institute's press release. In any case, these excavations allow to learn more about the funeral rites of the time as well as on its“ military organization ”.

Source : LiveScience